Dongba Illustration from the Naxi People

Qing dynasty (1644–1911) or Republican period (1912–1949), undated, 1930s or earlier

Illustration of Deities and Demons

2 linen panels stitched together to form 1 panel; unmounted; approx. 102.0 x 62.0 cm

Inventory number: 111 bao-1

Naxi beliefs grew out of the shamanistic Bon religion of pre-Buddhist Tibet; they also were incorporated elements of Daoism and Tibetan Buddhism.  The dongba (priests) imitate Bon monks in dress and action; they are often also accomplished shamans, medicine men, scholars, artists, craftsmen, dancers, and singers.  The Naxi believe that their dead proceed automatically and directly to hell.  The souls of the deceased must therefore be led back out from the infernal depths toward heaven by the dongba or ritual specialists during the performance of elaborate funerary rites; pictorial illustrations are an integral part of  these rituals.

This Illustration of Deities and Demons is divided into four registers.  The topmost contains a triad of benevolent deities within a celestial realm.  The seated and haloed principal deity in the second register is flanked by a scribe and a demon holding a banner containing an ambiguous phrase in Chinese characters, shan e fei ming, which may be translated as "good and evil cannot be discerned" or "good and evil are not [necessarily] clear"; a winged serpent and a winged dragonlike beast hover at the upper corners.  The third register has five animal-headed, human-bodied creatures portrayed in a stylized stance.  The lowermost register shows a pair of human figures perched above flames and accompanied by two horses.  Such a picture probably would have been hung during religious ceremonies conducted by the dongba and rolled up after each use.