The Dongba symbols are an historical system of pictographic glyphs created by the founding father of the Bön spiritual custom of Tibet and utilized by the Naxi folks in southern China. Historic information present that this distinctive script was used as early because the seventh century, throughout the early Tang Dynasty, nevertheless, analysis carried out final 12 months confirmed that its origins may date back as far as 7,000 years ago. Extremely, the Dongba symbols proceed for use by the elders of the Naxi folks, making it the one hieroglyphic language nonetheless used on this planet at present.
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The Naxi Individuals and Their Mountainous Homeland
The Naxi folks lived within the stunning mountain province of Yunnan (“south of the clouds”) for hundreds of years, the place they developed their very own wealthy and enduring tradition. Right now, many of the 270,000 Naxi folks in county of Lijiang the place they preserve lots of their historical traditions.
The Dongba script of the Naxi folks is each pictographic and ideographic. The writing, in contrast to something identified elsewhere, superficially resembles the traditional Egyptian hieroglyphics, however it has a sure motion and humor that distinguishes it from different scripts. Whereas there are solely about 1,300 symbols in whole, the script has been used to put in writing an enormous variety of scriptures, from unbelievable tales of creation to strategies for finishing up exorcism. Additionally they present a form of encyclopedia of the traditional Naxi folks, recording intimately their beliefs, customs, traditions and methods of life.
It isn’t a simplistic system of writing. Illustrations had been used to characterize not solely materials objects but in addition summary concepts, syllables, and even strategies of pronunciation. For instance, the character ‘cliff’ has the type of a cliff, and it has the identical pronunciation as ‘rooster’, which is illustrated by a rooster head drawn contained in the cliff. A single pictograph will also be used to recite completely different phrases or a complete sentence. The script is extremely logical – when an emblem is drawn the other way up it signifies negation; straight traces drawn between folks signifies ‘combat’, whereas entwined traces characterize ‘focus on’; a useless animal is drawn as common however with out pupils of their eyes.
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Solar dongba script. (Immanuel Giel, CC0), Dongba moon script (Immanuel Giel/CC0). Rian dongba script. (Immanuel Giel, CC BY-SA 4.0)
The symbols above characterize the solar, moon, and rain.
However removed from being simplistic, these symbols have been included into in-depth accounts of creation. For instance, the beneath fragment of “The Conflict between Dong and Shu”, one of the vital myths to the Naxi, reads:
Within the previous occasions, when the sky and the earth had not nonetheless been fashioned, the solar and moon had nonetheless not been created, the celebs had nonetheless not arisen, mountains and ravines had not nonetheless been fashioned, timber and stones had not nonetheless arisen…
Instance textual content of Dongba script on the Pure Library of China. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditionally, the Dongba script was utilized by the Dongba clergymen, and the creation and improvement of the script is carefully related to the emergence of the Dongba faith. The Dongba faith was rooted within the beliefs of the Tibetan Bön faith – the phrase “Dongba” actually means “clever man” within the Naxi language. Historians have traced origins to a Bön shaman from jap Tibet named Dongba Shilo, who lived in a cave close to Baishuitai 900 years in the past.
Bön lamas are believed to have settled among the many Naxi as farmers, and to have begun to follow exorcisms as a manner of incomes a bit of cash on the facet. By the early nineteenth century, the Dongba clergymen had created an enormous spiritual vocabulary accompanied by quite a lot of rituals. Their scriptures comprise a number of sorts of rituals and in addition legends, poetry, prayers, astronomy, medication, and divination. As Zhu Bao-Tian, a famous cultural anthropologist from the Yunnan Provincial Museum in China, mentioned: “The Naxi manuscripts are a dwelling fossil for the examine of historical tradition”.
The Dongba faith relies on the connection between nature and man. In Dongba mythology, “Nature” and “Man” are half-brothers, having completely different moms. Nature is believed to be managed by spirits known as “Shv”. These gods are depicted as human-snake chimeras. The Dongba clergymen follow rituals such because the “Shv Gu” to appease these spirits and forestall their anger from boiling into pure disasters similar to earthquakes and droughts.
Though at present many Naxi should not spiritual, within the Forties there have been greater than 4,000 Naxi Dongba clergymen. Their faith was characterised by a fascination with energy and miracles, and perception in a large number of gods and demons who may very well be manipulated with magic.
Nevertheless, the numbers of Dongba clergymen drastically declined following the communist revolution in China in 1949, throughout which hundreds of manuscripts had been destroyed, and a struggle was declared on instructing language and traditions that had been thought of superstitious. It’s estimated that at present there are solely about 60 Dongba clergymen remaining who can learn and write the Dongba script. Most of these clergymen are over 70 and they’re afraid that after they die, the traditions and writing of their folks will die with them.
The Close to Extinction of Dongba Script
The unbelievable pictographic Dongba script is almost extinct. Nevertheless, realizing the wrongs of the previous, the Chinese language authorities has been making an attempt to revive it in an try and protect the Naxi tradition. Over 30 books have now been revealed with directions on easy methods to learn the Dongba symbols. Younger college students frequently go to the Lijing Dongba Museum to study concerning the language, whereas others examine the script full time.
Efforts to protect information of the script had been fairly profitable at first – in 1982, 200 folks might learn Dongba and by 1985, 1,700 might accomplish that. The Chinese language authorities phased out Naxi language instructing within the late 80s, however not too long ago, efforts have been made to start out instructing the language once more, and since 1998, the folks from Lijiang have been receiving free tuition on the Dongba language, tradition and dancing, with the purpose of transmitting this historical information to the approaching generations.
Digital applied sciences are sometimes criticized for selling linguistic and cultural homogenization, with fewer than 100 languages actively used on-line. Nevertheless, these applied sciences may also function invaluable instruments for preserving and revitalizing the linguistic and cultural range that types a part of humanity’s heritage. This mission is on the coronary heart of the Worldwide Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), an initiative led by UNESCO since its launch.
In help of the Decade’s aims, UNESCO, in collaboration with the Nationwide Institute for Oriental Languages and Cultures (Inalco, France), the College of Geneva (Switzerland), and the Beijing Language and Tradition College (BLCU, China), launched a Large Open On-line Course (MOOC) on Dongba, the script of the Naxi ethnic minority from Yunnan, China.
High picture: Naxi Dongba work in Lijiang, China. Supply: kiwisoul/Adobe Inventory
References
Faldt, A. Animal Symbols within the Pictographic Script of the Naxi Individuals.
Mi Chu Wiens. Dwelling Pictographs. Asian Scholar Unlocks Secrets and techniques of the Naxi Manuscripts. Out there at:
Unknown. The Naxi ethnic minority. Available at:
Rock. J. Legend of the Naxi People (Video Series). Available at:
Unknown. Omniglot. Naxi Scripts. Available at:
Unknown. Naxi Script Resource Centre. Available at:
