ethnic minority religion
This chapter discusses the wide range of religious beliefs and practices among the minority communities of China. It begins by considering the problematic nature of ethnic categorizations in China and the role of politics and economic changes in shaping ethnic identity and religious revivals. Case studies then present the examples of the indigenous Dongba shamanism of the Naxi, the Buddhism of the Tibetans, Islam among the Uyghur, and the Christianity of the Miao.
Background: Minority ethnicity and religion in china
Although non-Han ethnic minorities make up less than 3% of China's population, they are the majority in borderland areas and provinces in China's Northeast, North, West and Southwest which cover over 50% of China's land mass. Today, there are 55 officially designated "minority nationalities" in China, based on surveys conducted in the 1950s; but many of the classifications are arbitrary. Many groups straddle China's borders with neighbouring countries. Ethnic minority populations construct their identity in relation to local, national and transnational contexts. Some ethnic groups practice their indigenous, animist and shamanistic traditions (Naxi, Yi, Oroqen...); others such as the Zhuang and Yao include a strong Daoist element. Some groups (Dai, Tibetans and Mongols) are predominantly Buddhist, others are primarily Muslim including the Hui, Uyghurs and Kazakh. Christianity is practiced in a few ethnic groups, including large numbers of Lisu, Miao and Koreans.
case 1: the dongba religion of the naxi
Dongba culture website, contains documents and videos.
On the pictographic script of the Dongba, click here.
Video: The Forgotten Kingdom: Describes a research expedition of the University of Nottingham on Dongba art, script and religion.
Video: A Dongba blessing ceremony (artificially staged at the Rubin Museum of Art).
Lecture on Naxi culture and pictographs by Dr. Michael Oppitz, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Zurich.
Video (in Chinese) giving a brief introduction to Dongba religion and rituals.
The Naxi manuscript collection at the Library of Congress: a digital repository.
On the pictographic script of the Dongba, click here.
Video: The Forgotten Kingdom: Describes a research expedition of the University of Nottingham on Dongba art, script and religion.
Video: A Dongba blessing ceremony (artificially staged at the Rubin Museum of Art).
Lecture on Naxi culture and pictographs by Dr. Michael Oppitz, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Zurich.
Video (in Chinese) giving a brief introduction to Dongba religion and rituals.
The Naxi manuscript collection at the Library of Congress: a digital repository.
case 2: tibetan buddhism
Basic introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
A brief introduction to Tibetan Buddhism focusing on its spiritual practices and relationship to other Buddhist traditions.
A selection of articles on Tibetan Buddhism. Also here.
Basic Concepts of Tibetan Buddhism, along with a photographic exhibition of Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings (Brown University).
An online resource on Tibetan Buddhism in the West and Western reformulations of Tibetan Buddhism.
Wisdom and Compassion Buddhist Net: The portal of Khenpo Sonam Darge, a Tibetan monk whose teachings are very popular among the Han of mainland China.
Soundtrack: Ritual music of Tibetan Buddhism
Documentary film: The Yogis of Tibet
Documentary film: The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Tibetan Buddhist views of the afterlife, based on a key scripture (the Bardo Thodol) and the ethnography of a Tibetan funeral.
YouTube Playlist: Tibetan Buddhist Practices: teaches how to practice Tibetan mantras, prayers and ritual operations.
Website of the Lodrowo Lung monastery in Tibet (in Chinese)
Series of documentary videos (in Chinese) on the history, sects and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
A brief introduction to Tibetan Buddhism focusing on its spiritual practices and relationship to other Buddhist traditions.
A selection of articles on Tibetan Buddhism. Also here.
Basic Concepts of Tibetan Buddhism, along with a photographic exhibition of Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings (Brown University).
An online resource on Tibetan Buddhism in the West and Western reformulations of Tibetan Buddhism.
Wisdom and Compassion Buddhist Net: The portal of Khenpo Sonam Darge, a Tibetan monk whose teachings are very popular among the Han of mainland China.
Soundtrack: Ritual music of Tibetan Buddhism
Documentary film: The Yogis of Tibet
Documentary film: The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Tibetan Buddhist views of the afterlife, based on a key scripture (the Bardo Thodol) and the ethnography of a Tibetan funeral.
YouTube Playlist: Tibetan Buddhist Practices: teaches how to practice Tibetan mantras, prayers and ritual operations.
Website of the Lodrowo Lung monastery in Tibet (in Chinese)
Series of documentary videos (in Chinese) on the history, sects and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
case 3: islam in china
Islam in China: The Religion of the Pure and True. An introduction to the history and contemporary situation of the Hui Muslims in China, published in a British Muslim magazine and arguing that the Hui offer a model to Western Muslims on the harmonious adaptation of their religion to a non-Muslim land.
Islam in China: a historical account.
Islam in China blog: A rich resource on Chinese Muslims, their culture and society. There is also a sister website on "all things at the intersection Chinese, Islamic, Muslim and everything in between."
Website on Islam in the Peoples' Republic of China
Website on Muslim ethnic minorities in China
Documentary on the situation of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang
Journeys into Islamic China: a series of documentaries on Muslim communities in Beijing, Ningxia, Kashgar, Xi'an, Taraz, and among Muslim ethnic minorities.
Islam in Hong Kong -- a Pearl TV report.
Islam in China: a historical account.
Islam in China blog: A rich resource on Chinese Muslims, their culture and society. There is also a sister website on "all things at the intersection Chinese, Islamic, Muslim and everything in between."
Website on Islam in the Peoples' Republic of China
Website on Muslim ethnic minorities in China
Documentary on the situation of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang
Journeys into Islamic China: a series of documentaries on Muslim communities in Beijing, Ningxia, Kashgar, Xi'an, Taraz, and among Muslim ethnic minorities.
Islam in Hong Kong -- a Pearl TV report.
case 4: christianity among the LISU and the miao
Christian news video, on a Lisu village in Yunnan
Ethnographic documentary on Christmas among the Lisu
Video of a church choir in a Christian Miao village
Video documentary: shamanistic ritual of the Miao indigenous religion
Flirting rituals in the traditional customs of the "Flower Miao": Part 1; part 2; part 3.
Ethnographic documentary on Christmas among the Lisu
Video of a church choir in a Christian Miao village
Video documentary: shamanistic ritual of the Miao indigenous religion
Flirting rituals in the traditional customs of the "Flower Miao": Part 1; part 2; part 3.