Ritual Wooden Dragon
This wooden stick bears seven characters in the Yi script, the number 35, and depictions of a dragon’s head, scales, and tail. Among the Yi and other minorities in Southwest China and Southeast Asia, the dragon—often associated with netherworld serpent beings known in Sanskrit as nāgas—holds a central role in Bimoism (from bimo, meaning “master of scriptures”), the indigenous religion of the Yi people. Dragon-worship rituals aim to avert natural disasters and promote abundant harvests. Moreover, in Chuxiong, central Yunnan, Yi families place spirit tablets of deceased parents next to the Lord Dragon, praying for the well-being of their community and livestock. Elsewhere in Yunnan, dragons are believed to dwell in forested areas near water sources and are the focus of rituals to ensure abundant water supplies.
The “Dragon Worship Scripture,” a major Yi ritual text, links the Dragon God to ancestor worship. Once united with the god, ancestral souls are said to empower him to protect the living and to grant fertility and well-being. Another key text, the “Scripture of Ritual Offerings: Medicinal Remedies and Sacrificial Animals” explains that during mourning rites, the bimo holds a torch in one hand and a dragon-headed wooden stick in the other, performing an exorcism to heal the soul of the departed and guide it toward the path of light. The stick on display was likely used in such ceremonies.
The “Dragon Worship Scripture,” a major Yi ritual text, links the Dragon God to ancestor worship. Once united with the god, ancestral souls are said to empower him to protect the living and to grant fertility and well-being. Another key text, the “Scripture of Ritual Offerings: Medicinal Remedies and Sacrificial Animals” explains that during mourning rites, the bimo holds a torch in one hand and a dragon-headed wooden stick in the other, performing an exorcism to heal the soul of the departed and guide it toward the path of light. The stick on display was likely used in such ceremonies.
- Item No.
- E00687
- Notes
- Yi ethnic group
