Dongba Text of the Naxi People in Pictographic Script

People's Republic (1949�present), dated 1950

Annals of Creation in Pictographic Script, with Accompanying Translation in Chinese

Manuscript of 18 double leaves, ink and color on paper, stitchbound on left side; each leaf: approx. 20.1 x 28.0 cm

Naxi pictographic script on upper register of each leaf, divided into 4 horizontal rows; each row is subdivided at irregular intervals with single or double lines; Chinese translation on lower register in 5 to 8 horizontal rows

Inventory number: 227055

Naxi pictographic script, said to have been invented by King Moubao Azong in the thirteenth century, is made of tiny stylized drawings of people, animals, plants, and so forth.� Like Tibetan, it is written horizontally and is read from left to right.� The script was invented for exclusive use by the dongba (priests) to aid in the recitation of ritual texts during funerary rites, religious ceremonies, and shamanistic rituals as it did not have the tonal shortcomings of the earlier phonetic script.� Most elements of the script are associated with a concept, not a sound, and not every word has to be written down, only as much as is needed to remind the reader of the text's contents.

The Annals of Creation is a Naxi creation myth that is above all a ritual text.� It is best comprehended as a magic formula by which the power of the Word replays and consequently recreates the origins of the world, reproducing the good things of life (such as the Naxi people) and keeping the evil elements (such as ghosts and demons) at bay.� It is a wonderful epic poem recited in five-syllable verses that tells not only of the things in the Creation but of all human feelings, power, desire, fear and hope and combines moments of majestic drama with pathos, suspense, and humor.