On the Cultural Implications of the Dietary Customs of the Naxi People

Yang+Fuquan

Abstract：This paper discusses the cultural meanings of the Naxi ethnic groups food customs from six perspectives. First， the paper discusses the food traditions as reflected in the Naxi manuscripts of the indigenous Naxi Dongba religion， and their continuity in the contemporary daily life of the Naxi. Some of the food customs described in the manuscripts are still present in the daily lives of the Naxi people in various areas. Second， the paper focuses on the relationship between food taboos and folk beliefs； Third， the paper focuses on the ritual food and their relationship with the concepts of water and soil （水土） ； Fourth the paper focuses on the integration of Naxi food and diet with that of other ethnic groups； Fifth， the paper focuses on the relationship of gender and generation as reflected in food and eating customs. Finally the paper provides a conclusion， that the dietary culture of the Naxi people has a long history which changed along with historic and social change， and which merged with the dietary cultures of other ethnic groups. In this way there has been considerable innovation in the dietary culture of the Naxi people.

The historic dietary customs of the Naxi people recorded in the ancient Dongba pictographic manuscripts can be seen in present daily life， for example， the custom， and particular technique of pickling fish. Secondly， the paper analyzes the specific food taboos of the Naxi people and their relationship with folk beliefs. For instance， it is forbidden to eat the meat of dog， cat， horse， and frog. Such food taboos are related to the sacred epics in the Naxi manuscripts， such as the cosmology story of the Migration of Human Beings as recorded in Dongba texts. This story tells how the first male ancestor of the Naxi married the daughter of the God of Heaven who had fallen in love with him， and that afterwards， the dog and cat brought food from heaven to earth for the Naxi people. Therefore， the Naxi people are very thankful to dogs and cats， and they have to feed them the first piece of meat from the pigs head on the eve of the lunar New Year. With regard to the taboo of the family of Sv. Sv is the powerful spirit of nature， and the half brother of humans. According to Naxi folklore and religious stories， Sv and humans have the same father but different mothers. Accordingly， it is forbidden to eat frogs and snakes because they are family members of Sv. Some food taboos of the Naxi people are related to beliefs which from outside cultures， for instance， the scaleless fish found in the Black Dragon Pool of Lijiang Old Town are forbidden to be eaten because they are believed to belong to the dragon.

Some particular foods relating to the sacred manuscripts have become the sacred food for the Naxi. For example， it is said that the three sons of the first couple of Naxi ancestors were not able to speak. The couple sent the white bat to go to heaven to inquire the reason why. Through his cleverness， the bat obtained the secret—the reason was that the couple had not performed the ritual of sacrificing to Heaven. Since then the couple held the ritual to sacrifice to Heaven. Then， one day， the three sons saw a horse come to a turnip field to eat a turnip， and they all spoke a sentence in three different languages saying： Look！ The horse is eating a turnip！ The son who spoke the sentence in Tibetan became the ancestor of Tibetans， the one who spoke in the Naxi language became the ancestor of the Naxi， and the one who spoke in the Bai language became the ancestor of the Bai people. Since then， the turnip is often used as one of the sacred food in rituals.

The Naxi people use various foods as offerings to the gods and demons； they use popcorn and rice， and wheat for the gods， and buckwheat for the demons. The reason for this might be that wheat， rice and corn are regular foods for human beings， whereas buckwheat is only grown in high， cold areas and is not a regular daily food. Therefore， the Naxi offer the daily food of human beings to the gods while offering irregularly eaten food to the demons. The Dongba manuscripts also describe that the Naxi offer cliff honey and milk to the gods.

Along with the development and integration of the food culture which came in from the outside， the food of Naxi itself also changed and developed. During the late Ming dynasty， at the invitation of Mu Zeng， the chieftain of Lijiang Prefecture， the famous Chinese traveler Xu Xiake came to Lijiang， the capital city of Naxi people. Xu Xiake was welcomed by Mu Zeng with a banquet of 81 “big” dishes which were placed on tip of green pine needles spread on the ground. From the travel diary of Xu Xiake， and the other historic records， one can learn that the food and diet of the Han， Tibetans and Bai had all been introduced to the Naxi people. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasty， more food and cuisines were introduced to the Naxi people and integrated into the Naxi indigenous diet. Since then，the Naxi diet has become quite varied and rich， including the so-called “ Six Bowls of Dishes”， and “Eight Bowls of Dishes” with a variety of food. Later on the most lavish banquet called “san di shui” （three drops of water literally） appeared among the dietary customs of the Naxi—actually it is a banquet consisting of 18， or even more， courses.

Naxi people also regard certain foods as symbolizing auspiciousness. For example， if a Naxi family hosts a wedding， they must prepare a dish of red melon seeds which symbolizes good luck. This particular kind of red melon seeds is believed to have been brought to Lijiang by the army of Kublai Khan when it came to conquer the Dali Kingdom in 1253.

Gender roles and generational ranking are also related to the eating customs of the Naxi. Traditionally， if a family has a meal in the main room， which is called “Ji Mei” （meaning Mother Room）， the seats of the elders of the family are arranged on the northern side of the room in front of the fireplace， which is beside the shrine. In the past， women did not eat together with men during a banquet. Only after the elders began to eat， could the others begin their food. There are also specific “noble” seats in ritual dinners， for example， during the meal eaten during the worship of Heaven ritual. Now， such customs are changing， and men and women eat together at the same table during banquets.

After the Han style hearth was introduced to the Naxi people， the traditional fireplace with its iron tripod was still used for rituals， for example， worshipping the gods and ancestors， and the performance of several other rituals. On the other hand， the function of daily cooking was mainly done using the introduced Han style hearth.

The Naxi people believe the food has a close relationship with local water and soil. For instance， they believe only when the famous Naxi flat bread （baba） is cooked with local spring water， would it be delicious. Naxi people also believe that the local soil is useful for the health when one travels outside ones hometown. For instance， the Naxi people of Sanba township of Shangri-la county of Yunnan had a tradition of bringing some small stones from the local sacred spring with them when they traveled to foreign places. If they did not feel comfortable outside of their hometown， they would grind the stones， and drink them with some water. They believed that by doing this， they will recover.

The culture of food and diet of the Naxi people has a long history and it has changed along with historic development and integration with the food and diet from outside cultures， including those of the Han， Tibetan and Bai. The Naxi people， even when they live in different places， still keep their traditional food culture. In Lijiang， because the Naxi people have more communications with outside cultures， the food culture has more variety， and is integrated with that of the Han， Tibetan and Bai. Thus， their food and diet are very diverse in terms of ingredients， cooking methods and their understanding of the nutrition of food. The gender roles of cooking and eating are also changing along with social changes. At present， more and more Naxi people pay attention to the security and health of their diet and food. Local pigs， and chickens fed with natural food are becoming more and more welcomed by the local people， and some even reserve pigs for the Spring Festival of the lunar year early， and ask the farmers who raise their reserved pig to feed it only with natural food without artificial feed. The local pigs of Stone City of Lijiang have been inscribed as the one of the national livestock and poultry genetic resources. The culture of food and diet of Naxi will continue to develop gradually with new changes that accompany the present social changes.

Key Words：anthropology of food； Naxi ethnic group； dietary culture； cultural implications

References：

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Yang Fuquan.dongbajiao tonglun（General Introduction to Dongba Religion）. Beijing：zhonghua shuju，2009.