OTHER THEMES IN SW COLLECTION
agriculture
communications
community activities
culture and customs
development
economics
employment and income
environment
family life
food security
forestry
gender
history
livestock
migration
population
social change
social relationships
traditional skills
water

THEMES IN NE COLLECTION
agriculture
communications
culture and customs
development
economics
environment
family life
gender
health
migration
social change

BACKGROUND
introducing the china collections

spiritual beliefs in the southwest collection

 quotes
 key testimonies

These interviews are with Yi, Miao, Wa, Yao and Lahu people, who traditionally believed in a number of gods and worshipped their ancestors. With the introduction of Buddhism to China, some Yi and Lahu groups became followers of Buddha. Some Miao converted to Christianity, along with a smaller number of Lahu. The Wa people were also originally polytheistic, believing that mountains, rivers and other natural phenomena had their own deities. Now the Wa include followers of Christianity and of Buddhism.

Thus while most Chinese ethnic groups have their own religious beliefs, and distinctive festivals and practices, people within them also follow world religions - and these accounts seem to bear this out. These narrators include a number of Christians, for example, and they mention different denominations: Xiaojinjiao (literally, small Christianity); Dajinjiao (literally, big Christianity); Neidihui (China Inland Mission) and Anxihui (Seventh Day Adventists). One woman's interesting family history reveals that her father was able to continue as a practising Christian throughout the Cultural Revolution, partly it seems because he neither wanted nor attempted to "spread [these beliefs] publicly" (China 12). Although they were the only Christian family in the village, he clearly commanded a lot of respect in the community and his children followed in his spiritual path. The older sons, however, are now in government service, and the interviewer comments, "to reach a certain rank or government position, one has to be a communist". Their sister explains: "I was, and I am still a [Christian] believer. All my sisters are believers, except my two elder brothers who don't believe in any religion, because they are government staff and they are leaders… [but they] have very good temperaments. They dare not tell us to stop believing."

People also describe traditional beliefs and also healing rituals, apparently not always successful. One 72-year-old Wa woman (China 10) recalls "the most difficult time" she had giving birth: "It took me three days and two nights to deliver [my son]… we had no doctors around. A midwife of the village looked after me… She saw that I had difficulty with the delivery so she asked my husband to find a white cock to be (to represent?) a spirit…but [still] the baby was not able to come out. Finally, my husband got very anxious [and] he got some herbal medicine for me. The third day my son was born… I almost died..."

Natuo, a Lahu widow in her 80s (China 15), discusses a number of her people's beliefs and practices, in particular the ceremony known as jiaohun ("calling the spirit"). This is a traditional Lahu practice through which ancestors' spirits who are troubling their living relatives - causing illness, for example - are persuaded to leave their families in peace. Natuo says she is not the only one who still knows how to perform this. In contrast, an energetic and committed agricultural fieldworker (China 16) is a firm believer in the value of scientific knowledge and has no time for any religion or the old traditions, especially if they involve sacrifices of valuable livestock. Aged 22, she expresses her frustration thus: "When people are sick, they don't go to the hospital - they kill a pig [to get rid of troublesome spirits]. So the pigs and chickens are used up in this way, and life in the village becomes more difficult. It doesn't bring any benefits." They perform jiaohun, she says, "because they don't have scientific knowledge… some people get well, but some can't. It doesn't have any benefits."

Interestingly, the Miao woman (China 12) whose father was Christian became a doctor. She is keen to emphasise that her branch of Christianity is not anti-progress or science: "…we want to follow [government] policy, and we want scientific knowledge too…[and] we are religious… There is only one church [here], no one believes in Xiaojiao (a different branch of Christianity). Some people who believe in Xiajiao don't work but wait for Jesus to take them to heaven. We don't believe like that."

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quotes about spiritual beliefs

"This is the place for burning joss sticks…to the god of your house. This ritual is passed on to us from the older generations… Even when we have no pain and no disease, we still have to burn the joss sticks in the direction of sunrise. All the traditions passed on by the older generations - we have to maintain them."
Natuo, 80/F, Lahu, China 15

"My dad has been religious since he was very young. He said some foreign missionaries came here; before that he didn't believe in religion… it was the minister Luo from Britain who came…the British came to do the missionary work… we felt that their teaching was very good. They didn't teach us to be thieves, or to treat people badly. They all taught us to do good things…"
Xuefeng, 41/F, doctor, Miao, China 12

"Most of the educated young people don't believe in any religion. Some were not happy even when they kill large pigs [to get rid of troublesome spirits causing illness] … If non-religious people have a pig worth 100 yuan, they will raise and feed it well… [Then] they will sell it and get 500 to 600 yuan. When they are ill, they will go to the village clinic. It's better to be like that."
Ah, 22/F, agricultural extension worker, Lahu, China 16

"Those religious people, they spend a lot of time at home, planting less maize or dry paddy [than others do], so that they don't have enough to eat. This practice affects their productivity."
Ah, 22/F, agricultural extension worker, Lahu, China 16

"At that time, the political atmosphere was not open to religion; my dad always taught us in secret… Although my dad was religious, he was never against the policy [of the time]. So during the Cultural Revolution, when people criticised and denounced those religious people, they never did that to my dad; instead, they respected my dad very much… Besides, he never [tried to] spread the religion."
Xuefeng, 41/F, doctor, Miao, China 12

"There are many benefits for people in being religious… the followers won't hurt people, they won't do harm... They are not greedy, they don't steal… [but] if you do the [traditional] spirit dance, you have to pay much money. If an old person dies, one needs to pay several hundred yuan to get them to dance… We Christians, if we help people, they would just need to pay 2 or 3 yuan, 8 or 10 yuan. We love people from the heart…We organise to bury the dead person, that's all."
Guangzhen, 45/F, Yi, China 24

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