About the Art

The art and captions in Words from the Fire appear courtesy of Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington.

Frontispiece

Scroll, Scripture. Object #1998–83/366—Scroll, Scripture [Culture: Shama Qubi clan, Yynuo, Nuosu, Yi, Kuhemo Village, Tuomu District, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] [Locale: Kuhemo Village, Tuomu District, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] Gift of the Blakemore Foundation.

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Nuosu books are produced in a script that was traditionally written from right to left and up to down with a handmade bamboo pen dipped in the rosin ink and bound into a scroll. The bamboo pen is made from a thin bamboo stick attached with a small bundle of goat wool at one end. Sometimes a sharpened bamboo stick is used directly.

The paper, purchased from the Han Chinese, is made of a kind of green bamboo and is quite durable for folding. The paper is usually cut into a rectangule and folded into a book. A bamboo stick is cut into halves and sewn to one side of the book. The first and last few pages of the book are left blank for the front and back cover.

After the priest finishes writing, the paper is rolled up from the bamboo rollers and wrapped with a handwoven cloth of hemp or cotton. The scroll is tied with a linen string attached at the end of the cloth. Lastly, the name of the scripture is written on the wrapping.

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Bbahxa Ayuosse by Qubi Shuomo. Object #1998–83/102—Scroll, Painting [Culture: Vuqie Qubi clan, Yynuo, Nuosu, Yi, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] [Locale: Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] Gift of the Blakemore Foundation.

This Nuosu ritual painting is of the magical python Bbahxa Ayuosse or Bbahxa Arrysse, one of the supernatural helpers of the Nuosu hero Zhyge Alu. The Nuosu epic Hnewo Teyy states that Zhyge Alu transformed into a dragon, dove into the ocean, and fought with the ferocious python Bbahxa Ayuosse. At last, Zhyge subdued the python, and the python became his helper. According to scholars, the python is probably a crocodile-like animal. Later on, the image of the python gradually changes into a dragon.

One of the Nuosu scriptures states that “the magical python Ayuosse lives at the bottom of the Henuo Sea, stands at the top of a high mountain, and drinks the water of Amoheni. It appears in one’s house only in response to the priest’s call. It detects leprosy and swallows the leper ghost; it searches for tuberculosis and swallows the tuberculosis ghost; it searches for frogs and swallows snakes. The magical python Ayuosse breaks off every stubborn disease with a sword, eradicating all kinds of epidemics!”

This ritual art is hand painted with a bamboo brush. A handmade bamboo pen is dipped with the rosin ink and mounted into a scroll.

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Mesh Bag, Priest’s. Courtesy of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Catalog Number 1998–83/358. Object #1998–83/358—Mesh Bag, Priest’s [Culture: Shama Qubi clan, Yynuo, Nuosu, Yi, Tuomu District, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] [Locale: Tuomu District, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] Gift of the Blakemore Foundation.

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Zhyge Alu by Qubi Shuomo. Object #1998–83/103—Scroll, Painting [Culture: Vuqie Qubi clan, Yynuo, Nuosu, Yi, Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] [Locale: Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China] Gift of the Blakemore Foundation.

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In the Yi creation epic Hnewo Teyy, the hero who shoots the suns, Zhyge Alu, was born at the dragon hour on the dragon day of the dragon month in the dragon year. He is the son of a dragon and an eagle, and has supernatural strength and special abilities to bring down magic and suppress ghosts. Every Nuosu household has stories and myths about him. In the spirit pictures drawn by bimo, his form dominates; the bimo use strong, simple lines to capture his magical powers and his strange and divine efforts.

This is his image as frequently seen in bimo ritual texts and in the spirit...