Yao Taoism, also called Meishanism (Meishanjiao, "religion of the Plum Mountain"), is a branch of Taoism practiced by the Yao or Mien people of China (mainly in Hunan Province and Guangxi Province), with diasporas living in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. The Yao adopted Taoism in the 13th century, translating Taoist scriptures from Chinese to their languages, and incorporating the new religion into their culture and ancestral worship. As a result, Yao Taoism is strictly bound to Yao culture, but at the same time its pantheon and practice is more conservative than that of Han-Chinese Taoism, which has evolved differently since the 14th century. Later, Yao Taoism exhibits similarities with early communitarian Taoism. Also, Yao Taoism is combined by some neighboring Han-Chinese people into their religious practices.
Priesthood
The Yao Taoist priesthood is composed of high priests, the tsow say ong, who perform rites for the higher gods of the pantheon ("above the sky") and officiate funeral rites, while lesser priests or shamans, the sip mien, perform rituals for the lesser gods ("under the sky").
The sai nzung sou is the book of ceremonies for inviting the mienv zoux ziouv, good spirits who protect the location. The mienv morh are angry spirits who cause sickness and tragedy.
House altar
The mienv baaih is the Yao Taoist altar of the spirits built in every house, in a place easily visible from the main door. Its aim is welcoming the spirits (mienv). The mienv kuv is a tablet with the names of the ancestors of the family placed upon the altar; another custom is the use of pictures of the ancestors instead of the tablets.
Rituals and psychology
After the death of a person, the priests perform the zoux caeqv, a ceremony to deliver the person's body from sin. Then the priest perform a water ritual, the zoux sin, for purifying the person's dead body from evil spirits. Subsequently the priest performs the doh dangh caeqv jaiv, a ceremony to purify the soul of the dead person from the influence of evil spirits.
The zoux sin-seix is an ending ritual to give the spirit a peaceful after-life and happiness in the new generation to come, since Yao Taoists believe in the hoz seix or reincarnation. Other practices involve spirit money and sacrifice.
See also
- Chinese folk religion
- Confucianism
- Satsana Phi
- Ua Dab
Bibliography
- Edward L. Davis. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Routledge, 2005. ISBN 0415241294
- Eli Alberts. A History of Daoism and the Yao People of South China. Cambria Press, 2007. ISBN 1934043141
Notes
References
- ^ a b Edward L. Davis. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. ¶ Daoism among minority nationalities
- ^ a b Joel John Barlow. Yao Taoism.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Alejandro Cardeinte. The Mien People.
External links
- Tao ordination in Yao Mien village Ban Jhongka in Muang Sing district, Luang Namtha province, Laos
