Bai - Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Traditionally, the Bai believed in abstract heavenly spirits and natural spirits. Later, these beliefs came to be mixed with beliefs in tutelary spirits, Buddhism, and Daoism. Buddhism appeared in the Dali area during the ninth century and remained a strong force up until 1949. The three famous white pagodas that still stand in Dali were once part of a large Buddhist temple. Christian missionaries made some inroads in the twentieth century, but converts were generally regarded with suspicion and sometimes ostracized by their families. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) most temples were destroyed and religious practices forbidden. Since the early 1980s, the Chinese government has taken a more lenient view of religion, and the people have rebuilt many of the temples and revived many Daoist associations. However, religious practice is now confined mainly to the older generations.

Religious Practitioners. The mix of religious beliefs spawned a mélange of part-time specialists trained in dancing and singing for religious ceremonies, semiprofessional Buddhist masters, and formal Buddhist monks and nuns. Associations for worshipers of Daoist deities also existed. The influence of all of these practitioners has declined under Communist rule.

Ceremonies. The largest religious event was the Guanyin Festival (linked with the Third Month Market). The festival commemorated the legendary seventh-century visitation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin to Mount Cangshan and drew many worshipers as well as traders and merchants from afar. In addition, every village, at least once a year, held a ceremony and sacrifices for the feast day of the local gods. Other festivals included the Butterfly Festival, Rao San Ling, and the Torch Festival.

Arts. Singing and dancing have been an important part of Bai religious ceremonies and festivals. The people often produced dramas influenced by Buddhist themes on temple stages. Some temples still hold performances today, although religious themes are no longer prevalent.

Medicine. The Bai generally thought that sickness was tied to having offended a tutelary spirit or to having been possessed by a malevolent spirit. Religious semispecialists or shamans, using medicinal herbs, songs, and chants, worked as doctors and exorcists and received food and money as payment.

Death and Afterlife. The Bai believed that worship of ancestors protected the living by linking them to dead spirits. Buddhism engendered a belief in the afterlife and reincarnation. The Bai also believed strongly in poltergeists. Originally the Bai cremated their dead, but under Chinese influence they came to bury the dead in quite elaborate marble tombs. At present the government encourages cremation in order to conserve land.