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NICHOLAS TAPP
of the Xishuang Banna area of Southern Yunnan (the Dai account for 59 of Yunnan's 130 counties), almost all Buddhist temples were destroyed in 1965 and 1966, or converted into store-houses, mainly by the people themselves acting under policy directives. In 1980 a similar revival of religiosity took place among the Dai as the new policies of liberalisation began to penetrate the minority areas. Almost every village built a new temple, traditionally the focus of religious and much secular sentiment and exchanges in the Dai communities, and moreover despatched novices of 7-8 years old to be ordained in them. Recently, however, this intensity of fervour has slackened somewhat: fewer novices are being ordained, there are less bun-(merit) making activities undertaken by the villagers, and in general less religious enthusiasm among the young.
However, there is no doubt that under the impact of these and similar policies, religiosity has been greatly reinforced among the Buddhist Dai as among the Christian A Hmo, while in the Naxi areas of Northwest Yunnan, locally sponsored Lamaist temples have been re-opened and practising priests may be visited. It is appropriate to point out here the great importance attached to literacy (and hence to education) by many of the national minorities, and the close connection this often has with religious, and therefore ethnic, sentiments. The extraordinary pictographic writing of the Naxi, for example, of which we have good records from the last century, is still in use and very much revered as the repository of the sacred wisdom of these people, in which blessings and spells are still inscribed. The Christianity of the A Hmo, as I have described at length elsewhere (Tapp 1985), originated from the importance they attached to the missionary-invented script for their language, which was the first they had known. As with their Christian faith today, it is often denied that the script has not always been their possession, and it remains in many ways at the core of their faith today. Particular social conflicts have arisen owing to the use of the Pollard script, as the original script is known, and other forms of script introduced later for the language. These different scripts are used by different groups owing to their previous affiliations with different Christian denominations. Again, among the Dai there has recently been a return to the old, Mon script, in which temple records and historical chronicles are
110
NICHOLAS TAPP
of the Xishuang Banna area of Southern Yunnan (the Dai account for 59 of Yunnan's 130 counties), almost all Buddhist temples were destroyed in 1965 and 1966, or converted into store-houses, mainly by the people themselves acting under policy directives. In 1980 a similar revival of religiosity took place among the Dai as the new policies of liberalisation began to penetrate the minority areas. Almost every village built a new temple, traditionally the focus of religious and much secular sentiment and exchanges in the Dai communities, and moreover despatched novices of 7-8 years old to be ordained in them. Recently, however, this intensity of fervour has slackened somewhat: fewer novices are being or- dained, there are less bun-(merit) making activities undertaken by the villagers, and in general less religious enthusiasm among the
young.
However, there is no doubt that under the impact of these and similar policies, religiosity has been greatly reinforced among the Buddhist Dai as among the Christian A Hmo, while in the Naxi areas of Northwest Yunnan, locally sponsored Lamaist temples have been re-opened and practising priests may be visited. It is appropriate to point out here the great importance attached to literacy (and hence to education) by many of the national minor- ities, and the close connection this often has with religious, and therefore ethnic, sentiments. The extraordinary pictographic writ- ing of the Naxi, for example, of which we have good records from the last century, is still in use and very much revered as the reposi- tory of the sacred wisdom of these people, in which blessings and spells are still inscribed. The Christianity of the A Hmo, as I have described at length elsewhere (Tapp 1985), originated from the importance they attached to the missionary-invented script for their language, which was the first they had known. As with their Christian faith today, it is often denied that the script has not always been their possession, and it remains in many ways at the core of their faith today. Particular social conflicts have arisen owing to the use of the Pollard script, as the original script is known, and other forms of script introduced later for the language. These different scripts are used by different groups owing to their previous affiliations with different Christian denominations. Again, among the Dai there has recently been a return to the old, Mon script, in which temple records and historical chronicles are
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