Qiang Folk Religion

Qiang folk religion is the indigenous religion of the majority of the Qiang people, an ethnic group of Sichuan, China who are closely related to the Han Chinese and the Tibetans. Qiang are best known in the West for occupying the same region as giant pandas. Qiang folk religion is pantheistic, involving the worship of a variety of gods of nature and of human affairs (including Qiang ancestors). The Qiang practice shamanism, animism, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, and the local White Stone Religion. White stones are worshipped since it is believed they can be invested with the power of certain gods through rituals. They believe in an overarching god called Mubyasei (God of Heaven) which is connected to the Chinese concept of Tian (the supreme power reigning over lesser gods and human beings) and clearly identified by the Qiang with the Taoist-originated Jade Emperor. In Daoist theology, the Jade Emperor is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones (the three primordial emanations of the Tao). There are many stories in Chinese mythology involving the Jade Emperor. In one story, a powerful, evil entity was ambitious to conquer the immortals and gods in heaven and proclaim sovereignty over the entire universe. The Emperor ascended to heaven and saw that the evil entity was too powerful to be stopped by the gods. He challenged it, and they fought. Due to his deeper and wiser cultivation, his benevolence instead of his might, the Jade Emperor won the battle. Because of his noble and benevolent deeds, the gods, immortals, and humans proclaimed the Jade Emperor the supreme sovereign of all. The Heavenly God is the most important deity. It protects people and their animals and is venerated in shrines inside every house. These shrines are also used to worship the gods of the family: the ancestors' god, the goddess of the women, and the gods of the men. There are a number of Qiang myths about the creation of mankind through the union of a daughter of a heaven god and an earthly monkey. Qiang religious ceremonies and rituals are directed by priests called, in Chinese, duāngōng. They are shamans who acquire their position through years of training with a teacher. Duāngōng are the custodians of Qiang theology, history and mythology. They also administer the coming of age ceremony for 18-year-old boys, called the "sitting on top of the mountain" which involves the boy's entire family going to a mountain top to sacrifice a sheep or cow and plant three cypress trees. Shaman heal people, preside over ceremonies, and recite texts while beating upon a goatskin drum. Festivals and ceremonies often involve the invocation of spirits through the burning of juniper branches. These are performed while sitting around a campfire outdoors. Two of the most important Qiang religious holidays are the autumnal Qiang New Year when sacrifices are offered to the God of Heaven, and the Mountain Sacrifice Festival honoring the god of mountains which is held between the second and the sixth month of the lunar calendar.