Categories: HISTORY

Dongba: The Last Hieroglyph and the Struggle to Save Naxi Culture


The Dongba symbols are an ancient system of pictographic glyphs created by the founder of the Bön religious tradition of Tibet and used by the Naxi people in southern China.  Historical records show that this unique script was used as early as the 7th century, during the early Tang Dynasty, however, research conducted last year showed that its origins may date back as far as 7,000 years ago.   Incredibly, the Dongba symbols continue to be used by the elders of the Naxi people, making it the only hieroglyphic language still used in the world today.

The Naxi People and Their Mountainous Homeland

The Naxi people lived in the beautiful mountain province of Yunnan (“south of the clouds”) for thousands of years, where they developed their own rich and enduring culture. Today, most of the 270,000 Naxi people in county of Lijiang where they retain many of their ancient traditions.



Source link

Mainedigitalnews.com

Share
Published by
Mainedigitalnews.com

Recent Posts

Slow-Motion Gives Forced Migrants the Chance to Move at Their Own Speed

By Dmitrii Zenkov. To make theatre with forced migrants in Serbia, Dmitrii Zenkov knew he…

2 days ago

Rangers 2026 draft lottery odds

Breakup day has come and gone with little fanfare and only one real “interesting” piece…

2 days ago

Bitcoin Drops to $74K as US-Iran Tensions Flare

Bitcoin erased its weekend gains as it fell below $74,000 on Sunday after the US…

2 days ago

Michael Jackson film set to be a controversial hit

All the same, the allegations remain a part of Jackson's life story, complicating the attempt…

2 days ago

Will college get fixed? – Marginal REVOLUTION

That is the topic of my latest Free Press column.  Here is one excerpt: So…

2 days ago

Recognizing Early Expression in Multilingual Young Children

contributed by Iryna Liusik, Early Childhood Educator — Linguistics & Emotional Development Series note: This…

2 days ago