The Animal Symbols in the Pictographic Script of the Naxi People

The purpose of this work is to acquire a deeper knowledge of the pictographic script of the Naxi people. There is first an introduction to the Naxi people and their culture, language and script. A selection of pictographic characters representing animals is described, the usage of characters is discussed and observations noted. Without a study of the Naxi manuscripts one could believe that the contents deals with animals largely, which would be a mistake. The object of investigation has been two ritual texts, “A Naxi Story of the Creation” (He Jigui, Naxi dongba guji yizhu (3), Kunming: Yunnan Minzu Chubanshe, 1989, pp 107-137) and Naxi manuscript no. 1946.34.12 which is a manuscript belonging to the National Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm.