Ancestral Realms of the Naxi (Quentin Roosevelt Collection)

TheNaxipeopleisanethnicminoritynativetosouthwestChina,whosecultureinthetwentiethcenturyhasbecomealmostextinct.AttheintersectionoftheadvancedTibetancivilizationintheWestandtheChineseintheEast,theNaxidevelopednotonlytheirownlanguage,butalsotheirownpictographicscript,arichmythologyandtheirownreligioncompletewithdiverserituals.Theirreligion,whichpreservestheirfaithinpreternaturaldeitiesandtheirdominion,containselementsfromLamaism,BuddhismandTaoism.ThemostindividualculturalachievementoftheNaxiistheiruniquepictographicwriting,whichisusedexclusivelyforreligiousworship.TheknowledgeandpracticeofthiswritingbelongstotheDongba,akindofpriest,andalsodoctorswithmagicalpowers,scholars,artisansandartists.Theirscrollpaintings,instrumentsandotherceremonialobjectsshowacloseconnectionwithartworksfromTibet,IndiaandChina.Thisbookoffersacomprehensiveintroductiontotheuniqueart,cultureandreligionoftheNaxithroughoutstandingartefactscollectedonhistravelsin1939byQuentinRoosevelt,thegrandsonoftheAmericanpresidentTheodoreRoosevelt:funeralscrollpaintingsoftheDongba,ceremonialbannersandpaintings(thangkas),paintedceremonialwoodenslatssymbolisinggodsandspirits(k'obyus),pictographicscript,ceremonialobjectssuchasmusicalinstruments,crowns,swordsandsceptresaswellasaceremonialaltar.ThebookprovidesarticlesontheartoftheDongba,theircalligraphyandlanguage,andessaysonNaxihistory,cultureandsocietyaswellasontheuniqueplaceandsignificanceofDongbaartinAsia.