NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 75 



Baptist Church. It was my duty to cover not only I-pin, but about 

 15 outstations, including Hsii-chiang and Man-i-ssu, which were not 

 far from the Lolo region. The Lolos often came to I-pin to market, 

 and there were Lolo hostages at P'in-shan, where I often met them 

 and talked with them. In 1928 I was sent to Ningyuenfu and talked 

 with some Lolos there, taking anthropometric measurements and 

 observations. Near Fu-Iin I lived a few days in the home of a 

 friendly Lolo headman, who gave or sold me some of the Lolo 

 artifacts, together with information about their customs. With the 

 help of this Lolo friend the writer translated seven short Lolo 

 sacred books. It is evident that this Lolo friend, who was a member 

 of the Yachow Baptist Church, added some lofty ideas that were 

 not in the original text. Among other things he informed me that 

 the Lolos were monotheists, which certainly is not so. 



Before and after the trip to Ningyuenfu I read all the available 

 books and articles about the Lolos. I refrained, however, from writ- 

 ing about them, feeling that I must have more information in order 

 to give a fair interpretation of their psychology, their social customs, 

 and their religion. During World War II several Chinese who 

 had been trained in some of the world's best universities spent 

 months and even years among these people, with the result that sev- 

 eral important articles have been published providing me with much- 

 needed information. Among the best sources are the Lolo people's 

 own sacred books. 



The Lolos, or Nosu, live in the southern end of Sikang, in the 

 southwest tip of Szechwan in the districts of Ma-pien and O-pien, 

 in northern and western Yunnan, in western Kweichow, and in 

 northern Indo-China. Their main culture center is Liang-shan, or 

 Cold Mountain, in southwest Szechwan and in Sikang. Much of the 

 territory inhabited by the Lolos is mountainous country, very steep 

 and rugged, with only small footpaths for roads. Many of their 

 "roads" can be traveled only on foot, and some are impassable for 

 ordinary people. 



The early history of the Lolos is still little known. One tradition 

 is that they were the Lu who joined the Chou people under Chou- 

 wu-wang and overthrew the Shang dynasty in 112 1. One author 

 states that in the Chou dynasty they were called Lu, in the Book of 

 History the Wu-san-lo, in the T'ang dynasty the Lulu, or the Wu 

 Man, and in the Yuan dynasty Lolo. Another tradition states that 

 they are closely related to the Liao people, who were widespread in 

 northern and central China in past centuries. It seems evident that 



