82 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I42 



magic, or, as the Lolos say, to break the effects. If the ceremony is 

 not performed, then the person against whom the black magic is di- 

 rected will surely die. But if the effect is broken by countermagic, the 

 person is saved. 



Before each important activity and affair the Lolos divine to learn 

 whether the outcome will be lucky or unlucky, good or bad, and to 

 learn the will of the gods. Fights, wars, journeys, engagements, 

 marriages, diseases, burials, memorial services, strange dreams and 

 visions — these and many other matters are occasions for divination. 

 The methods of divination are numerous and sometimes complex. 

 They include the use of animal bones, roasting the leg of a sheep, 

 using wood, beating carved wood, beating chickens to death, ex- 

 amining chickens' eggs, examining the ribs of pigs, consulting the 

 sacred books, counting bamboo sticks, chewing rice, rubbing eggs, 

 and the use of the yin-yang-kiia or the two halves of a bamboo root, 

 so common among the Chinese. Sometimes the shoulderblade of a 

 sheep is used, a very old custom found among the Chinese of late 

 Neolithic times. 



The Lolos have numerous ceremonies connected with funerals of 

 cremation, commemoration of the dead, praying for rain, healing dis- 

 eases by exorcising demons, cleansing homes of demons, and prepar- 

 ing for battle. 



A goodly number of the authors who have written about the Lolos 

 have asserted that they are a simple-minded people and that their psy- 

 chology is very primitive. We find many evidences of this. The sun, 

 the moon, rivers, mountains, and many other inanimate things are 

 regarded as living, sentient beings that can talk, marry, and have 

 children. These, along with trees, rocks, animals, and insects are 

 often regarded as gods. There are magical horses that in an in- 

 credibly short time fly up into the sky or cover long distances from 

 one place to another. Men and gods have marvelous powers. Thun- 

 der, rain, hail, and the wind are great beings that are regarded as 

 powerful gods. 



In northern and central Yunnan the Lolos have had much contact 

 with Chinese religious leaders, and this has had an effect on their 

 religion. Evidence of this is found in their lists of the gods. In his 

 book, "The Shamans and Sacred Books of the Yunnan Lolos," Mr. 

 Yang Chen-tzu gives a list of 46 Lolo gods and identifies them all 

 with Chinese gods, such as Yii Huang, Shen Nung, and others. Other 

 authors give longer or shorter lists of the more distinctly Lolo gods 

 in the Liang Shan or Cold Mountain and nearby regions. 



