NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTPIWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 93 



killed and offered to the gods, then cooked and eaten by the wor- 

 shipers at a feast in the temple. Any left-over food is divided and 

 later eaten in the homes. Worship in the sacred grove, with the sacri- 

 fices and the feasts, is a community affair, with at least one repre- 

 sentative present from each family. Women are regarded as so 

 inferior to men that they are not permitted even to witness the cere- 

 monies in the sacred groves or on the housetops. Certain religious cere- 

 monies performed inside the homes can be witnessed by the women 

 from a respectful distance. 



Cultural contacts of the Ch'iang with the Chinese and with the 

 Chia-jung and other tribespeople have been many and have existed 

 for centuries. Many Ch'iang customs are best explained by cultural 

 diffusion. However, there are many social and religious customs that 

 the Ch'iang regard as their own, which, with their language and their 

 dress, distinguish them as an ethnic group. In more isolated Ch'iang 

 localities the changes have been fewer, and where the contacts with the 

 Chia-jung, the Wa-ssu, or the Chinese have been more abundant, the 

 changes have been many. In some localties the Ch'iang people call 

 themselves Chinese, speak the Chinese language, worship the Chinese 

 gods, and freely intermarry with the Chinese. In others, such as 

 P'u-wa, only a few very old people can speak the Ch'iang language, 

 but the people still regard themselves as Ch'iang. At P'u-ch'i-kou, 

 where the Chia-jung are close neighbors, the influence of Lamaism 

 is evident. Near Li- fan a dance performed by the Ch'iang closely 

 resembles one of the main dances of the Chia-jung. Among the 

 Ch'iang, woven belts are used only near Li-fan and near Wen-ch'uan, 

 where their neighbors the Chia-jung and the Wa-ssu also make and 

 use them. 



In former decades the Chinese built Buddhist and Taoist temples 

 among the Ch'iang as a means of cultural assimilation, but this was 

 only partially successful. In more recent years the Chinese have es- 

 tablished primary schools among the Ch'iang, and a normal school 

 for Ch'iang and Chinese at Wei-chou. These schools are a very effi- 

 cient means of absorption. There are those who believe that it is only 

 a matter of time when the Ch'iang will be completely absorbed by the 

 Chinese. Whatever the final results may be, the present is a time of 

 rapid changes, and many old ideas and customs are passing away. 



THE TIBETANS AND LAMAISM 



Tibet, the western neighbor of China, lies at a higher altitude than 

 any other nation on the globe and is well called "the roof of the 



