“The Mu Clan’s Genealogy” and Mu Gao’s Poem Written on the Rock
He Baolin Lijiang Dongba Institute
It is recorded in “the Mu Clan’s Genealogy” that Maizongabao, a former head of Mu clan “ knew characters without learning and created a local writing system ”. Hence, he is regarded as the creator of the Dongba pictographs. Mugao, another Mu clan’s ancestor had written: “a monk 500 years ago, practicing the law here”, a poem on a rock in Baidi. This makes most of scholars believe that the creation period of Dongba religion should not earlier than Tang dynasty. This article argues the views and states that Maizong mentioned in “the Mu Clan’s Genealogy ” is a mysterious ancestor created by the Mu clan’s ancestor in Ming dynasty. Even if there was a person named Maizong, the story of him might not be true. Regarding to the poem written on the rock in Baidi, the author thinks that there is no evidence to prove that the “monk” described in the poem refers to the founder of Dongba religion. However, it is a creation of Mugao in order to echo his creation of the mysterious ancestor. Hence, it is not convinced to judge the creation period of Dongba religion according to the two “evidences”.
