Religion of the Maonan

The religion maonan bases on the animism and the cult the ancestors, although his religious life has suffered important influences of the majority religions in China.

The cult is evident the ancestors in his everyday life. Since they write the names of those who belong to the five previous generations on a red role, and place them in a place where they could show them respect.

In his system animist there have gods who deal with each of the human activities, as well as with the objects and forces of the nature. As the God of the Kitchen, the God of the Wealth, the God of the Thunder. the God of the Hearth, that of the Locality, the Masters of Three Worlds. Also there are other spirits that hurt the man, as They Diminish them, that live along with the water and it can provoke illnesses;

To treat with this complex spiritual world they have several types of priests with different functions.

The influence Buddhist demonstrates especially in the cult Guanyin extended between all the Maonan.

The taoísta meets during the celebration of the funerals, since they are usually informed by monks taoístas, in a ceremony in which the son of the dead person was buying water to wash the corpse, and before the burial chicken blood was scattering on the grave to protect the dead person and the descent.

In every village they support the cult to the Master of the Earth or "She", to whom they do big celebrations during his holiday one spring day. They ask him for health for the people and his cattle and good growth of his cultivation. This "She" adopts different forms in different villages.

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