Religion of the Tujia

They support the cult to the ancestors and to the spirits. At present every village still supports a Temple of the King of the Earth where there are venerated the ancestors, whose soul, according to them, does not die with the body. More recent Chinese influences do that in every village there is also a Temple of the Culture, in honor of Confucio and a Temple of the City (Buddhist).

Other characteristics are more similar to those of the Yi, like the presence between them of priests called Rip-off (between the Yi their names are Pimo), they are the intermediaries between the world of the men and that of the gods. They know the legends, the history, and the ancient rites of the Tujia, capable of expelling to the spirits and of treating illnesses, direct the dance Bashou.

The Dance of the Bashou is the traditional activity that better defines the character and ancient culture of the Tujia, and in fact it has been spent from parents to children for generations. It is a dance with 72 very definite steps that imitate different activities of the life. One believes that and his origin was the way of adoring the ancestors. In the current meetings sometimes they join up to 10.000 persons to dance it under the guidance of a Rip-off.

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