Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths
This paper examines gender- and species-inclusive notions of community as reflected in the origin myths, animistic beliefs and practices of a few Tibeto-Burman minorities in the uplands of China’s southwestern province of Yunnan. Among these minorities, culture-specific views of descent and cosmoce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Arnold Bergstraesser Institute
2025-02-01
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| Series: | International Quarterly for Asian Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/iqas/article/view/17666 |
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| author | Tommaso Previato |
| author_facet | Tommaso Previato |
| author_sort | Tommaso Previato |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This paper examines gender- and species-inclusive notions of community as reflected in the origin myths, animistic beliefs and practices of a few Tibeto-Burman minorities in the uplands of China’s southwestern province of Yunnan. Among these minorities, culture-specific views of descent and cosmocentric attitudes toward sentient nature showcase women’s social standing and role in enhancing relational empathy with non-human actors or species, as well as with a pantheon of deities who are believed to (co)inhabit or own the physical landscape. Integrating sources of knowledge from environmental history, comparative mythology and anthropology, the paper presents a selection of case studies on the Mosuo, Naxi, Yi and other minority cultures, demonstrating how relations with multiple non-human selves can be genealogical and how rituals aimed at influencing them can have positive effects on community well-being.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-54b4f9e7449a4fa2b3a12fd1f520189a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2566-686X 2566-6878 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Arnold Bergstraesser Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Quarterly for Asian Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-54b4f9e7449a4fa2b3a12fd1f520189a2025-08-20T03:01:58ZengArnold Bergstraesser InstituteInternational Quarterly for Asian Studies2566-686X2566-68782025-02-0155310.11588/iqas.2024.3.17666Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin MythsTommaso Previato This paper examines gender- and species-inclusive notions of community as reflected in the origin myths, animistic beliefs and practices of a few Tibeto-Burman minorities in the uplands of China’s southwestern province of Yunnan. Among these minorities, culture-specific views of descent and cosmocentric attitudes toward sentient nature showcase women’s social standing and role in enhancing relational empathy with non-human actors or species, as well as with a pantheon of deities who are believed to (co)inhabit or own the physical landscape. Integrating sources of knowledge from environmental history, comparative mythology and anthropology, the paper presents a selection of case studies on the Mosuo, Naxi, Yi and other minority cultures, demonstrating how relations with multiple non-human selves can be genealogical and how rituals aimed at influencing them can have positive effects on community well-being. https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/iqas/article/view/17666Tibeto-Burman minoritiesSouthwest Chinaorigin mythseco-cosmologieshuman–nature interactionscommunity well-being |
| spellingShingle | Tommaso Previato Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths International Quarterly for Asian Studies Tibeto-Burman minorities Southwest China origin myths eco-cosmologies human–nature interactions community well-being |
| title | Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths |
| title_full | Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths |
| title_fullStr | Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths |
| title_short | Gendered Cosmology, Landscape and Species-Inclusive Community in Yunnan’s Tibeto-Burman Origin Myths |
| title_sort | gendered cosmology landscape and species inclusive community in yunnan s tibeto burman origin myths |
| topic | Tibeto-Burman minorities Southwest China origin myths eco-cosmologies human–nature interactions community well-being |
| url | https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/iqas/article/view/17666 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tommasopreviato genderedcosmologylandscapeandspeciesinclusivecommunityinyunnanstibetoburmanoriginmyths |