Incense and ritual plant use in Southwest China: A case study among the Bai in Shaxi

Caroline S Weckerle,Peter O Staub,Matthias S Geck

doi:10.1186/1746-4269-7-43

Caroline S Weckerle, Peter O Staub + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-7-43

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundRitual and religious uses of plant-derived smoke are widespread throughout the world. Our research focuses on Southwest China, where the use of incense is very common. This study aims to document and analyze contemporary ritual plant uses by the Bai people of Shaxi Township (Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province), including their related ethnobotanical knowledge, practices, and beliefs.MethodsThe present study builds on previous ethnobotanical research in Shaxi, which started in 2005. Interviews focusing on ritual plant use and associated beliefs were carried out with a total of 44 Bai informants in September 2009 and May and June 2010. The results are supplemented with information on the local religion collected from June to December 2010. All documented species were vouchered, and are deposited at the herbaria of Kunming Institute of Botany (KUN) and the University of Zurich (Z/ZT).ResultsA total of 17 species have been documented for use in incense. They are always used in mixtures and are either burned in the form of powders in a censer or as joss sticks. The smell of the smoke is the main criterion for the selection of the incense plants. Incense is burned for communication with spiritual entities at graves, temples, and cooking stoves, as well as for personal well-being. Cupressus funebris Endl., Gaultheria fragrantissima Wall., and Ligustrum sempervirens (Franch.) Lingelsh. are the most important incense species. Others serve as substitutes or are used to stretch incense powders.ConclusionsIn Shaxi the use of incense mixtures at the household and community level is regularly practiced for communication with ancestors, ghosts, and deities and in some cases to strengthen self-awareness. Some of the documented species are widely used in central Asia and Europe, hinting at the well documented knowledge exchange that occurred in Shaxi, which was a major hub along the influential Southern Silk Road.

Highlights

Ritual plants can be used in ritual healing [1], as hallucinogens [2], in incense or decorations for the communication with spiritual entities [3], or they can constitute sacred entities like trees [4]
The species documented as ritual plants can be grouped into two main categories, namely those species burned as incense, and those which are used for the communication with spiritual entities without being burned (Table 2)
We will mainly concentrate on the incense plants, i.e. the plants which are used for the smoke they produce

Summary

Introduction

Ritual plants can be used in ritual healing [1], as hallucinogens [2], in incense or decorations for the communication with spiritual entities [3], or they can constitute sacred entities like trees [4]. A recently published compendium on the ethnobotany of plant-derived smoke documents a total of 14 different incense species used in China (of more than 400 species; [8]) Of these 14 species, five were originally documented in the Shuiluo Valley in Southwest China, where the Shuhi and other ethnic groups use ritual and incense plants for various religious purposes [3,16,17]. They select these plants according to their habitat and the color and smell of their smoke [6]. This study aims to document and analyze contemporary ritual plant uses by the Bai people of Shaxi Township (Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province), including their related ethnobotanical knowledge, practices, and beliefs

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion