Overview

Open-access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295745701 The Nuosu people, who were once overlords of vast tracts of farmland and forest in the uplands of southern Sichuan and neighboring provinces, are the largest division of the Yi ethnic group in southwest China. Their creation epic plots the origins of the cosmos, the sky and earth, and the living beings of land and water. This translation is a rare example in English of Indigenous ethnic literature from China. Transmitted in oral and written forms for centuries among the Nuosu, The Book of Origins is performed by bimo priests and other tradition-bearers. Poetic in form, the narrative provides insights into how a clan- and caste-based society organizes itself, dictates ethics, relates to other ethnic groups, and adapts to a harsh environment. A comprehensive introduction to the translation describes the land and people, summarizes the work's themes, and discusses the significance of The Book of Origins for the understanding of folk epics, ethnoecology, and ethnic relations.

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9780295745695

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The two scholars are perfect collaborators. Between them, they found a rare version of the epic written in the Yi script, produced an accurate translation, and added to it a comprehensive and insightful introductory treatise to Yi culture. * Journal of Folklore Research * [A]n outstanding success...will undoubtedly be an essential primary source for scholars of Yi studies. * Bulletin of SOAS * [R]emarkable book...presents a world apart from Western worldviews but at the same time inspires the readers to reflect on and understand other worldviews and to scrutinize our own. * China Review International * Poetic in form, the narrative provides insights into how a clan- and caste-based society organizesitself, dictates ethics, relates to other ethnic groups, and adapts to a harsh environment. * New Books Network (NBN) *

The two scholars are perfect collaborators. Between them, they found a rare version of the epic written in the Yi script, produced an accurate translation, and added to it a comprehensive and insightful introductory treatise to Yi culture. * Journal of Folklore Research * [A]n outstanding success...will undoubtedly be an essential primary source for scholars of Yi studies. * Bulletin of SOAS * [R]emarkable book...presents a world apart from Western worldviews but at the same time inspires the readers to reflect on and understand other worldviews and to scrutinize our own. * China Review International *

Author Information

Mark Bender is professor of East Asian languages and literatures at Ohio State University. He is the author of Plum and Bamboo: China’s Suzhou Chantefable Tradition and translator of Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guizhou, China. Aku Wuwu is a well-known poet and professor and associate dean of the College of Yi Studies, Southwest Nationalities University, Chengdu. Jjivot Zopqu is a local tradition-bearer in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan.

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