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Paper short abstract

This paper uncovers a nearly-lost Bon camel exorcistic ritual from the Na(Mosuo) region. By analyzing the "toxic-plant camel" effigy's symbolic mechanisms, it reveals shared exorcistic frameworks across ethnic groups in the Bon cultural sphere, contributing rare documentation to ritual scholarship.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines a Bon exorcistic ritual text from the Na (Mosuo) region in southwest China—the Camel Exorcistic Ritual (rnga mong than zor). The actual practice has reportedly been lost since the Cultural Revolution, surviving only in textual records with significant regional characteristics rarely found elsewhere.The text describes creating a camel effigy from nine poisonous plants, decorated with feathers to carry impurities, diseases, and misfortune. This study first establishes a critical edition with translation and annotations, explaining key terminology and ritual procedures. Subsequently, it analyzes the “camel” as a chimera from three dimensions: imagery—materiality—function. Its chimeric image of “horse-like yet unformed horse” (phung rta) resonates with toxic material composition, creating a liminal medium between human and spiritual realms, purity and pollution.Using comparative analysis with 12th-century Tibetan Buddhist treasure literature, this paper situates the text within broader “expelling impurities/transferring misfortune” rituals across Bon cultural regions, exploring the symbolic logic of chimeric exorcistic practices. Through analyzing the classificatory system of “bad omens” (than ltas), this study reveals cognitive patterns of Na (Mosuo) Bon ritualists regarding inauspicious signs, contributing significant ethnographic data for understanding shared epistemological frameworks and worldview structures among ethnic groups within the Bon cultural sphere.