Bimo, the Nuosu Priest
Bimo are the religious
practictioners of the Nuosu. They recite all kinds of texts and
perform all kinds of ceremonies: for the living they divine auspicious
days and times, exorcise ghosts and expel evils, replace misfortune
with good fortune, and regulate ethical behavior; and for the dead they
provide offerings, lead the way to the world of the ancestors, and
ensure peaceful rest in the next world.
Only members of certain clans can become heritary bimo will full powers to conduct rituals for both the living and the dead; even then they must undergo long and rigorous training in the content and meaning of their ritual texts and in the conduct of the rituals themselves.
The content of much bimo knowledge and ritual is contained in their books or bimo teyy, and in their rituals they use spirit pictures to represent their spirit helpers, ghost boards to embody the spirits they wish to exorcise, and a number of ritual implements. Mountain Patterns displays these essentials of the bimo profession.
Only members of certain clans can become heritary bimo will full powers to conduct rituals for both the living and the dead; even then they must undergo long and rigorous training in the content and meaning of their ritual texts and in the conduct of the rituals themselves.
The content of much bimo knowledge and ritual is contained in their books or bimo teyy, and in their rituals they use spirit pictures to represent their spirit helpers, ghost boards to embody the spirits they wish to exorcise, and a number of ritual implements. Mountain Patterns displays these essentials of the bimo profession.
