Two Basic Characteristics of Bai’s Worship to Local Gods

First, it is a worship of a multitude of gods with local god as the center. In any local god temple, besides the local god who is the main god, there are side gods who also have their special religious roles, for instance, Offspirng Goddness blesses people to have offspring, Mammon blesses people a enrichment, and Dragon King manages rain. Their divine power is a effictive complementarity to that of the local god. The combine of the two could satisfy Bai people’s spiritual needs, and bless them to keep a normal materiali life. This shows Bai people’s secular purposes placed on gods.

Second, a big portion of local gods are ancestors and heroes who had ever done good things to the people, promoted Bai’s social, economic and cultural development, or had sublime morals.