Their original religion, called Dongba after the name of its ritual specialists, resembles the nature worship and other concepts of pre-Buddhist Tibet. It has aroused the interest of the world's scholars, particularly because the Dongbas' religious manuscripts were written with their own pictographic script. Naxi men have maintained a musical tradition. The first classical Naxi orchestra was founded under Kublai Khan's patronage, and the music and tradition have remained unchanged for over seven centuries. Naxi women are responsible for the hewing and hauling, marketing, most of the fieldwork, and managing the family's money.
Men still retain ownership of the property, however.
Frog-shaped, the top is black and the bottom white, representing night and day, while across the center seven embroidered circlets represent the stars of the Big Dipper. A true matrilineal society exists northeast of Lijiang among the Mosu, in the area of Lugu Lake. There, the house and land pass from mother to daughter, and all children remain permanently attached to their mother's household. Women manage the household, and fieldwork and men are very much in the background. With quiet and broad water, the bend has been of strategic importance since ancient times.