| （1.Department of Physical Education，Lijiang Teacher Training College，Lijiang 674100，China；2.School of Physical Education，South China Normal University，Guangzhou 510006；3.School of Froeign Language，Jinan University，Guangzhou 510632，China） Abstract: Affected jointly by livestock raising economy, ancestor worshipping and soul farewell custom, the crema-tion ritual of predecessors of the Naxi nationality formed such primitive religious rituals as funerary horse sacrific-ing, remain bone fetching by riding a running horse and horse washing. These rituals contain primitive competition awareness, as well as sports elements and values owned by horse racing, which mean the production of the horse racing awareness of the Naxi nationality. Later, with the production of hero and god worshiping, the horse washing ritual in the cremation ritual evolved into a horse racing activity for holiday calibration and martial education for all the people of the Naxi nationality.
Key words: traditional national sports；origin of horse racing；cremation；Naxi nationality；Dongba culture |
