Nuo folk religion, or extendedly Chinese popular exorcistic religion, is a variant of Chinese folk religion with its own system of temples, rituals, orders of priests and gods, which is interethnic and practiced across central and southern China but is also intimately connected to the Tujia people. It arose as an exorcistic religious movement, which is the original meaning of nuó (). It has strong influences from Taoism. One of the most distinguishing characters of Nuo folk religion is its iconographic style, which represents the gods as wooden masks or heads. This is related to its own mythology, which traces the origin of Nuo to the first two humans, who were unjustly killed by beheading and are since then worshipped as responsive divine ancestors. Nuo rituals began as efficacious methods to worship them, Lord Nuo and Lady Nuo. Since the 1980s Nuo folk religion has undergone a revitalisation in China, and today is a folk religion endorsed by the central government. Nuo priests are classified as wu (shamans) and their historical precursors were the fangxiangshi ("masters who assist the (astral) square"). General theory Cosmology Nuo cosmology is based on a yin and yang theory, clearly represented in mythology, otherwise explainable as a world in which potentiality and actuality, supernature and nature, form a complementary and dialectical duality which is the order of the universe. Man is an active participant within this order, interplaying with the world of divinity in a creative manner. Nuo mythology also tells of a highest goddess, Tiānxiān ( "Heavenly Immortal"), who is directly involved since the origin of humanity in triggering this dialogue between the spiritual and the material. The primary form of dialogue is the worship of ancestors, and this is reflected in the patriarchal structure of Tujia society. Gods Ancestral couple: Nuogong and Nuopo The highest deities in the Nuo pantheon are Lord Nuo ( Nuógōng) and Lady Nuo (Nuópó ), the two ancestors of humanity, according to mythology, whose sacrifice gave origin to Nuo practices. When a Nuo ceremony is performed, the ancestral couple is represented by carved wooden statues erected in front of the temple, while all lesser gods are placed behind them. In simpler rituals, they are seen as embodiments of all the other gods. Three Purities and the Jade Deity Generally, right below the ancestral couple of Nuogong and Nuopo come the Three Pure Ones ( Sānqīng). These are the