and a certificate to perform a variety of rites, and the two additional levels of "adding duties" (chia-tse) and "enfeoffing liturgies" (pwang-ko). The Sai nzung sou is the book of ceremonies for inviting the , good spirits who protect the location. The mienv morh are instead angry spirits who cause sickness and tragedy. House altar The mienv baaih is the Yao household altar of the gods, in a place easily visible from the main door. Its aim is welcoming the spirits (mienv). The mienv kuv is a tablet with the names of the ancestors of the family placed upon the altar; another custom is the use of pictures of the ancestors instead of the tablets. Rituals and psychology After the death of a person, the priests perform the , a ceremony to deliver the person's body from sin. Then the priest perform a water ritual, the , for purifying the person's dead body from evil spirits. Subsequently, the priest performs the doh dangh caeqv jaiv, a ceremony to purify the soul of the dead person from the influence of evil spirits. The is an ending ritual to give the spirit a peaceful after-life. Other practices involve spirit money and sacrifice. See also Chinese folk religion Chinese ritual mastery traditions Laotian folk religion Miao folk religion References Citations Sources Edward L. Davis. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Routledge, 2005. Eli Alberts. A History of Daoism and the Yao People of South China. Cambria Press, 2006. Litzinger, Ralph A. Other Chinas: The Yao and the Politics of National Belonging. Duke University Press, 2000. Asian ethnic religion East Asian religions Religion in Laos Religion in Thailand Taoism in China