In China’s remote Liangshan, three Yi “bimo” priests struggle with changing times. The feared “cursing” bimo, once invoked to harm or heal, has lost his calling under new bans. The “soul-calling” bimo, healer and mourner, bears private grief after four failed marriages before fathering an heir. And the “official” bimo—both priest and Party cadre—falls from power when he unlawfully rigs a village election. Tradition endures amid upheaval.

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