Parallel to the revival of religion there is at present time a process of local reinforcement of key knowledgeable persons of Indigenous Institutions. For example the Dongba among the Naxi are transmitting their knowledge that originates in the writing and interpretation of ancient pictograms to young pupils. After many years of education they go back to their mountainous villages to practice the skills acquired in several fields of knowledge: local medicinal plants, astronomy, curing rituals, funeral ceremonies and nature conservation practices among other contents related to the ethics of worshiping the Mountain (Yang Fuquan 2002).

The Bimo is a religious professional among the Yi and is at the same time the village intellectual. He understands traditional Yi scriptures, writes texts related to philosophy, literature, history, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, arts, crafts, rituals, religion and ethics (Bamo Ayi p Harrel 2001). The knowledge that a senior Bimo has is transmitted to a younger male of his Yi group who will carry on the tradition. Nowadays in , Liangshan prefecture, Sichuan province, there are 5000 to 8000 youngsters who are engaging in a special education to learn to offer their services to the population (Ma Erzi, researcher of the Yi Institute from Xichang, pers.com.). Basically what a Bimo presents to the others is a system of complex procedures focusing on avoiding disaster, bringing fortune and establishing a harmonious relationship between humans, nature and spiritual beings.

The reinforcement of indigenous institutions linked to knowledge about the environment is a self-achievement of minority cultural processes asserting that they are modern in the global order but within the terms of their own culture.