| The object of this study focuses on Yongping Waxiang folk customs of Huan Nuo Yuan in the western of Hunan province. Huan Nuo Yuan refers to a series of folk exorcising rites that are held before or after some accidents at Yongping Waxiang in the western of Hunan province. It had been broken off after the Liberation and was resurrected as the Policy of Reforming and Opening up was carried out. Huan Nuo Yuan, which has close relationships with the daily lives of local people, is one of the Waxiang representative cultures at Yong ping in the western of Hunan, and it still lively practices among the local residents in Yongping. Therefore, this study on Waxiang folk Huan Nuo Yuan will realize the academic research pursuit of returning to the ordinary life from the cultural relics and remains. The nationality identification of Waxiang people is a controversial issue during the process of national ethnic group identification. They live in the marginal areas among Han, Miao and Tujia and their present living customs are similar to "Chuanqing Ren" in Guizhou and "Wuzhou Yao Ren" in Hunan, who are both regarded as Han. The research on reconstruction of Waxiang folk Huan Nuo Yuan can also provide the references for the similar study on the marginal ethnic groups.Integrating multi-science theories and methods of folklore, anthropology and sociology, and adopting fieldwork, historical research methods and comparative research methods, this study attempts to break through the limitations of ontology research and instead it places Huan Nuo Yuan into the wide dynamic process of social realities. Meanwhile, this paper emphasizes "How" instead of "Why" in rationale and takes "folks" as the main subject in research. Based on the fieldwork, it pays great attention to the voices of the folks, participant observation and thick description.This paper consists of three parts, namely, introduction, main body and conclusion, in which the main body is divided into five chapters.In the introduction section, it describes the significances, methods of the study and the frameworks of the paper. And it further elaborates the significance of the study through the overview of the studies related to the topics both at home and abroad. It also explains the resources of information for the research.The first chapter presents the geographical and cultural environment at Yongping. Yongping is located in a remote and inaccessible mountain area inhabited by Waxing People, where all of these surroundings take great effects on the reconstruction of Huan Nuo Yuan and right these constitute the context of the reconstruction. The paper points out that there exist strong folk beliefs about witches, spirits or gods and the local taboos about them promote these beliefs. This part also demonstrates how modern social change influences the country life through the descriptions of the changes of living modes at Yongping.Chapter II describes the relevant historical memories and states that one of the important conditions for the reconstruction of Huan Nuo Yuan is the local people's remaining memories about it. The paper further expounds the relevant cultural memories, particularly the inseparable relations between the inheritors'memories and Huan Nuo Yuan.Chapter III re-appears the historical process of reconstruction and shows varieties of motives emerged in the reconstruction. Through the descriptions of the Yongping Nuo practice group's trips to cities and back to the country, the paper explodes the existence soil of Huan Nuo Yuan and points out the advantages of folk-oriented Nuo practices. By the descriptions of conflicts and the adjustments in reconstruction, it has been willing to reveal the adjustment function of the intrinsic mechanism. In this part, the paper points out that the reconstruction of Huan Nuo Yuan is actually a result of a concerted effect, and it has its specific living space and developing logics.Chapter IV, applying the method of thick description, describes a spontaneous rite scene of Huan Nuo Yuan and provides the objective and authentic presentation of performances. Through the description of the phenomenon of co-existence of sacred and secular in ritual performances, this paper points out that the element of sacred and secular are an indispensable part of life, and also are the main internal motivation involving in the reconstruction. In Chapter V, it points out that the biggest problem Huan Nuo Yuan faces is how to make inherit go on. It points out the three major aspects of heritage transmission and the underlying causes. The three major aspects and causes contain the transition of transmission mechanisms; the gradual of loss cultural memory and the demands; the changes of social structure and ideology.In Conclusion section, it clarifies five points of views and two thoughts as research conclusions. The five points of views include: Cultural memory is one of the key elements of protecting the folk tradition; Inheritor and their initiative plays a key and leading role in the reconstruction; The reconstruction of folk items is the result of many factors; The operation of folk items has its own inherent laws; Huan Nuo Yuan is a combined ritual practice, containing the mixture of sacred and secular ritual activities. The two thoughts involve the thinking about the creation of the folk culture and the thinking about inheritors and inherit mechanics. |
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