| This study through analyzing four stages of birth rites like praying for a child,pregnancy,delivery and after-delivery care attempt to investigate giving birth rites of Han and Kazakh people.This research focuses on comparative analysis of birth rites in Han and Kazakh cultures and attempts to reveal similarity and difference during this historical period.In this research four stages of birth rites are investigated in four corresponding to it chapters.This study consider that differences and similarities do exist and they are based on biological and physiological similarity of human being.Both cultures during pregnancy,delivery and after-delivery stage have very similar mother and child care process.Similarity and difference of rites related to the traditional culture,and have following statement:(1)Both culture desire to have descendants,and it is a big thing for the family,kin and clan.Both ethnic groups have rituals connected with praying for child,both of them use witchcraft to assist safe delivery and healthy growing up of child.(2)Han people created systematic and complete etiquette rites,medical knowledge and composed related to it etiquette books(“Book of Rites ·Pattern of the Family”)and medical treatise(“Synopsis of Golden Chamber”,“Complete Collection of Prescriptions for Women”),and Kazakh people didn’t compose similar etiquette books.(3)Both cultures have a specific custom of announcing the gender of infant after delivery.The way of announcing displays cultural belonging: Han people do it by presenting jade sceptre or peace of tile.They can also display it by turning spout of a kettle in a certain direction.Kazakh people announce it by asking “shepherd” or “groom”.What is connected to inherit of property and other cultural questions Kazakh’s woman status higher than Han’s woman,and female infant is welcome just like a male infant.Han people birth culture is more secularized,and Kazakh pay more attention to power of nature.Han birth culture is more rational,and belief does not have strong influence.And on the contrary to Kazakh,they have rational approach in all their birth rites – from marriage and praying for child,convalesce of woman after delivery,giving name ritual and till the moment of Zhuazhou ritual,all rites use practical method.Kazakh people believe that child is a mediator between two worlds,thus,the delivery process is a reproduction of the creation process.Therefore,there are present baksi(saman in kazakh culture),Wumai(Goddess patron of pregnant and children),evil spirit,exorcism and other mystical content in the birth culture.Difference and similarity between birth rites of the two ethnic groups are connected with the difference of their life styles.Han people belong to agricultural civilization and Kazakh belong to nomadic civilization.Differences of civilization influenced different approach on prevention a miscarriage,care during pregnancy,delivery and after delivery period.However,it is possible to explain birth rites of two ethnic groups through using proper anthropological and ethnographic theories.(1)similar content of birth rites like taboos during pregnancy,concept of a foetus God,bathing child in salt water,“frightening witchcraft” all have practical use and could be explained from medical position.This once again proved the functionalist theory in cultural anthropology.(2)the birth rituals and customs of Han and Kazakh cultures can also be used as an evidence of Arnold van Gennep’s "rite of passage" model.In fact,"pollution of pregnant women" in Han culture is also a kind of "separation ceremony",separation of parturient and different taboos concern to “liminality passage”,through the rites of Hesheng("qilidahan"),Xisan(dog clothes),Full moon(forty day rites),and Zhuazhou(walking rites)– all together referred to as the "incorporation ceremony" when mother and infant gradually integrate into social group.The discussion of this paper shows that the theory of the rites of passage can be applied not only to the fertility culture of Han ethnic group in agricultural civilization,but also to the fertility culture of Kazakh ethnic group in nomadic civilization. |
