A Study Of Nuosu's Buckwheat Culture In Xiao Liangshan Yunnan In The Perspective Of Environmental Anthropology

Tartar buckwheat, as an ancient crop, occupies an irreplaceable position in Nuosu people's (a branch of Yi) culture in Xiao Liangshan, Yunnan. In the perspective of environmental anthropology, this paper describes the process of buckwheat cultivation, categories and names, myths and legends, the use of it as social goods and ritual offerings, and then explores the cultural role and the meaning of buckwheat for Nuosu people. From there on, I analyze the reason why buckwheat has retained such an important status in Nuosu culture.Firstly, buckwheat is an important survival supply adapted to the Nuosu alpine environment. Secondly, by working on it Nuosu people have established a close and direct relationship with buckwheat. They also hold a wealth of local knowledge about it, and entertain a lot of beliefs. In Nuosu's myths and legends, buckwheat originated in the sky along with their ancestors, and it brought thriving reproduction just as their ancestors did. As such, buckwheat is a crop that conveys their emotions and memories. Thirdly, buckwheat has social and symbolic importance. It not only serves as mere food for their families, but also as something to share and gift in order to establish social order and reinforce social relationships, as offerings to please spirits and interact with them in ceremonies and ancestor-worshipping rituals. Buckwheat is thus endowed with rich symbolism, meanings and values. For example, it stands for rightness and cleanness; it can enhance fecundity; it can remove evil and dirt, it makes communication with spirits possible. These symbols have formed a meaningful pattern in the long-term historical process, which was challenged when new crops such as potato and corn appeared and when social changes took place after the Democratic Reforms and the Cultural Revolution. Nowadays, as a result of the competition from market economy (e.g. rice), buckwheat as a kind of food is not as important as it used to be, but its noble cultural position has not been replaced.My analysis shows that buckwheat, very important in different rituals, is a kind of medium around which a number of Nuosu social values were developed and through which they were transmitted. Clearly, the cultural status of buckwheat has persisted not only because buckwheat has a practical use as food, but also on account of Nuosu people's traditions:the beliefs, emotions and memory in relation with buckwheat. In other words, the important cultural status of buckwheat is the result of the people's interactions with their dwelling, keeping Nuosu's "poetic dwelling" of "the coexistence of sky, earth, man, god."However, Nuosu's patterns of traditional life are definitely challenged by social changes and economic development. In the last section dealing with development issues, I focus on the current situation and the trends of buckwheat cultivation in Xiao Liangshan in the context of globalization.