Research On Uighur Folk Taboos

The folk events called 搕aboo?are a worlwide cultural phenomena in hu- man society which have been handed down through the long course of history. This thesis adheres to the main principles of Marxism ?Leninism and their views of historical materialism ,and attempts to make a detailed study,based on the information obtained from field research and some relevant literature, on the origin, development,and function of folk taboos. In addition,it briefly ex- pounds the magical activities and some methods related to the removal of taboos. This thesis is composed of an introduction,text,and appendix. The text is divided into five sections and fifteen related chapters. The introduction explains the reason for putting forward the topic, as well as its theoretical and real significance. It also evaluates the former achievements of research on folk taboos and sets up the method of taboos study which comprises the research methods of other related sciences. The first section of the text discusses the definition of 搕aboo?and on the basis of this ,explains the similarities and differences between taboo and other social controlling measures, such as law and ethics. In addition ,combining the theory of taboos?origin,the author in six aspects probes into the internal and external causes which resulted in taboo customs. In the second section of the thesis, the author diverts attention to the Uighur folk taboos, and discusses the same concepts as 搕aboo攊n Uighur folk tradition. Because of the intimate relation between religious belief and folk .3. taboos, starting from the necessity of comprehension of taboos?historical evo- lution, the author briefly introduces Uighur ancestors?religious beliefs and their influences on the formation of folk taboos. Lastly, on the basis of Chi- nese and foreign scholars?classification, the author formulates the classifying criterion of Uighur folk taboos, and sets up a specific classifying model. The third secion of the thesis is the interpretation of Uighur folk taboos. The author makes use of related theories and achievements of related sciences, and makes comprehensive analysis of every taboo in different categories. In this section, all of the Uighur folk taboos are placed into five major categories, which are Human Body Taboos, Life Rituals Taboos ,Daily Life Taboos, Oc- cupation Taboos and Physical World Taboos, and their twenty ?three sub ? categories. This is the focal part of the thesis. The forth section is about methods of taboos?removal. The removal methods of Uighur folk taboos are discussed in two chapters梡rotection a- gainst taboos and remidial measures for the consequences of violating them. The author concisely probes into the measures of exorcising evil spirits and avoiding irregularities by citing some representative instances such as amulet, magical remedies ,etc. The fifth section involves some theoretical and real problems concerning Uighur folk taboos. First, It his torically summarizes positive and negative functions of taboos on Uighur Social Life. Second , it analyses the spread of folk taboos ,and also puts forward some viewpoints and propositions about re- searching the taboo motif in literary heritage. Finally, it discusses the essen- tial impact of the change of contemporary society on traditional taboo customs, and the weakening and disappearance of them...