The Change Of Marriage And Family Of Xingmeng Mongolians In Yunnan Province

The family structure and marriage practices of a nation, which carry with them the nation's ideas of ethics and religious beliefs, and which are often expressive of the character of that nation, are always evolving and changing with time. And any changes that take place in such practices are a reflection of the changes that occur in the whole nation. Thus studies on the changes that have taken place in family structure and marriage practices of a nation provide an important clue for understanding its society and culture, as well as for learning about how the nation transforms and develops itself, or adapts itself to the changed situations of the contemporary world, and how family and marriage practices interact with the national culture and racial consciousness. Using the Mongolian ethnic group in Xingmeng Village, Tonghai County, Yuxi Municipality of Yunnan Province as the subject for case study, in contrast with the Bayahushugacha Mongolians in Inner Mongolia, the present dissertation explores the origin and historical evolutions of the Xingmeng Mongolians by taking into account issues related to family and marriage practices of the group in order to bring into light how such practices have changed in time as a result of the changes of society. In comparison, the dissertation also probes into the changes that have occurred in the family and marriage practices of the Mongolians in northern China and, by using previous literature and employing such methods as participatory observation, in-depth interview, questionnaire-based investigation and analytic ethnography for collection of materials, tries to show how the Xingmeng Mongolians, after they were separated from the central area of concentration of their race, interacted with other ethnic groups of southwest China through intermarriage and other means to ensure their survival as a race in a changed environment. The dissertation focuses on the characteristics of the changed family and marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians as well as on the underlying causes that have brought about such changes in order to bring out the cultural transformations and adaptations that have taken place with the Xingmeng Mongolians.The dissertation is divided into seven parts, including an introduction, five chapters and a conclusion. The Introduction gives an account of the sources of the present study and its academic value. It also reviews the previous studies that have been done, both at home and overseas, on the related subject, while pointing out the present study's links to as well as differences from previous studies. It also elaborates on the research methodology, sources of data, theoretical framework and the main content of the present study. Chapterâ… begins with an overview of the site of the field study, tracing the origin of the Xingmeng Mongolians and their historical development, while offering a detailed account of the natural and cultural environment of the group. The chapter sorts out the 750-year history of the Mongolians since their settlement in Yunnan by drawing on information obtained through studies on historical literature, genetics, linguistics, folk traditions, memoirs, oral history and stele inscriptions. It also describes the spatial location of the Xingmeng Village in view of its natural environment and geographic sites. The chapter ends with an account of the population makeup of the Mongolians and their economic life and area of concentration in order to pave the way for more detailed studies that follow.Chapterâ…¡explores the changes that have occurred in the marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians, especially in such matters as engagement, wedding procedures, divorce and remarriage. At the same time, diachronic contrastive study is made between the present marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians and those of the Mongolians in northern China. The study shows that there are historical as well as regional variations of the Mongolian marriage practices in terms of the form of marriage, rules of intermarriage, ways of spouse selection, and wedding ceremonies.Chapterâ…¢focuses on the changes that have taken place in the population, family structure, family relations, and property distribution among the Xingmeng Mongolians. More specifically, it explores the changes that have taken place in Xingmeng Mongolian families from such perspectives as family population and structure, family relations and their functions, notions of child-bearing, household splitting and modes of inheritance. The changes of family structure or system in a deep sense are related to the worshipping of paternal ancestors and preservation of the race as a whole.Chapterâ…£is a follow-up of studies in the foregoing chapter, with a focus on the Xingmeng Mongolians'patriarchal ideas and ancestor worship. In the Xingmeng Village, ancestors are worshipped not only on a family basis, but also among families bearing the same surnames, who have built shrines commemorating their common ancestors. This has enabled the villagers to keep their patriarchal system intact. The ideas of patriarchy among the Mongolians have been revitalized and even extended from familial ancestor worship to the worship of common ancestors of the race, following the reawakening of their national consciousness.Chapterâ…¤offers a contrastive study on the family-marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians and those of the Bayanhushugacha Mongolians in Inner Mongolia, with a probe into the factors that have caused all the changes in such practices in both places. The changes are in fact a result of the interactions between environment, human society and culture. Such interactions as well as the instinct of the race for adapting itself to changed situations in order to ensure its survival are what have brought about all the changes.In the Conclusion, further discussions are made on the features of the changes that have occurred in the family-marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians as well as on the underlying causes that have brought about such changes. The Xingmeng Mongolians have not entirely given up the cultural traditions of their fellow men in the north, and by drawing on the folk customs and marriage practices of the ethnic groups that live around them; they have developed a unique ethnic culture of their own. In spite of all these changes, their adherence to their cultural roots is obvious. Such adherence represents a kind of reconstruction of their cultural fragments, and exemplifies the fact that family-marriage practices are largely conditioned by natural and socio-cultural environment in which an ethnic group finds itself. At the same time, historical evolutions and social reforms or institutional changes can have a direct bearing on the marriage practices, family system and behavioral patterns of the people involved. Finally the dissertation concludes that the changes of the family system and marriage practices of the Xingmeng Mongolians are a revelation of the cultural adaptation they have experienced in their struggles for survival in a changed situation. Viewed from a cultural perspective, such adaptation is also a process in which different ethnic groups and cultures interact with one another to achieve a dynamic equilibrium which features "harmony with differences".