People And Society In Belief-spaces

In this dissertation,I present a religious ethnographic account of The bo Tibetan people,who live in the south of Gansu Province.From the perspective of anthropology,through participant observation and cultural experience,I try to explore the characteristics,the value and the significance of The bo religion.I focus on the system of spatial symbols,through which,the cultural adaptation between the people and nature,between the people and society has been accomplished.In The bo,various forms of religious cultures have been preserved,including Tibetan Buddhism,Bon Religion,and many folk beliefs.The bo religion has an outstanding feature,that is to say,natural ecology has been very concerned,and a set of spatial symbolic system has been developed.This paper is divided into three parts.Firstly,I use five chapters to describe the symbolic cognition of natural space in The bo;the rites of life around the house space and their symbolic meaning;the tribal organizations and their symbols in regional space;and the integration function of symbolic system in Temple space.Secondly,I focus on the system of spatial symbols and its cultural meaning in The bo religion.Thirdly,I give my conclusion to discuss the system of symbols,to analysis its adjustment mechanism,and to explore some possible research approach to understand other ethnic groups which also in Han-Tibetan border.