Research On Folk Beliefs In The Hehuang River Basin

In the Hehuang area,the unique geographic location,natural environments and the background that multi-ethnic and multi-culture coexisted which formed in history,bred the folk-belief in the Hehuang area which is strongly characterized with regional culture.Taken as a whole,the folk-belief in the Hehuang area includes nature worship,ancestor worship,folk-deities worship,witchery and taboos,has a relative loose character but be classified according to rank and function,extends outwards successively from the guardian deities of the household to the guardian deities of the family,to guardian deities of the village,to the guardian deities of the district in space,form a belief system that is characterized with diversity,inclusive and adsorption.The formation of the folk-belief in the Hehuang area is a dynamic historical process.The process of the interaction and interpenetration which happened between the state-sacrifice,different religions and the folk-beliefes in the Hehuang area in the history,not only create the different situations of the folk-belief in the Hehuang area,but also reflect the effects and changes that the state-sacrifice and multi-culture have made in the Hehuang area.Among them,the implantation,intervening and regulation of the state-sacrifice in the Hehuang area plays a leading role to the folk-belief in the Hehuang area,for example,the belief content and ritual about Qinghai Lake,which is transformed by central government,become the symbol of safeguarding the order andstability in the frontier.And other religions in the Hehuang area also transform a part ofthe form and content of the folk-belief,a number of institutional religions also activelybring some folk deities into itself deity system,that make the divinity and power of the some folk deities expansion and diversification.Simultaneously with this process,the folk-belief in the Hehuang area continuously keep selecting,adsorbing and integrating the thought and religious doctrine of other religions in the Hehuang area,include the state-sacrifice.Through the link of geography and spirit which is joined by the verity grade of thebelief,such as the household,family,village,district,bigger-district,the folk-belief in the Hehuang area makes the integration to diverse space of society comes true.The folk-deities become the authoritative symbol of the districts and villages in the Hehuang area in the in the tale,and also turn into the symbol which condense the local emotion.Simultaneously,the deities,religious sensitivities,religious ritual and religious experience which are characterized with the mandatory norms of the folk-belief in the Hehuang area,reveal the relatively strong social control to psychology,behavior,production and livelihood.Further more,the historical memory of the large number of families and villages in the Hehuang area are characterized with the folk-belief,such as ancestor worship,deity worship.Meanwhile,myths and legends,folktales,holy facilities,temples and inscriptional record,pray words and eulogy,as well as verity of religious sensitivities,contain rich and deep cultural memories.What the folk-belief conveys or implies the memories not only continue and cohesion folk group power,but also provide the strong support to the existence and reconfiguration of social order,as well as legal basis.The stable core of the folk-belief in the Hehuang area is holiness,at present,the folk-belief in the Hehuang area present a situation of flow and transformation,adsorption and radiation,abandon and inclusion,provide a relevant miniature for us to discus how to seek uniformity in diversity and how to pursue intercommunity in otherness.