Research On The Change And Policy Of Lahu Marriage In The Border Area Of Yunnan Province

Under the background of the modern nation building,due to geographical and historical factors,the ethnic minority areas in the Yunnan Province have long maintained traditional characteristics in terms of national culture,values,religious beliefs and marriage patterns.However,with the rapid and sustained development of China's macro economy,especially after the implementation of reform and opening policy,the pursuit of development,modernity and commercialization inlands has accelerated the social changes of the border ethnic minorities to a certain extent,and marriage change is among of them.This study uses qualitative methods to analyze the marriage transition and its dynamic mechanism of Lahu people,and chooses Lu Village a village in Jinping County,Yunnan Province as a case.This study describes how the Lu Village people has changed in the intermarriage circle,the medium of marriage,first marrage age and marriage stability under the dual external pressures of economic development and institutional regulation.Among the many changes,the phenomenon of inter-provincial marriage migration of Lahu women in the late 20th century,and the phenomenon of "double escape"characterized by "escape from their husband" and "escape from their hometown" of married Lahu women after 2010 are particularly prominent.On this basis,this study explores and analyzes the dynamic mechanism of the marriage change of the Lahu women in the border of Yunnan Province from the two exogenous motivation of economic development and institutional level,and the social and cultural level as the endogenous motivation.Firstly,from the perspective of economic development,the imbalance of economic development within the different regions and between ethnic groups has become the main reason for expanding the scope of intermarriage among Lahu women.The economic poverty and material deprivation in the border areas have become the thrust factors for women's inter-provincial marriage migration.The developed economy and higher living standards inlands is the main pulling force for Lahu women's inflows.The economic development level shows the gradual marketization and commercialization of the marriage of the Lahu people in Yunnan border.Secondly,at the institutional level,in the constructing process of the modernization system,the central government has incorporated the ethnic minority areas in Yunnan into the border governance framework,and adopted formal legal tools such as laws and policies to integrate into the logic of grassroots political power in an attempt to regulating and restricting its informal marriage system.Thirdly,at the social and cultural level,the social background of gender imbalance and the traditional patriarchal system of the Lahu people promoted the inter-provincial marriage migration and "double escape" of women to a certain extent.At the same time,the marriage culture from group customs to individualization also objectively speed up the commercialization of marriage culture.The marriage change of Lahu people in the border area of Yunnan province has caused a series of social problems such as the marriage squeeze of poor Lahu males and the rising divorce rate.Based on this,the study puts forward corresponding policy recommendations from three aspects:economic development,education and attaching importance to marriage governance.Further discussion is also made on the boundary between the "public domain" and the "private sphere" in the border minority areas.