America Kou Yi The Bimo Cultural And Social Function And Changes

In the development history of Yi (Norsu) society, Yi characters and certain scientific knowledge are grasped only by few people of the dominating class and "Bi Mo". Passed on by "Bi Mo" who grasps Yi characters, "Bi Mo" culture has unique content and form and plays a distinctive role in Yi culture. Nowadays, Mei Gu remains the most prosperous "Bi Mo" culture in Yi areas. There is a large number of "Bi Mo" in Mei Gu. They keep a high level of practicing "Bi Mo" knowledge and possess a comparatively satisfactory variety of classics and scriptures."Bi Mo" belief is the main content of "Bi Mo" culture, a kind of comprehensive culture with strong religious colors. "Bi Mo" culture has a prominent influence on social and historical development of Yi people. However, the evaluating way of "Bi Mo" culture by one-sidely emphasizing its religious and ideological function and ignoring its function in actual life of society fails to accord with the actual situation in the social development history of Yi people.The function of "Bi Mo" culture can be generalized as three aspects: I For Mei Gu Yi people who have strong identity of clans, "Bi Mo" culture directs people's thoughts and actual behaviors, by which it condenses the power of the clans and strengthens ethnic identity. II "Bi Mo" culture makes movements and life of Yi people in harmony with the tough environment and offers certain gist to settle social relationship. III The most important function of "Bi Mo" culture is to inherit and spread culture. "Bi Mo" acts as the carrier of traditional Yi culture. By investigating and reading classics and scriptures, people can find cultural accumulation of Yi people in long history.Realized by modern science and technology, high development of modernized industry and information industry are an inevitable historical trend. Even Mei Gu Yi society which has been pavilioned by traditional culture for thousands of years can not escape from the collision. "Bi Mo" culture of Mei Gu is encountering collision of modernization. By two-month fieldwork, the author has concluded four aspects of "Bi Mo" culture change: I The position of "Bi Mo" is changing in Yi society, from the traditional religious leader to the ethnic culture researcher. II Yi people in traditional Yi society are adjusting themselves to modern life by changing their economic and cultural life. III Strong external culture has intervened and decreased the function of "Bi Mo" culture and even made some of them disappear gradually. IV To adapt to these changes, Yi people in Mei Gu begin to protect their traditional culture and meantime develop local economy by utilizing culture, which gives "Bi Mo" culture a new social function in the process of modernization.The conflict between development of modern civilization and protection of traditional culture will last for a long period. By analyzing the social functions and change of "Bi Mo" culture in Mei Gu Yi society, the thesis tries to prove that the process of modernization has inevitably made some traditional cultures, especially ethnic traditional cultures frustrated. Connotation of these cultures is being forfeited and replaced by other cultures. So it is emergent to protect traditional culture and make it adapted to social development. It would be too late to stress harmonious...