Leisure And Ritual

The purpose of this study was to explore the leisure of the Bouvei people in remote areas in South Guizhou Province, where leisure spaces and facilities are quite limited. Besides, people here are occupied with farm work all year round and have no distinctive dichotomy of free time and work time. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Jiangting Bouvei village. South Guizhou Province, this article examines how leisure and ritual performance intertwines in a Bouyei wedding ceremony. Participatory observation and interviews were employed to collect data. Focus was on the wedding ceremony between groom Luo Yonglou and bride Li Lan. Guided by two main research questions with sub-questions:I.How does the Bouyei wedding ceremony proceed in terms of ritual?2. How does leisure and ritual performance intertwine during the bouyei wedding ceremony?2.1. How do ritual performances in the Bouyei wedding accommodate leisure?2.2. How does leisure interweave through ritual performances in the bouyei wedding? The wedding proceeds with various rites, etiquettes and procedures. The rites include setting feast for the maternal relatives of the bride, setting feast for relatives of the paternal side and other guests, blocking the groom’s team, receiving the betrothal gifts, the bride stepping out her natal home, receiving the bride in the tang of the groom’s house, the groom’s family setting feast for guests, the bride meeting relatives and families of the groom, and the bride returning back to her natal home. Key findings about the interlace of leisure and ritual performance in the wedding were presented. First of all, ritual time intertwines with leisure time, in which the high level of time commitment to the wedding ceremony contributes to the villagers’leisure time. It lasted for almost six days and involved people in and around the village. Second, ritual activities intertwine with leisure activities. This wedding ceremony consisted of various rituals which were performed through a number of leisure-related activities, such as the Suo "Na (唢呐) Band, firecrackers, folk song competition and dance, eating and drinking, etc. Third, ritual place intertwines with leisure place, places where wedding ceremony was held function as a third place for the villagers to relax and entertain. Villagers, relatives and friends in and around the village gathered in the family that held the wedding, bathing in festive ambience and enjoying their leisure. Fourth, ritual processes intertwine with social interactions, in which opportunities were provided to participants to socialize, such as meeting friends, relatives and also making new friends.