A Study On Ritual And Symbol Of Dai People Rural Settlement In Xishuangbanna

As the basic social unit, the rural settlement is the concern to understandthe manners and customs in a certain region. Based on the natural rhythm,people live in the rural settlement arrange farming seasons, develop dailyactivities, and express their system of ideas by ceremony.The research of Dai rural settlement in Xishuangbanna focuses on therelationship between plant and people, and the continuity of nature and people.The regional culture research is to draw a survival analysis picture for the peoplelive in the region. The analysis on survival level is based on the survival activities,and the daily activities supply the essential structure.As a sole nationality residence, the Dai rural settlement is a “space”, andimplies a “genealogical pedigree”, which will be integrated by time. Dailyactivities are developed based on time, means controled by natural rhythm. Inthe Dai rural settlement, the religion one, the Buddhist temple and folk houseexist respectively, and wield social time power like a pendulum. There is a widegap between timeliness of folk house and surpassing timeliness of Buddhisttemple, and people always try to eliminate it, then a special profession appears.The structure contains implications, which need to be expressed by ceremony.The dichotomy world, the dichotomy of the society and universe, is unified afterbringing into the symbol. Like a banian,“spatialization” and “genealogicalpedigree” deduce modal of life tree. They reveal great vitality above ground onthe one hand, and foster strong root system under ground to keep alive on theother hand.The nature shows exchange and history of people and it in space and time.Plant is a compass of society changes. The duplicity expounded by the Daipeople through plant is global existence including both soul and body. Theduplicity existence can eliminate the “fragmentization” situation of people in theuniverse, and bring it into a bigger unity, the unity of society and universe.