On The Study Of The Priest And Badai Culture Of Miao In Xiangxi Area

Miao people, an important member of China's minority ethnic groups, have created splendid and unique culture during the long history of development. Without written form of its language, the folk religions of Miao people, for sure, have become one of the carriers of the cultural inheritance. Therefore, the folk religions play an important role in Miao's culture. Among Miao dialectic areas in the east, Shanjiang town in Fenghuang county represents a diversified religion system featured by a variety of co-existing religious beliefs with Badai religious belief as its core.Badai, also known as a host priest of the folk religious rituals, being affected by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, varied and divided into Badai Miao and Badai Han, both existing among the local community of Shanjiang people. Badai Miao and Badai Han both acquire the generality and diversity in the external form and cultural connotation respectively. Henceforward, the generality of them demonstrates the same quality and forms, also, the ritual of Badai expresses the doctrine of Animism held by Miao people. The diversity mainly interprets the external forms, lying in the fields and aspects of religious ceremony, internship system, singing and acting and ritual instruments and garments, etc. Meanwhile, according to relevant theories, this paper will further the study of the the social cultural connotations of the duality featuring“Subject and Object”, “ Major and Minor” and “Superiority and Inferiority” carried by Badai Han and Badai Miao. Then this paper tends to interpret the symbolic meaning of Badai ritual through a case study of the primitive Badai ritual of praying for rain in Dongjiu village, Shanjiang town.Badai and Badai culture exert an principal cultural and social function to Miao society, which not only shows their importance in Miao's cultural inheritance, but in the maintenance of the social peace, promotion of the social unity as well as regulation of social behaviors. Recently, enormous challenges have risen against the existence of Badai culture due to the constant social development and progress. Such changes as the improvement of people's living conditions and the changing values out of the multi-faceted cultural shock lead to the variation of Badai culture. In order to fitin the new circumstance, Badai culture, through the cultural re-creation within tourism and the cultural self-consciousness inspired by other cultures, has been accomplishing its self-adjustment.This paper is divided into five chapters.Chapter one mainly introduces the background and research purposes.The present thesis will propose certain research strategy which suits well this subject by sorting out the pertinent studies on Badai, Badai's folk religions and Miao folk belief.Chapter two is a general description of the ecological environment, the history and folk beliefs of the Shangjiang Miao area, firstly aiming at the interpretation of Badai's origin and the evolvement, secondly the explanation of the reasons of the existence of Badai in Shanjiang area.Chapter three is the main body. This part compares the diversity of Badai Han and Badai Miao in expression forms and elaborates their cultural connotations. Then a thorough interpretation of the symbolic meaning of Badai ritual will be carried out through the case analysis of the ritual of praying for rain,Chapter four mainly explores the relationship of Badai and Miao community from the perspective of social and cultural functions so as to manifest the importance of Badai among Miao people.Chapter five demonstrates the conflicts between modern culture and Badai culture as well as the active adjustment of Badai in face of vaious social challengesThe conclusion first summarizes the origin, evolvement, form, connotation,symbolization and variation of Badai, then attempts to discuss the further study and protection of such culture treasure.