Folk Belief Practice And Its Survival Logic From The Perspective Of Gift Exchange

The attribution of survival motivation of folk belief has long been focused from a perspective of political economics.In this view,the existence of folk beliefs is interpreted as a political conspiracy under the traditional revival,or understood as a rational choice under the need of market consumption.Both of the former and the latter tend to understand folk belief practice as a purely utilitarian behavior.This paper differently analyzes the folk belief from a perspective of gift exchange in anthropology.It is a gift exchange between human beings and Gods which is a total social fact.It not only involves the rational calculation,but also the emotional and moral and many aspects.Therefore,as a gift exchange,folk religion practice is a kind of utility computing and a wide range of moral and emotional contents.The paper is trying to find the survival motivation of folk belief through field work researches in the villages bordering of Hunan,Guizhou and Guangxi provinces.The paper consists of four chapters.Chapter one is based on the holistic view of anthropology,which outlined the ecological,social,cultural and economic background supporting the survival and development of beliefs,theconcept of the world,ritual types,ritual experts and mentoring system and other aspects of folk belief system among villagers in L village.How folk belief embodies gift exchange is the key to expounding its survival logic.The second chapter illustrates the fact that gift exchange is a basic form of folk belief practice through the description of life obsession ceremony,life transition ceremony and festival ceremony.In this way,the mixed characteristics of religious gift exchange are summarized in value expression.At the same time,it points out that the fundamental reason for the exchange ceremony is that it creates a sacred situation to express sincerity,a "heart" communication between man and God.The exchange of gifts between man and god creates a moral life.Chapter three focuses on the analysis of the various morals contained in the belief among village L,which points out that the exchange of gifts between man and god is the source of these moral and ethical values.The last chapter explains folk beliefs through the discussion of gift economy and gift morality.It explains the essential meaning of folk belief as a kind of moral life.The survival logic of folk belief is precisely that it can provide people with a realistic market service,and a spiritual moral life as well.