Constructed Industrious People:Women's Role And Life In The "Bangbe" Of Bai Ethnic Age Group

The study of "Age Group" in Anthropology field has its hundred year's tradition ever since the beginning of the 20th century.Most of the existing scholarships emphasized on the male dominance in the Age Group,especially considered it as a social organization of its political functions,barely had women group been mentioned in Age organization.By examining the role of woman played on the 'Bangbei' of Bai ethnicity group in HeQing County,Dali autonomous region in Yunnan Province,this paper conducts thorough observations and interviews to demonstrate the real life of local women.The reputation of "HeQing Po" is well known in the Dali area,no matter from the ethnic point of view to which compares the surrounding of LiJiang Naxi people and the Yi people in the dam area;or from the perspective of the inside of clan,for example,and the XiZhou community of Bai people,ErYuan Bai people and JianChuan Bai group,the diligent feature of HeQing women is the most prominent.This paper attempts to explore the historical reasons in the formation of the image of "He Qing-po" and how it extends to the contemporary,and how the age group "Bangbei" plays role on the local female's life.This paper demonstrates that the Dali Bai family is deeply influenced by the Han culture,which has the strict patriarch system and the female social status is relatively low.Meanwhile,the cultivated land shortage in HeQing area has formed the traditional way of life ever since the Ming dynasty.Social structure and historical conditions of living are the main reasons for the formation of extremely diligent qualities of the HeQing Bai women.Since the condition of contemporary livelihood has greatly improved,"hard working" as a kind of cultural habits still exit in the womanhood of HeQing Bai people.This diligence is reflected on the high expectations of women's labor in local community and women also have a conscious sense of working in the daily life,while both taking the family and village life for the vast majority of manual labor.While the "Bangbei" is a way for woman to escape the life,which helps women regulate the pressure under the gendered culture.The communication of female circle formed in the "Bangbei",to a large extent,it meets the social,emotional and spiritual needs of women and other personal practice to provide the autonomy of women's culture.But at the same time the maintenance of interpersonal relationships needed a lot of female labor force investment,and it becomes a heavy burden of female life as well.From this point of view,the local women's life benefit from the "Bangbei",but also subject to the "Bangbei".The image of hard-working women,the "He Qing-po"is in the process of being constructed constantly.The social structure and historical livelihood conditions are the basis of the formation of the womanhood.The local grassroots social organizations are further consolidating and strengthening the image and value of hardworking women.