A Survey On Psychics Of Dong People In Guangxi Autonomous Region

Being the dispensable component of folk religion among Dong People(a minority group in Southern China,which mainly inhabits in Guangxi,Guizhou and Hunan Province.),psychics who have distinctive characteristics of Dong People and serve as the medium between man and deities play the role to pray to the Heaven for eliminating bales and the befalling of blessings.The dissertation will firstly make clear the connections between the occupation and social order,and then probe into the features of the belief of Dong People in the process of regulating social codes of ethics by reviewing the history of psychic activities.Exemplified by the devout idolatry of divinities,it tries to demonstrate the roles of psychics in daily life.After which follows a further reflection on the inheriting of traditional culture in China at present with a hope to arrest the attention of scholars to study the activity of psychics among Dong People from academic perspective.To achieve the above mentioned goals,the author investigated the psychics in Gaoding Village of Sanjiang County and conducted detailed filed study.As mentioned before,the occupation of psychic has distinguishing feature of the ethnic group,some succeeded their fathers as psychic,and others undertake such work by accidents,such as illness,madness or ridiculous dreams.The paper enquires into the process of mastering the craft for psychics as well,which indicates that they are civilianized as for productive labor and enjoy a relatively superior economic status,and the ceremony of prayer would be the major focus of the paper.There exists worship of natural deities among Dong People,including gnome,ancient trees and giant stones.Besides ancestor and other deity worships also coexist,which are justified by the detailed sacrifice ceremony of Shi Gong Lao and Fei Shan Gong.Ranging from the ceremonies warding off evil spirit for babies,praying for good luck for newly-married couples before they enter their house,to driving off ghosts from the sick and pacify their soul,one can easily sense the ethic concept of Dong People that each object in the world has spirit,more children more felicities and filial respect to parents.Legends represent the traits of cultural fusion,while the worship of deities and ghosts suggests the order of social life of the ethnic group.Furthermore,the essay collects the opinions upon themselves from the angle of subject and uncovers the theory of need and hazard from the perspective of object.With the typical combination of the method to study from both subject and object perspectives,it explores the manifestations of Dong People’s folk religion on which psychics rely in accordance to the life experience of an aged psychic.Therefore,the author holds that the philosophy that each object in the world has spirit results in the worship of nature,and achieves the goal that human coexists with nature potentially.Ancient people awoke to the practicality of more children more felicities and filial respect to parents,which was influenced naturally by Confucianism.The legends prevailing in folk religion to some extent presents the multi-cultural fusion of Zhuang,Yao and Miao,which are applicable to each ethnic group and improve the cultural construction.Psychics once again cast light upon the relationship of honorableness and humbleness within the group,and the intimacy and alienation between ethnic groups.The ceremony of conjuring deities and drive ghosts can be regarded as a beneficial reference to adjust the relationship within and outside the group,to keep their balance and to establish the inside as well as the outside social order to get along with each other harmoniously.