Cultural Circles and Epic Transmission: The Dai (Tai) People in China (original) (raw)

TAI ETHNIC GROUP IN CHINA AND TAI EPIC

EPICS STUDIES, 2019

This article introduces the Tai ethnic group in China, and then discusses the Tai epic in the context of dualistic beliefs. The Tai ethnic group is one of 55 minorities in China; its several branches reside in different areas, but mainly in Yunnan Province. According to historical documents, Tai groups have been developing for hundreds of years separately and as a result, there are four Tai dialect areas: the Sipsong Panna (Xishuangbanna) Tai dialect groups, the Daikong (Dehong) Tai dialect groups, the Hong-Jin Tai dialect groups, and Jinping Tai dialect groups. Most of them have adopted Theravada Buddhism from Thailand or Burma before the 14th century while maintaining primitive belief. However, some Tai groups kept only primitive belief without any influence of Buddhism all the time. As a result, Tai people practice a kind of dualistic beliefs, and this system influences the connotation and inheritance mode of Tai epics This article is based on the data of “Tai Origin Epic Study” project funded by the Young Scholars Funding of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The study used theoretical material mainly from Chinese researchers. Through literature study and several field expeditions in Tai villages Southwestern China, the author found that there are dualistic styles of Tai epic, existing both as oral tradition and as written manuscript. Although there are various forms of epics in different Tai branches and whether are oral songs or written texts, all Tai poetries share the same rhyme rule. For one thing, the most popular rhythm is the Tail-Waist rhyme which functions just like a chain of rings; for another thing, the rhyme in oral tradition is more outstanding and beautiful than in written texts.

Narratives and Rituals: The Inheritance Context of Dai Epics

EPICS STUDIES, 2023

Abstract.The Dai (Tai) ethnic group in China boasts a rich tradition of poetry and folk narratives， often closely intertwined with folk ritual activities.Behind these folk events， there are usually the associated explanatory text. This paper is based on field research data collected from 2008 to 2016， including interviews with the local people，tracking folk events， and understanding narrative texts.Three cases were selected from the data to elaborate on the relationship between rituals and narratives.The first case is wedding， the pickled fish jars in the betrothal ceremony could be explained in the narrative poem“A-Luang Basom” and the ritual of Crossing-the-Bridge during weddings simulates the typical scene of a hero's return and marriage as portrayed in the A-Luang story. The second case is funeral， where people often transcribe and recite the scripture“GaP o”to express gratitude for the mother's childbirth.The third case involves the dedication of narratives“Ya Huan hao”or“Bu Huan hao” in Buddhist temples， narrating the story of the struggle between the rice sprite and the Buddha.The ritual of summoning“Ya Huan hao”or“Bu Huan hao”reflects deep respect for the rice sprite.Through these analyses, it becomes evident that folk narratives serve as interpretations of folk rituals.Different rituals, in turn, provide the context for the practice and transmission of narratives.Narratives and rituals complement eachother， reflecting the Dai people's profound understanding of traditional poetry.

Poets as Keepers of Buddhist Tradition: The Zare Culture of Myanmar, Thailand and Yunnan

The Asia-Europe Foundation , 2023

This short article talks about a unique poetic tradition in the Theravada Shan communities of upper Myanmar, northern Thailand and the Yunnan province of China, that serves as a primary means of transmitting Buddhist teachings. Known as lik long (great writing), this form of poetry is composed and recited by zares, who are predominantly lay Buddhists, in temples and houses on special occasions.

Religion and Poetry in Medieval China: The Way and the Words

2023

This volume of interdisciplinary essays examines the intersection of religion and literature in medieval China, focusing on the impact of Buddhism and Daoism on a wide range of elite and popular literary texts and religious practices in the 3rd-11th centuries CE. Drawing on the work of the interdisciplinary scholar Stephen Bokenkamp, the essays weave together the many cross-currents of religious, intellectual, and literary traditions in medieval China to provide vivid pictures of medieval Chinese religion and culture as it was lived and practiced. The contributors to the volume are all highly regarded experts in the fields of Chinese poetry, Daoism, Buddhism, popular religion, and literature. Their research papers cut across imagined disciplinary boundaries to show that the culture of medieval China can only be understood by close reading of texts from multiple genres, traditions, and approaches.

Ethnographic Poetry in North-East India and Southwest China

2012

The cultures of North East India are already facing tremendous challenges from education and modernization. In the evolution of such cultures and the identities that they embody, the loss of distinctive identity markers does not bode well for the tribes of the region. If the trend is allowed to continue in an indiscriminate and mindless manner, globalization will create a market in which Naga, Khasi or Mizo communities will become mere brand names and commodity markers stripped of all human significance and which will definitely mutate the ethnic and symbolic identities of a proud people. Globalization in this sense will eventually reduce identity to anonymity. (“Identity” 7)