Research on the Traditional Taboo Culture of the Yi Ethnic Group

Author: Bai Xingfa / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: For a long time, taboo issues have been touched upon in many works, but overall, they remain a weak area of research. It is encouraging that in recent years, there has been an increase in works on taboo culture, and the situation is gradually maturing. However, when it comes to a specific ethnic group, there are still no systematic monographs on the subject. This book selects the Southwest Yi ethnic group as the research subject because Yi traditional culture has a rich heritage, and the connotations of taboo culture are even deeper and broader. Among China's ethnic minorities, and particularly in Southwest China, the Yi ethnic group is highly representative. The book consciously delves into the origins of Yi taboos, the social and historical background of their formation, their evolution, and their transmission, conducting rigorous organization, analysis, and highlighting the characteristics of traditional Yi taboo culture. It should be noted that, based on existing materials, a comprehensive and systematic study of Yi taboos still faces considerable difficulties. This is because: First, among domestic and international works on taboo research, while there are many descriptive accounts of taboo phenomena, truly substantial theoretical works are scarce, and there are few results. Second, in existing materials, whether historical records of the Yi ethnic group or ethnological and folkloric survey data, the content related to taboos is relatively limited, leaving users with only a limited amount of material to work with.