生计、婚姻与族群边界:西南边疆汉族移民的人类学考察

Livelihood,Marriage and Ethnic Group Boundaries:An Anthropological Investigation of a Han Immigrant Group in the Southwest Border Areas of China

通过对西南边疆民族地区一个汉族移民群体的人类学考察,发现在因民族文化融合导致语言、服饰、宗教等划分族群边界的显性文化符号日益弱化之时,物质层面的生计与社会层面的婚姻却日益凸显,成为汉族保持自我认同与维系族群边界的重要方式。这一现象说明,在探讨维系族群边界与表达族群认同的文化要素时,不应单纯地强调客观方面的文化特征,而应重视是在怎样的族群关系背景下,又是基于什么样的心理动因,才使特定文化要素凸显,成为群体表达自我认同与维系族群边界的方式与手段。

Through the anthropological investigating of a Han Immigrant Group in the Southwest Border Areas of China,the author finds out that due to the integration of ethnic cultures,the explicit cultural symbols of language,clothing,religion as well as other ethnic boundaries are increasingly weakened.However,cultural symbols such as livelihood and marriage at the material level are becoming increasingly prominent,which has become an important way for the Han people to maintain self-identity and maintain ethnic boundaries.This phenomenon tells us that when we explore the cultural boundaries that maintain ethnic boundaries and express ethnic identity,we should not simply emphasize the cultural characteristics in the objective aspect.It should be emphasized that how specific cultural elements will be highlighted in the context of specific ethnic relations and based on particular psychological motives.By doing so,those cultural elements could become a means for ethnic groups to self-identity and maintain ethnic boundaries.