制造传统——关于傣族泼水节及其相关新年话语的研究

The Making of a Tradition:How the Dai’s Water-splashing Festival Came to be Rein-terpreted as a New Year Festival

有关泼水节即傣历新年的说法在当代学术界已成定论。然而,为什么这一节日庆典的日期不在傣历的一月一日?对此,既有研究并未给出令人满意的解释。在对相关文献进行梳理和作者本人田野研究所得发现的基础上,本文提出了自己的看法,认为泼水节并非傣历新年,而是佛教新年和傣族远古泼水习俗两个来源的结合体。继而,作者指出,被视为傣历新年的泼水节实际上是一种被制造出来的传统。

It has been widely agreed in academia that Poshui Jie （the Water-splashing Festival） is the New Year Festival on the calendar of the Dai （ an ethnic group iving in China＇s Yunnan）. It is perplexing, however, that the festival is not celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Dai Calendar. Studies so far have failed to give a satisfactory answer to this question. Based on both literature and field work, this author argues that Poshui Jie is in fact not the Dai＇s New Year Festival, but rather a combination of two traditions; the Buddhist New Year ceremony and the Dai＇s ancient custom of splashing water in pursuit of good luck. The author proceeds to argue that turning Poshui Jie into the Dai＇s New Year Festival is actually a creation of tradition.