彝族传统习俗信仰力与彝区环保

The Power of the Yi' s Traditional Custom- Belief and Environmental Protection in the Yi Area

人类与自然的关系问题,既是一个古老的课题,也是一个崭新的课题。就彝族而言,在与自然的关系中自古就有保护自然生态的习俗。这些习俗现从某些种角度看似乎是落后的"迷信",但在特定的语境下却能发挥应有的作用。随着社会的发展,现在的环保固然要引进新的机制和科学的方法,使之形成一种综合的文化软实力。

The folk customs of an ethnic group are their living and spiritual culture which were created,inherited,and enjoyed by generations of that group. It has a function in the education,norms,unity,regulations,aesthetics,etc. of the group. The function of regulations is reflected in three aspects： 1） regulating the relations of human beings; 2） regulating individual psychology; and 3） regulating the relations between man and nature. Seen from the perspective of current environmental protection,the most important content found in the regulations of the relations between the man and nature is protecting the environment through specific behavior,and promoting the importance of environmental protection through specific behavior or public form. Many ethnic groups in the world have flood myths. There are many reasons for the creation of flood myths. However,one aspect is clear — the cause of the flood reflects a kind of concept linked with the culture of man. For example,the cause of the flood in the Bible was that God saw that mankind lost its morality and people did not receive him kindly. The causes of the flood myth among the various Yi branches are different. Among them one cause was that humans reclaimed land excessively,therefore,the leader of the heavenly deities created a flood to punish them. For example,the flood myth popular in the Yi area of Guizhou connects the cause and effect of the people＇ s intensive farming with the flood. If we interpret this myth within the context of environmental protection,we will reach a different conclusion which goes beyond its former meaning. In the Yi＇ s traditional society,in addition to the education of environmental protection in the form of literature,there are also rituals which play a function in environmental protection. Seen from xinan yizhi（ Southwest Yi History） and a large number of ancient Yi classics,as well as the folklore among the Yi society,there are a lot of environmental protection behaviors in the Yi＇ s traditional beliefs and their rituals. Furthermore,they are highly effective. According to the materials provided by some researchers from Liangshan Prefectural Nationalities Research Institute,there is an Yi area named Dibo Luoga which lies between Zhaojue and Xichang. In this place,every household has a forest of bamboo,cypress and poplar around their houses. Every household has an average of a half mu（ more than 300 square meters） of self- planted forest,which is like a private plot in the past. In this area,every household maintains the good tradition of planting trees and protecting forests, and does not practice the bad habit of excessive deforestation. In addition,the local residents accept modern scientific knowledge of planting. After they harvest the crops,they plant green manure in their field,leaving only a few pieces of land for planting carrots. Why is there this kind of wonderful phenomena？ It is not the result of measures enforced by a powerful organization＇ s or specific ideological work,but the result from the local residents＇ awareness on the importance of environmental protection. They take measures to protect the environment through a combination of traditional customs,modern knowledge,and related management institutions. This kind of environmental protection method has been included in the local rulesand regulations so as to regulate the local residents＇ behavior. This is worthy of noting within the many environmental experiences in China. Large amounts of deforestation has not only reduced the kinds of animals and plants,but has even resulted in the disappearance of animals and plants. This has resulted in a serious ecological imbalance. There are also a lot of things related to environment that should be noticed in Liangshan. Trees in the mountains have been cut down; nothing grows in some places,and there is a gradual process of desertification. Seen from various phenomenona,the cause of environmental degradation in the Liangshan Yi area,in addition to the same reasons in other places,is due to the weakening of traditional beliefs and the absence of scientific rationality. Moreover,when people receive few benefits,they ignore the wealth of natural environment left by their ancestors for generations. In Liangshan,in addition to the five small industrial enterprises（ small coal mines, small steel mills, small fertilizer plants,small cement plants and small machinery factories）,there are wine factories and other processing factories. The wastewater from these enterprises is drained into the rivers or fields without any treatment. From the myths and epics found among the Yi and other ethnic people,we should notice that the ethnic people＇ s ecological philosophy of adaptation to the nature and moderate exploitation of the nature. Due to the existence of this philosophy, there is a kind of environmental protection method from the angle of religious belief. However,the Yiarea in Sichuan stepped into the socialist society directly from Slave Society. For them,it seems that the culture change has been achieved overnight. People did not know what to do,and there was a serious cultural fracture. Therefore,for the environmental protection in the Yi area,the author of this article states that their excellent traditions should be fully used and let them continue to play their regulatory functions. The ancestors＇ idea on nature should be adopted. Moreover,the government also should take actions,introduce modern management institutions, enhance environmental education,and consider combining the traditional culture which protects the environment with modern science. By doing so,it will change the traditional cultural regulations into a comprehensive cultural soft power enabling it to play the role of maintaining the ecological environment of human beings.