主导与依附并存——凉山彝族父系制社会中的母系文化特征研究

The Co-existence of Dominance and Subordinance——Matrilineal Cultural Features in the Patrilineal Society of the Liangshan Yi

凉山彝族受祖先信仰观念影响,不仅强调世俗与神圣层面的性别角色分层,还重视阴阳两界的性别地位差异。本文梳理、诠释彝族女性主导日常生活、享有特殊权限和专有性别教材,以及女性灵魂的依附形式、归属转移、葬礼实质等文化事项,呈现了在世俗生活的日常事务领域,女性主导的日常杂事具有相对随便、量大琐碎和可以改变的性质,而在神圣生活层面的属灵事务领域她们依附父系或夫系的男性事务领域却往往具有超自然、异乎寻常、牢不可破、秩序功能、永恒特质和与祖界家园发生联系的特质。彝族父系制社会中的两性关系始终表现为主导与依附并存态势,唯具体内容、数量、程度等存有差异。

About 3 million people,who live in southern Sichuan province and northern Yunnan province,call themselves ＂Nuosu ＂ in their language,＂Liangshan Yi ＂ officially in China,and＂Nuosu＂or ＂Yi people＂in the western world.According to the ＂Pu Die＂or the family archives of the Liang shan Yi,a historic figure,Shila Ete,married Zini Shise about 4,200 years ago. At that time the matrilineal society of the Nuosu ended,and a patrilineal society began. Up to now it has lasted for more than 170 generations. When the Nuosu society came to the era of Guho and Quoni,around 2,000 years ago,the ethnic structure of the Nuosu entered a slave society identified by a descent hierarchy based upon differentiated bloodlines. It was predominantly a patriarchal society,but the Yi people kept their matrilineal culture,which possibly formed in that particular geographical region,at a specific time,and within the unique way they live their lives. Their coexistence and communication with surrounding Han,Tibetan,and Mosuo people has not interfered with their maintaining their own characteristics. This article uses the concept of ＂ secular life ＂ and ＂sacred one＂,a division created by Mircea Eliade in his work titled Das Heilige Und das Profane,to discuss the coexistence of the dominance of women in secular life and their subordinate position religious life within Yi gender structure.Although Yi society established a patriarchal system since very early times,traces of ＂matrilineal dominance＂can still be observed in their dailylife,and has even become an important indicator for evaluating morality for members of Yi society.Actually,this kind of＂matrilineal dominance＂can be observed from gender-oriented textbooks for Yi women,their privileges,and their dominance in daily life, etc. In traditional Yi society, all women,no matter which family clan or bloodline they belong to,receive instruction from the book Amo Nire. This book,called ＂Nir ＂,follows the main passages of a woman＇s life,establishing models for every stage of an Yi women as a group. It emphasizes the separate social roles for male and female, referring to male family members as＂roots＂,and females as ＂flowers＂that are fostered in the family. Yi women usually have certain exclusive privileges within the political arena,economic affairs,military actions,as well as cultural fields. For instance,the military role played by Yi women can be so significant that no matter how fierce a battle or fight is,the moment an Yi woman steps out to call a truce,the fighting must stop. If it does not,the winning side may still suffer moral defeat. Sometimes,an Yi woman commits suicide to ＂humiliate＂the party supposed to be responsible. As a result,there will be a law suit,and those held responsible will pay dearly. Yi society is deeply rooted in the tradition of respecting the＂mother＂and showing filial obedience to the mother. An Yi proverb says that ＂ Camels are the giants of the livestock,and mothers enjoy the highest status in a family. A mother＇s word is like ink leaving marks on the ground when drippingdown＂. Mothers usually have a very high status in the daily life of the Yi people,and the mother＇s bloodline is highly regarded in Yi society. Many Yi males have a closer relationship with their mothers than with their fathers. In order to show respect for their mothers,Yi society also encourages giving them more elaborate funerals.Yi people who have been grown up within Yi traditional culture generally have a strong awareness of the family clan,and their gender relationships exhibit a strong tendency of being familyclanoriented. The Yi＇s family clan is the basic social unit reckoned for generations through the patrilineal line. It is composed of males from the same patrilineal line,their wives,and unmarried daughters.It is a social unit or group among which no marriage is allowed. Actually it does not treat every family clan member equally,but treats them differently according to gender differences. The key element of ＂male dominance and female subordinance＂in Yi society is mainly reflected in the cultural characteristics of the eternal dependence of the female soul on man,that is,when a girl has not married or woman has not yet held her adulthood ritual,her soul depends on her father＇s bloodline; when she has held the adulthood ritual,but has not married,her soul has to attach itself to an object symbolizing her future husband; and when she has held the adulthood ritual and has married,her soul will depend on her husband for the rest of her entire life.The social roles of the Yi people extend into the spiritual world after their death where the different genders assume different social and religious functions. Such customs can be traced to their ancestral beliefs. The cultural issues explored in this essay such as ＂the mother dominates daily life＂,＂women have certain privileges＂,and ＂ women have manuals tailored to their gender ＂,may appear to be casual,temporary,and numerous,but they actually show the dominance of Yi women in education,politics,military,and culture,as well as in daily affairs.Within secular life,Yi women have the following privileges： 1） their family status is promoted after giving birth to children; they have the power to allocate food and clothing; they have a say in family affairs,and they can comfort their family members and give them consolation. Some of these privileges are not granted to male members of a family. These rights must be protected and guaranteed by their children or their husband＇s relatives in order that there will not be any reason to have them voided in any way. 2） Once women become mother-in-laws,they can enjoy authority by having their son＇s support in an argument with their daughter-in-law. For a man,wives and mothers are weighted differently in their minds. As the saying goes,＂one can have another wife,but not another mother＂. 3） When a mother dies,the scale of the funeral should be larger than that of their father＇s. The sacrifices are more abundant,and more people attend the funeral of a mother than that of a father＇s. This reflects the high status of matrilineal social relationships. Without such relationships,the male heirs of the patrilineal line might have restricted marriage possibilities. 4）Each year the annual festival of ＂A Meng Er Za Re＂,that is ＂Mother＇s Day ＂,is held. This is a festival not for bloodline relatives but for people living in the same place. On this day,all mothers of the same village have a gathering with food they have prepared beforehand. They eat and chat,having fun until night fall. 5） They have their own organization to guarantee women＇s privileges,either as a group or individually,which is formed by patrilineal bloodline relatives. For instance, when there is robbery,abduction,domestic violence,or murder,a ＂Women＇s Assembly＂from the patrilineal bloodline will be involved to assist the fathers and brothers to find justice. Such an assembly is taken as one of the privileges of Yi women,and it has a specific Yi name,Se Ni Meng Ge. Only women with the same family name within the same patrilineal bloodline can participate in the assembly to discuss women＇s issues, and fight for thosewomen whose rights have been violated. Sometimes, male heads are also invited to handle women＇s issues,such as the ＂Degu ＂（ head of a family,whose executing power can extend beyond the family because of their capacity and reputation）,and the ＂Suyi＂（ head of a family on bloodline）. 6） Some bold and brave women go to the battlefield to wave felt capes calling for truce. This is supposed to be a way to stop further casualties in a battle or suspend more expenditure on war.Furthermore, this article interprets several cultural phenomena,such as ＂forms of the attachment of the soul of women＂,＂transferring the soul belonging to women ＂, and ＂the essence of women＇s soul funeral＂,including the cultural phenomenon which requires that both husband and wife＇s souls must go together to the world of th