法的地方知识与实践:三个民族志案例的比较研究

Local Knowledge and Practice of Law:A Comparative Study of Three Ethnographic Cases

通过长时段的田野调查与细腻的民族志研究,人类学家发现,现实中的法不仅意味着自上而下、抽象的外在规则,更对应千差万别的文化观念和相应的行为模式。有关法的知识与当地的道德秩序密不可分,人们对规则的认识亦是对世界的认识,同时也是对伦理化的社会关系的认识,因此,“法律”和“正确”难以二分。法的地方实践有坚实的社会基础,这一基础并不仅仅是地方的,而是区域或国家的,嵌入了宏观的权力网络。仪式提供了某种契机,促使当地人运用具体的知识和实践手段去落实和解决潜在的问题。

Through long-term fieldwork and enriching ethnographic research,anthropologists have found that law does not imply abstract and external rules,but corresponds to a wide variation of cultural concepts and corresponding behavior patterns.Based on the presentation and comparison of three ethnographic cases,it is found that the knowledge of law is inseparable from the local moral order,and people’s understanding of juridic rules is also the understanding of the world,which includes the understanding of ethical social relations.Therefore,“law”and“right”is difficult to distinguish.Secondly,the practice of law has a solid social foundation,which is not only local but regional or national,embedded in the comprehensive power network.Finally,ritual provides an opportunity for locals to use specific knowledge and practical means to identify and solve potential problems.