资源、社会与小生境:埃蒙德·利奇的锡兰民族志

Resources,Society and Niche:The Ceylon Ethnography of Edmund Leach

在南亚民族学的相关讨论中,亲属制度和土地制度常被视为分割的两个独立话题。人类学家埃蒙德·利奇通过对锡兰村庄的民族志研究,以结构—功能主义的视角分析锡兰的亲属制度与土地制度之间的互动关系。其作品《普伊利亚》延续了其社会人类学的理论思想,集中反映了相关调研成果及学术创见。土地与维系生产生活的水资源高度关联,体现了村落中的社会关系与社会团结,而亲属、婚姻与种姓等制度又区别于市场中利益最大化的观念,很大程度上影响或是决定了土地的所有权,并使之产生历时性的变化。与此同时,资源及社会关系之间所呈现出的关联并非恒定的,而是由传统的公平分配原则所制约。在殖民与后殖民的国家治理中,相应政策的干预也在改变二者的关系,并引入外部市场、阶级分化等新的话题。在普伊利亚所呈现的动态变化中,利奇引入了关于生态、社会及其适应性的讨论,并对社会结构、社会团结和人类学案例研究等理论与方法论概念进行了反思与批判。此外,其对社会生活两方面交错关系的分析有助于从多维度的视角重新审视南亚地方社会。对于种姓等南亚区域性概念的民族志呈现亦提供了一个可供参考的案例,以回顾其所在年代的学术话语进程及相关的理论图景。

In the relevant discussions of South Asian ethnology,the kinship system and land system are often regarded as two separate topics.Through the ethnographic study of Ceylon villages,the anthropologist Edmund Leach tried to analyze the interaction of the two aspects from the perspective of structural functionalism.His work Pul Eliya continues his theoretical thoughts on social anthropology and reflects the relevant research results and academic innovations.In this ethnography,land is highly associated with the water resources that support production and life that reflects the social relations and social solidarity in the village.The systems of kinship,marriage,and caste are different from the concept of maximizing interests in the market,which largely affect or determine the ownership of land and lead to a diachronic change of land.At the same time,the relationship between resources and social relations is not constant,but restricted by the traditional principle of equitable distribution.In the governance of the colonial and post-colonial eras,the intervention of corresponding policies is also changing the relationship between the two and introducing new topics such as external markets and class differentiation.In the dynamic changes presented by Pul Eliya,Leach introduced the discussion of ecology,society,and its adaptability,and reflected and criticized the theoretical and methodological concepts of social structure,social solidarity,and anthropological case studies.The ethnographic presentation of regional concepts in South Asia,such as caste,also provides a reference case to review the academic discourse process and relevant theoretical landscape of its era.