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- Title
Jiao and the Local Society: Case Studies on Two Jiao Rituals in Puli.
- Authors
Mei Hui-yu
- Abstract
The jiao is considered a community ritual that reconstructs cosmic order and purifies local community. That notion, however, derives from the display of Daoists' ritual performances. In this article, I will investigate local perception in Puli on the jiao process from the perspective of "rite of passage" and "ritualization." I will explicate the local cognition on "jiao as pudu" and "the presentation of jiao." To say that "jiao as pudu" is to connect ritual performance with local religious community's context of publicness, particularly the influences from the Flying Phoenix Halls and the Vegetarian Halls. Actors (partakers) from different coalitions perceive and enact the jiao in their own ways and demonstrate the ritualization process of constructing local communitas. They compete, cooperate, and negotiate in this contention for power. At the same time, through execution of jiao preparation in multiple ritual space, they embody a state of communitas and carry out the rite of passage in each own communal context. The case study illustrates complicated dialectical relations between Daoist ritual performance and local society. The program of the Daoist ritual scheme (... keyibiao) is the axis of the entire jiao procedure. Its factual content and style, on the other hand, has to conform to local tradition. Although it is the Daoist(s) who set up the altar and perform the offering, forces from different contexts -- including changes in local power structure, business competition between Daoist troupes and regional ritual conventions -- all affect the ways a jiao is presented. In this study, I suggest that an analysis of the ritual experts' performance is not enough to explain how the jiao transforms local society. It is also mandatory that we examine and elucidate conventions of the local religion and characteristics of ritual performance.
- Subjects
RITES &; ceremonies; RITUALISM; RITUALIZATION; TAOISM; TAOISM &; other religions
- Publication
Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre & Folklore / Mínsú Qǔyì, 2015, Issue 187, p211
- ISSN
1025-1383
- Publication type
Article