An Analysis of Dai Farmers Planting Rubber Trees on Holy Hills in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
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SECULARIZATION OF SACRED SPACE: AN ANALYSIS OF DAI FARMERS PLANTING RUBBER TREES ON HOLY HILLS IN XISHUANGBANNA, YUNNAN, CHINA by Gaëtan Reuse University of Geneva 2001-2007 BA Chinese Studies BA History of Religions THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Geography © Gaëtan Reuse 2010 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2010 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. APPROVAL Name: Gaëtan Reuse Degree: Master Title of Thesis: Secularization Of Sacred Space: An Analysis of Dai Farmers Planting Rubber Trees On Holy Hills In Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. Examining Committee: Chair: Eugene McCann Graduate Chair Associate Professor, Department of Geography ______________________________________ Dr. Janet Sturgeon Senior Supervisor, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography ______________________________________ Dr. Nick Blomley Supervisor, Professor, Department of Geography ______________________________________ Dr. Paul Kingsbury External Examiner, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography Date Defended/Approved: AUGUST 2010 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Last update: Spring 2010 ABSTRACT In Xishuangbanna, the religious beliefs of the Dai ethnic minority have shaped the management of „holy hills', sacred forests believed to be the dwelling place of the spirit of the ancestors. Logging and reclaiming land on 'holy hills' used to be forbidden by customary law. Shifting state land use policies have blurred the boundary between sacred forests and the secular realm. Indeed, during the past four decades the area covered by 'holy hills' has dramatically receded, with some holy hills partly or totally destroyed in order to plant rubber trees. By looking at the changing meaning of property and the allocation of state property rights, my research seeks to explain how some Dai „holy hills‟ have been secularized and some others remain sacred. Keywords: Xishuangbanna; Dai ethnic minority; holy hills; property rights; rubber trees iii LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS “Traduttore, traditore” (Translator, traitor) Italian proverb As the Italian proverb suggests, some words are better not translated so that their real meaning cannot be distorted or misunderstood. Most of the people from whom I collected the data necessary to write my thesis were Dai speakers. Dai language is spoken in Xishuangbanna, and belongs to the Tai language family. My interviews were conducted in Mandarin and some of them required the help of a Dai – Chinese translator. My informants and translator sometimes had no choice but to use a Dai term. In my thesis, there are therefore Chinese and Dai words that I chose not translate in English. These words are places name, peoples‟ titles and functions; I explained their meaning and limited their use. I have used the pinyin romanization system to transcribe these words. They are italicised in the text and included in the glossary. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii Language Conventions .................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v List of Figures................................................................................................................ vii List of Maps ................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. ix Glossary .......................................................................................................................... x 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2: Methodology ............................................................................................................ 12 3: Theory ...................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Territory and territoriality ....................................................................................... 20 3.1.1 Territory: a socially constructed space ....................................................... 21 3.1.2 Deploying the territory: territoriality and territorialization ............................. 25 3.2 Property ................................................................................................................ 31 3.2.1 Property rights in humans .......................................................................... 33 3.2.2 Property rights during the Mao era (1950-1976) ........................................ 35 3.2.3 Property rights in land in post-Mao China .................................................. 36 3.2.4 Property and sacred space, property of sacred space ............................... 39 3.3 Sacred space and exercise of power ..................................................................... 45 4: Historical background ............................................................................................ 47 4.1 Indirect Chinese rule over Sipsongpanna .............................................................. 47 4.1.1 Property rights in land and in humans ........................................................ 51 4.1.2 Managing commoners for the Dai aristocracy ............................................ 53 4.1.3 Reinforcing property over people and land: the holy hills ........................... 56 4.2 Sacred space and „holy hills‟ ................................................................................. 59 4.3 State policies towards religion in China 1898 – 2008 ............................................ 61 4.3.1 Republican era (1911-1949) .....................................................................