The Return of the Divine King: The Daizi Festival in rGyal rong and the Politics of the Sino-Tibetan Frontier

Séance du séminaire du Centre d’Études Himalayennes (CEH) centrée sur le travail de l’ethnologue Tang Yun (Southwest University of Nationalities, Chengdu / visiting scholar à Oxford pour l’année 2016-17), avec une intervention intitulée “The Return of the Divine King: The Daizi Festival in rGyal rong and the Politics of the Sino-Tibetan Frontier”.

Abstract

Situated at the east of the Sino-Tibetan frontier, rGyal rong was officially classified as a Tibetan area in the 1950s. The household principle and the system of house-names are the keystones around which rGyal rong’s social relations are articulated. On the one hand, in terms of religion, the rGyal rong people who practice Yungdrung Bon adhere to Tibetan Buddhism (with links to its west); on other hand, its politics is oriented towards the central government (to its east). The famous 18 rgyal po or local rulers in rGyal rong, who got their political authority from the central government in Beijing, have historically been in constant conflict with one another physically and symbolically. These conflicts even triggered the two influential Jinchuan Campaigns in the Qing Dynasty, which resulted in some structural transformation in the politics of rGyal rong.

The Daizi Festival is an annual festival celebrating the king sGo ldong, who is respected as a divine king as well as the ancestor by local people. As a mythico-ritual complex, this festival begins with sGo ldong’s annual return and ends by sending him away properly. By reconfirming sGo ldong’s sacred achievements, the order and hierarchy of the rGyal rong cosmos get its annual revival in the festival. At first sight, it is easy to conclude that the Daizi Festival is similar to the ceremony of Makihiki (Hawaii), which is one of the most famous case studies in divine kingship. However, if we go through the festival and its origin myth more carefully, and examine the festival within its historical and political context, we will find that rGyal rong’s version of kingship is structurally the opposite of Hawaii’s. This may lead to the reflex of the bipartite nature of kingship and a different perception of sovereignty, feudalism, and politics in the Sino-Tibetan frontier.

Date

• Jeudi 23 mars 2017, de 10 h à 12 h

Lieu

• Salle de conférences du bâtiment D – Campus Villejuif, 7 rue Guy Môquet, 94800 Villejuif

A ceux d’entre vous qui n’êtes pas du campus CNRS de Villejuif : Prière de noter qu’il vous faudra laisser une carte d’identité à l’entrée (plan Vigipirate) ; et indiquez au gardien que vous venez pour participer au séminaire Himalaya.

Aurélia Martin

Chargée de communications et des médias pour l'UMR Chine Corée Japon (CNRS)

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