TAI ETHNIC GROUP IN CHINA AND TAI EPIC

(based on the materials of Chinese researches)

Abstract

This article introduces the Tai ethnic group in China, and then discusses the Tai epic in the context of dualistic beliefs. The Tai ethnic group is one of 55 minorities in China; its several branches reside in different areas, but mainly in Yunnan Province. According to historical documents, Tai groups have been developing for hundreds of years separately and as a result, there are four Tai dialect areas: the Sipsong Panna (Xishuangbanna) Tai dialect groups, the Daikong (Dehong) Tai dialect groups, the Hong-Jin Tai dialect groups, and Jinping Tai dialect groups. Most of them have adopted Theravada Buddhism from Thailand or Burma before the 14th century while maintaining primitive belief. However, some Tai groups kept only primitive belief without any influence of Buddhism all the time. As a result, Tai people practice a kind of dualistic beliefs, and this system influences the connotation and inheritance mode of Tai epics.

This article is based on the data of “Tai Origin Epic Study” project funded by the Young Scholars Funding of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The study used theoretical material mainly from Chinese researchers. Through literature study and several field expeditions in Tai villages Southwestern China, the author found that there are dualistic styles of Tai epic, existing both as oral tradition and as written manuscript. Although there are various forms of epics in different Tai branches and whether are oral songs or written texts, all Tai poetries share the same rhyme rule. For one thing, the most popular rhythm is the Tail-Waist rhyme which functions just like a chain of rings; for another thing, the rhyme in oral tradition is more outstanding and beautiful than in written texts.

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