"An ethnic group named "Citizen" : Exploring the potential to develop latent symbolic world and ethnic self-images of the Prajas in Nepal resorting to four stranger representations."
Kenichi TACHIBANA
There exists a group of people whose ethnic name generally means a "citizen" and a "subject". "Praja" in Nepal is such a people. These people were conventionally called "Chepang. But people themselves have rejected this name as being connected to their "uncivilized" images. Although people have an identity as "Praja", they will not tell much about who they are, because other people tend to take their self-image narration as part of the discourse to classify them as "uncivilized". In this way, the people who name themselves "Praja" have had difficulties in representing themselves.
This paper tries to explore various phases of their ethnic images, some of which might be latent self-images. The analysis and discussion are based on the material of my fieldwork of about three years, and aims to supply resources for people's self-representation. At the same time, I try to put forward a new perspective and new methodology for the ethnicity theories which have considered the problem of identity and the relation between ethnic groups and a state.
The purpose and task of this paper are discussed in part I. Conventional ethnicity theories have two major postulates. One considers the ethnic identity as "continuity" since pre-modern times. The other presumes it to be "divided" by modernization including the emergence of nation-states. They both base their discussions on "self-representation" given by ethnic groups they study. But this paper will not consider "continuity" and "division" as alternatives. It takes a view that we cannot talk about continuity in the absence of divisions. As for "self-representation", they are seldom given by Prajas verbally, but, in my view, are hidden under daily behaviors and customs. It is one of the important tasks of this paper to extract such covert self-images.
Smith's study on nationalism (1999 〔1986〕) takes a similar perspective. He, from a viewpoint of historicism, assumes that there were "ethnies" in pre-modern times and maintains that they continue to exist even within modern nations as a substratum. To describe various possibilities of this continuity, Smith puts forward the notion "ethnie" as divided from "nation". However, this approach is not unproblematic as it axiomatically presupposes the existence of ethnies though past phenomena cannot be figured out clearly.
In this paper, keeping in mind the possibility of Smith's argument, but avoiding his shortcomings, I propose a synchronic multi-phasic analysis. It "divides" the society into synchronic phases but not into historical layers as Smith does. It also tries to grasp the continuity between ethnicity and nation as an aspect of structure rather than a historical "continuation".
Yanai (1995) discussed the generation of culture among the Mapuche in Chile. He divides the Mapuche life into three kinds of "habitus", namely Mapuche habitus, Chile habitus and that in between. Then he explores the possibility of culture generation by finding "continuity" between them. However, it is also to some extent problematic in that Yanai considers the "division" as obviously determined.
Here I try to extract the phases of the Praja life resorting to people's representations and take up four images of a certain Stranger (=the present author) made by villagers. They are Cinglang (a cannibal demon), Cor (a thief), Sar (a teacher), and Duhkhi (a person in trouble).
With these images as a starting point, I try to excavate the symbolic world behind them. But we need some theoretical framework in order to pursue this task. We notice that previous studies dealing with socio-cultural theories of strangers have tended to resort to the logic of binary opposition to tackle their problems. But I refrain from using that logic as the main analytical tool for the present analysis, because I disagree to the view that it is fundamental. Instead, we utilize the principle lying behind that logic, namely the concept of "division/connection" or "inclusion/exclusion".
In part II, the symbolic world of Cinglang, i.e. the phase of family and descent, marriage and affinity, and ancestral and supernatural world, is analyzed. Cinglang appears in myths or tales with "meat" as an important accompanying component. Therefore, it should be clarified in what scenes of life customs relating to meat appear, are talked about, and are connected with the logic of distribution and prestation. Then, we consider how the logic is related to the concept of "division/connection" or "inclusion/exclusion".
In this way, relationships of people with animals, humans, and supernatural beings are analyzed, and it is clarified that Cinglang is a supernatural being placed outside of the human world characterized by mutual exchange. It is also made clear that it is a contrastive figure to "pigs" domesticated by humans. What appears here as the cultural element is the human being practicing exchanges in an egalitarian way.
In part III, the phase related to the state and the symbolic world of "Cor", "Sar", and "Duhkhi" is analyzed. Cor means a thief (or thieves) and is often referred to in connection with the memory or image of the government being capsized and in anarchy. In this connection, I talk about the authoritarian characteristics of the Nepali state and its relation with people through tax collectors assigned to villages.
Cor is also deeply related with forests, which in turn are closely connected to the state. Among the forest residents are the "Kusunda" who are connected with the image of extreme backwardness. They are regarded as being outside the civilized Hindu state and society, looked down upon, and excluded. In this way the world of Cor sheds light on Prajas' relation with the authoritarian state, together with their orientation towards forests and other forest "residents"; they are placed both within and outside of the Hindu state, having (in their imagination) another group they themselves exclude.
Then the world of Sar is investigated. Sar is a title, which can be translated as "teacher(s)". It usually means school teacher(s), development project staff, politician(s), etc. Here, I first deal with the establishment of the village school, and analyze changes brought about by the development projects of the area started around 1960. People's experiences in which they became a part of the object of development are examined. In the development process, people were entrapped in the situation of a binary opposition in which Lato (stupid) but Sojho (honest) selves are contrasted with Batho (clever) but Chuco (mean) Sars. People with this kind of self-image lose their way in this situation.
Next, the symbolic world of Duhkhi is analyzed. Duhkhi indicates person(s) in trouble, under sufferings, or bearing pain. I was accepted in the village for research by being given this representation. To understand Duhkhi, I focus on a man who called me by this word. By examining his life history, everyday life, and orientation, I show that there is a double bind situation, which characterizes his everyday orientation and is shared by his peers. Reaching out a hand to Duhkhi is to take a step toward realism from the double bind situation for him and others who share similar perception.
By combining the analysis of stranger representations with the multi-phasic analysis, this paper has tried to offer a new perspective to obtain a cluster of ethnic images, or develop latent ethnic self-images. It has also clarified how people and beings external to each other are connected, to which neither Smith nor Yanai paid attention. This has had the effect of elucidating how intricately internal and external elements are intertwined.