Book

The Monguors of the Kansu-Tibetan frontier: Part II. their religious life

American Philosophical Society47 (1)Published In 1957 • Pages: 164

By: Schram, Louis.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This monograph is the second of three projected parts of the study of Monguors of the Kansu-Tibetan Frontier. Father Schram presents the religious life of the Monguor in both historical and a structural-functional frame work. The study covers: (1) the history of the introduction, growth, flourishing and crisis of Lamaism, and the role of Chinese emperors in the diffusion of Lamaism in Huang-chung, (2) the organization of Lamaseries, their role in the community, together with the study of shamanism and the various rites of Monguor religion cults, such as the cult of heaven and the cult of the dead. The influence of the Monguor Lama upon Lamaism and the life of Mongour community, and the social function of religion in Mongour life are discussed at the end of the study. This source is based on local chronicles, the Chinese histories and 'all available sources' as well as the experiences of Father Schram among the people between 1911 and 1922. The great variety of sects and cults, intensive borrowing between these sects and cults, and the complexity of the relationship between religious and nonreligious rites made it difficult for the author to present a clear description of the pattern of religious life. However, the subject has been extensively studied with remarkable objectivity.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
History
Public assistance
General character of religion
Spirits and gods
Prophets and ascetics
Religious denominations
Organized ceremonial
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Monguor
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
East Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Missionary
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Hesung Chun Koh ; 1961
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1911-1922
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1723-1948
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Xining Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Louis M.J. Schram
Historical records compiled in the Ming and Qing Dynasties go back to the Mongol period. Most of Schram's discussion takes place in two time periods: i) the Ming and Qing Dynasties up to the Mongol Revolt of 1723 and ii) the period after the Revolt to the present (1948). Schram's discussion on Shamanism in the last half of the book is based on his 10-year period of ethnographic research.
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
54006120
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Mongour (Chinese people)