Women's Ritual in China
Book (italiano):
Based on historical, textual and field studies, this thesis examines a women-oriented initiation rite called Jiezhu. Jiezhu, once-in-a-lifetime rite of passage, is performed by menopausal women in Ninghua, Western Fujian, China. It is believes in he villages of Ninghua that when a women reaches her menopausal age, she has to do Jiezhu, without which, her Amituofo recitation would not be efficacious. In other words, Jiezhu, as a prerequisite for Amituofo recitation, is at the same time a purification rite. Amituofo recitation is the chanting of the phrase "namo Amituofo", which is a rite commonly used among Buddhist for the attainment of merits. However, the attained merits would be nullified if the initate gets pregnant after she has done Jiezhu. This has much to do with taboos related to female sexuality. Women always have a marginalized status as the supposedly "weaker" gender having a lower social position. The association of female bodily discharges with defilement further discredits their status. Jiezhu in efect reinforces the idea of "defilement" attributed to the female body. The shame that the women feel with the male-defined negative female bodily image affirms the patriarchal hegemony. Jiezhu on the one hand "traditionalizes", and on the other hand, as a strategic mode of action, challenges traditions through religious and social empowerment. Jiezhu preserves the established order but it also facilitates transformation in the initiate.
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