An Analysis of the Oral-Formulaic Features of the Mosuo Folk Ballad "Jiacuokua
This article applies Oral-Formulaic Theory (the Parry-Lord theory) to analyze "Jiacuokua," a folk ballad circulating among the Mosuo people of Yidi, a Naxi subgroup in Yunnan, China. The author first reviews existing scholarship on Mosuo oral tradition, noting that despite abundant research on Mosuo social structure, matrilineal culture, and marriage customs, studies focusing specifically on Mosuo oral literature itself—especially from an oral-formulaic perspective—remain scarce, with only a few prior theses addressing this angle. The paper then situates "Jiacuokua" within its cultural and social context of survival before examining its core oral-formulaic features: formulaic language, recurring thematic clusters, and story patterns centered on "house-building, entertaining people, and entertaining deities." The author argues that performances of "Jiacuokua" embody the Mosuo ancestors' spiritual pursuit of "joy shared with the gods," holding significant meaning in Yidi Mosuo communal social life.
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