Performing place and ethnic identity within ethnic tourism among the Miao of Dehang village Western Hunan China.

摘要

This study explores how performative practice and everyday life within ethnic tourism is used as a medium in which ethnic identity and place identity are constructed and negotiated by the locals. Place identity and ethnic identity are both subparts of self-concept for individuals. The concept of role identity emphasizes the aspect of self-assigned meaning by individuals. Performance theory suggests that performance can be used for identity expression, construction, or resistance.;Through ethnographic research, this study focused on the description and interpretation of the Miao people's cultural practices and everyday life experiences as a means of identity performance in an ethnic tourism environment. This ethnographic work provides accounts of role playing among different groups of Miao people, such as Miao elites, stage performers, Miao intellectuals, and lay villagers. By so doing, it examines the identification process and the self-acquired meanings in cultural practices and everyday life among both Miao elites and ordinary Miao people. It aims to understand the Miao people's interests, concerns, complaints, or resentments toward ascribed dimensions of identities in the context of ethnic tourism. The ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in Dehang Miao village, Western Hunan, China. Participant observation and unstructured interviews constitute the main methods for data collection.