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A Probe into Effective Approaches of Civil Drug Control2007-10-21

A Probe into Effective Approaches of Civil Drug Control Zhuang Kongshao　　 A Probe into Effective Approaches of Civil Drug Control ——Revelation of the “Tiger Day” Initiative in the Yi Ethnic Region of Xiaoliangshan Abstract The “Tiger Day” model， using anthropological theory as a tool， seeks to understand the socio-cultural origins of drug abuse and trafficking。 At the same time， the model attempts to reactivate an ancient lineage rite to fight the abuse of drugs among the Yi people of Liangshan。 By mobilizing and activating the lineage organization， religious rites， traditional moral principles， tribal laws， traditional education and other important elements in the cultural heritage of the Yi people， the willpower to overcome human biological addiction is stimulated and fortified。 This improves the rate of successful rehabilitation among local drug abusers， and facilitates the fight against HIV/AIDS。 Through the documentary Tiger Day， produced by the Institute for Multi-Cultural Research of the Central University for Nationalities， the “Tiger Day” model has been disseminated among the Yi people， and has already exerted a positive impact。 Many lineage chieftains are taking the model seriously， and have begun to practice it。 Local government officials also have recognized the importance of this approach。 This awareness among people lays a preliminary foundation for the implementation of drug control and drug abuse rehabilitation throughout the county。 Implementing Agency Institute of Anthropology， Renmin University of China Objectives Through the educational impact of the documentary， the program attempts to help the Yi people regain and activate their cultural self-confidence in a time of cultural transition。 This， in turn， will help them to control the number of new drug abusers， contain the local HIV/AIDS epidemic， and develop multiple methods to fight HIV/AIDS in Yi communities。 Concurrently， the program seeks to explore the application of anthropological theory and methodology (including visual anthropology) in HIV/AIDS prevention and care。 Background Jingu Rensuo is one of the prominent White-Yi lineages in Liangshan Prefecture， where its lineage members constitute approximately one percent of the total Yi population。 The lineage members are dispersed in 23 counties/cities in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces， and have their main center in Ninglang Yi Autonomous County。 The Jiari family， which belongs to the Jingu Rensuo lineage and lives in the Shaliping Administrative Village in Paomaping Township， Ninglang County， is a typical Yi community。 In 1994， heroin showed up in Paomaping Township for the first time， and some people began to abuse it。 In 1997 and 1998， the drug made further inroads in the Township， and drug trafficking and abuse became common。 By early 1999， the number of drug abusers in the Township had reached 86―approximately 20 percent of the Township’s male population in the 20-40 year old age group。 Among the Jiari family in Shaliping， there were no less than 22 drug abusers。 The very existence of the family was imperilled。 In January 1999， the Jiari family convened a preparatory meeting to combat drugs attended by over 20 degu (Yi family chiefs)。 The meeting initiated the work to prohibit drugs and stop drug abuse， and issued the following decision: Drug abusers within the family are not allowed to go out， and those who are out should be called back。 Martial law is proclaimed within the precincts of the family， and this declaration will be issued to the outside world: No person or group， for any reason， are allowed to bring drugs into the precincts of the family。 During the period of martial law， no outsiders shall interfere in the family’s internal affairs， and no visitors will be received。 Each male member of the family who is under the age of 60 shall pay RMB 5 or， if he has a job， RMB 100， to fund the fight against drugs。 The Jiari Anti-Drug Oath Committee is hereby established。 Jiari Aniu is appointed chairman of the committee and Jiari Wange is the secretary general。 Jiari Muji is the chief advisor， and is responsible for all matters during the committee’s meeting。 A joint policing team will be responsible for monitoring suspected drug traffickers and drug abusers under rehabilitation。 All actions of the team must be approved by the committee。 A Family Anti-Drug War Declaration Ceremony will be held tomorrow (Tiger Day)， and all family members must be present。 In 2002， the Jingu family decided to share the experience of the Jiari family with all families in the lineage。 There were mainly two reasons for this。 First， the experience of 1999 has proven to be effective。 In the four subsequent years， among the original 22 drug abusers， two died， 6 relapsed into drug abuse， and 14 became completely free from drug addiction ― a 64 percent success rate。 After the anti-drug ceremony held in 1999， no new drug abusers had emerged in this family。 The Jiari family could be very proud of this success， which garnered the family praise and support from other families in the lineage。 Second， there are still some 16 drug abusers in this lineage group within Paomaping Township: the six relapsed abusers in the Jiari family， and approximately 10 abusers from two other consanguine lineage families， the Jingu and the Jihuo。 Therefore， this lineage group decided to hold a grand anti-drug ceremony on May 22， 2002 (A Tiger Day according to the Yi calendar)。 Major Activities Since 1999， having attended the Sociology and HIV/AIDS Seminar organized by the China-UK HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project， sociologists and anthropologists have been focusing on the practical application of sociological theory and methodology。 While applying for funds to produce a documentary film about the Yi people’s anti-drug campaign， the project’s reparatory group asked Jiari Muji (chief of the Jiari family of the Jingu lineage) to conduct preliminary survey in his hometown。 The purpose of the survey was to maintain the consistency of the folk anti-drug ceremony， and involved the following issues: 1) What do people think about the drug issue， including the current anti-drug work? 2) Is there a foundation among the people for the anti-drug ceremony? The most important consequence of this preliminary survey was that the local government gave the Jingu lineage the approval to hold a folk anti-drug ceremony。 This aroused the enthusiasm of the Yi compatriots， and elicited the active participation of the chiefs of the families and degus in the preparatory work。 When preparations for the lineage’s “Tiger Day” anti-drug conference and ceremony were complete， friends of the lineage were invited to make video recordings。 The local collaborators included Wang Hua， Ji Jun， Li Jun and Liu Ming。 The project members from Beijing included Zhuang Kongshao， Xu Luya， Fu Xiaoxing， Lei Liangzhong and others。 The camera crews arrived in Paomaping Township on May 20， 2002， and began to document the ceremony to prohibit drugs and stop drug abuse。 While these traditional ceremonies in the Liangshan region are very similar to each other， this project used the visual impact of the film to advance the aim of stopping drugs and rehabilitating drug abusers。 Major events of the traditional， anti-drug proceedings included: The lineage’s degus convened a preparatory meeting for the anti-drug ceremony。 According to Yi customs， a “Tiger Day” is called in the event of war or other collective military action。 Watched over by the “Mountain God，” the degus at the preparatory meeting decided to hold a big oath-swearing meeting on “Tiger Day。” This meant that the Yi people considered their campaign against drugs a war for the survival of the lineage。 (Afternoon， May 21) The oath-swearing meeting was held on “Tiger Day。” The degus， dressed in funerary clothes to demonstrate the severity of the occasion， gave their speeches。 The Bimo， the local religious leader， recited from folk religion scriptures。 The drug abusers drank spirits mixed with chicken and pig blood， swore the oath， and put themselves under the supervision of the custodian。 The anti-drug committee members vouched for the oath， and inscribed it on a stone。 The lineage degu issued the drug prohibition proclamation。 (May 22) At dusk， having returned home， the drug abusers conducted an individual ceremony consisting of prayers and exorcism， including the rituals of “going through a basket，” “turning round heads，” “calling spirits，” et cetera。 (Same day) After the formal anti-drug ceremony， the program team conducted a follow-up survey of the documentary film showings and the folk anti-drug activities， and made the following observations: In June and July 2002， the film Tiger Day was showed in the Lijiang region for one week， and had an unexpected impact。 The Yi people were very moved by the film。 Some of them even cried (See interview with the chief)。 The film made them even more determined to stop the trafficking and abuse of drugs。 Some local chiefs considered the matter seriously， and expressed the wish to hold their own anti-drug ceremony。 In May 2003， during the Ninglang County People’s Congress and People’s Political Consultative Conference， a bill was introduced to establish a “civil anti-drug foundation”。 The bill reads: “The model of lineage folk drug prohibition advocated by the anthropologist Professor Zhuang Kongshao and his students from the Central University for Nationalities (this unit was later changed ― writer’s note) has a constructive function in the anti-drug work of this county。 We believe that this model is well-suited for the situation in this county， and that it should be promoted throughout the county。 In view of the difficult fiscal situation in this county， we propose the establishment of a civil anti-drug foundation， to which each person on the county’s payroll should contribute RMB 2 per year to support and advance the folk anti-drug campaign。 Early in 2003， those who had achieved initial success in drug rehabilitation after the 2002 lineage anti-drug ceremony started a brick factory in order to achieve self-sufficiency through the production of bricks。 May 5， 2003， the People’s Government of the Ninglang Yi Autonomous County approved the resolution on the implementation of a monthly donation to the civil anti-drug fund from employees and retirees of the administrative and institutional units。 By June， 2003， two of the 16 drug abusers who had participated in the Tiger Day ceremony had relapsed into drug abuse。 One of these two was voluntarily committed by his family to rehabilitation through enforced labour (the most shameful type of punishment in the eyes of the Yi people)。 The other relapsed drug abuser was held in custody at home so that his rehabilitation could continue。 The remaining 14 were leading normal lives， and behaving satisfactorily。 Experiences Folk rites， tribal laws， traditional moral principles and education， et cetera， can be adapted to and combined with modern law， ethics and education in a very good way。 We have found that the pluralistic cultural forces of tribal law， folk rites， ethnic group identification and emotional cohesion， pious faith， individual credit， family honour， moral principles and education provided by custodians or kin can effectively enhance the willpower of drug abusers who belong to the lineage to break with their drug addiction。 This facilitates the fight against AIDS， and helps to ensure the well-being of the whole ethnic group。 The drug abusers under rehabilitation have received unswerving support from other lineage members。 Since 1999， the supervision and education given by these relatives， together with the individual efforts of the drug abusers， has led to successful rehabilitation for 60 percent of the abusers。 The operational method of this programme is to first conduct a preliminary survey， identify the objectives of the programme， and then apply for funding。 This enhances the focus of the programme work。 Comments Mobilizing Cultural Forces to Solve the HIV/AIDS Issue The mobilization of key elements in the traditional cultural heritage of a locality to solve complex social problems represents new way of thinking， and a new way of implementing programmes in practice。 This programme uses anthropological theory to， under the impetus of the autochthonous anti-drug ceremony and with full respect for the locality’s culture and ethnic moral norms， further understand the socio-cultural origins of drug abuse and trafficking， and to find effective ways of helping people to help themselves。 In the Yi societies of the Big Liangshan and Small Liangshan regions， the programme has identified an effective folk model for prohibiting drugs and stopping drug abuse。 This folk ceremony employs various traditions among the Yi people， such as tribal law， lineage identification， ethnic group identification and religious faith， which constitute powerful， morally binding force。 At the same time， as precondition， the ceremony was performed on a voluntary basis for and by drug abusers。 During the ceremony， therefore， the drug abusers were treated as kin and friends rather than as mere drug abusers， and were accorded the respect of their own culture。 Although the outcome of the 2002 anti-drug ceremony has not yet been evaluated， the results of the 1999 lineage anti-drug initiative and the work to stop drugs since the 2002 anti-drug ceremony allow us to be very optimistic regarding the model’s efficacy。 In addition， according to this model， drug abusers are separated and dispersed within different lineages and communities， and are educated and watched over within the lineage family。 As the drug abusers are not allowed to leave the precincts of their own lineages， the number of vagrants are reduced。 All in all， the model is very cost effective。 For over 520 lineages in the Big Liangshan and Little Liangshan regions sharing the same culture， conventions and values， this programme tries to address the issues of drug prohibition/rehabilitation and HIV/AIDS prevention/care from a cultural perspective。 During the process， valuable knowledge has been gleaned。 A Model for Multi-Disciplinary Cooperation The programme has been developed along two channels。 In Ninglang， the team conducted a year-long observation of the “Tiger Day” lineage anti-drug activities， including detailed follow-up surveys and interviews。 At the same time， at the involved universities in Beijing， scholars contemplated and probed the significance of the “Tiger Day” model from an academic perspective， and were constantly looking for opportunities to disseminate this model。 The lineage system of the prominent Yi lineages in the Big Liangshan and Little Liangshan regions of Sichuan and Yunnan has always been an important topic for academic research。 However， little research has been conducted on how the lineage system of the Yi people， with its concomitant ethnicity， religious system and tribal laws， can be used to solve social problems。 Through practical application， this programme puts anthropological knowledge to direct use， and attempts to break the deadlock of a purely medical approach to the HIV/AIDS issue。 This is currently the common approach and global trend in HIV/AIDS prevention/care。 This programme has also elicited the interest of anthropologists in countries such as the United States and France。 In 2003， the programme director was invited to the Ecole Française D’Extreme-Orient in Beijing to give a lecture on the “Tiger Day” model。 Emphasis on Local Economic Development Is Necessary to Ensure Successful Drug Prohibition and Rehabilitation The drug problem in the Big and Little Liangshan regions is closely entwined with the economic situation in the area。 While the origins of drug abuse are never merely social， but also economic， cultural and political， this programme shows that the harnessing of cultural forces to overcome human biological addiction is possible。 Therefore， the success of this programme carries great social significance。 At the same time， the brick factory established by the former drug abusers has provided them with a new livelihood， which will allow them to remain steadfast in a life without drugs。

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