在某一民族的宗教祭辞中,往往隐含着一些能够折射该民族所处生境特征的植物、动物,乃至山川形胜。为此,通过对具有民族归属的宗教祭辞进行研读,找出其间所含标识性的植物、动物或山川形胜,那么可以作为探讨相关民族生境特征,甚至是复原其迁徙过程,亦或是复原该民族先民所生息的原生生境的一种方法。作为一种方法论的初探,本文拟以石启贵所编著的湘西苗族宗教祭辞为案例,去尝试分析这一方法的可行性。
In a speech for a religious festival by a nation, there is often the implication of a number of plants, animals, and even the mountains and rivers that will reflect the geological and environmental characteris- tics for the local ethnic groups in their life. To this end, a study of such speeches for religious festivals makes it possible to find out identification of plants, animals or mountains and rivers to explore the characteristics of the relevant national habitat, and even to rehabilitate a method to recover the original habitat that the ancestors of the interest - bearing nation lived in. As an initial probe in terms of methodology, this article takes the speeches for religious festivals by the Miao people in the West of Hunan compiled by Shi Qigui as an example to evaluate the feasibility of this approach in study.