THE CULTURAL ECOLOGY OF THE LOCUST CULT IN TRADITIONAL CHINA.

A geographic study of the locust cult in China, in relation to its ecological and cultural-historical basis, reveals the fact that there is a very high degree of association (a significant correlation coefficient of 0.88) between the frequency of locust infestations and the number of cult temples established. Temples adhering to different cult systems were built in which to perform propitiatory rituals designed to minimize the plagues of insects, thereby alleviating popular anxiety caused by the depredations. In interpreting this cultural-ecological relationship the concept of social equilibrium was applied to the construction of a stress-and-strain model. Culture is viewed as the human coping process against environmental stress, the locust cult temples and the performed rituals being output products serving to restore social equilibrium. Under the eight cult systems concerned with locust rituals, some 870 locust temples have been built within the vicinity of walled cities over the centuries. The largest numbers of locust temples are in the North China Plain, the Lower Yangtze Valley, and the eastern half of the northwestern mountain belt, the zone wherein the locust infestations are most severe. Surrounding this primary sector is a marginal region of, generally, fewer temples, since the locust problem in this outer zone is less severe in extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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