Symbolic Coding and Intertextual Narration of Hani Marriage Belief

Abstract

Objective As an ancient ethnic group with “a language but no written script”, the Hani people often preserve their cultural memory and social contracts through specific material carriers. This study examines two representative Hani marital tokens—the gold craft “Riyue Pan” and the woven artifact “Pa An”—from a semiotic perspective, analyzing their transformation from practical objects to emotional symbols. Methods By integrating Peirce’s semiotic trinity and Roland Barthes’ mythological theory, fieldwork and image analysis were conducted to deconstruct the signifier composition, referential meanings, and pragmatic contexts of these artifacts. Results The Riyue Pan, as a rigid symbol, achieves a semantic shift from fertility worship and amulets to marital alliances through the metaphor of “milk nail patterns” and animal/plant totems. The Pa An, as a flexible symbol, visually represents the Hani people’s migratory habitats and craftsmanship through interwoven geometric patterns, creating tangible emotional connections. Conclusion These artifacts not only serve as witnesses to romantic relationships but also materialize the Hani people’s cosmology, collective memory, and gender division of labor. Through intertextual symbolic rhetoric, they construct a transcendent cultural identity in marital rituals.