How to Frame Hybrid-Syncretic Religious Situations: Based on a Case Study of the Guanyin Cult in Yunnan, China

This article examines the analytical concepts frequently used to describe the complex situations caused by contact between different cultures and proposes a new framework to describe this reality. Although "syncretism" and "hybridity" have traditionally been the focus of argumentation about cultural mixtures, the majority of arguments choose on or the other term and fail to adequately define these words. Consequently, I will examine several terms and words, including these two, and arrange them into a conceptual framework to analyze the various phenomena that arise during cultural contact. The theoretical discussion is built on the basis of the case study conducted in Dehong prefecture in Yunnan province, China, where Theravada Buddhism meets Mahayana Buddhism.