Pool R
Soc Sci Med. 1987;25(4):389-99. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(87)90277-2.
The concepts of hot and cold are important in disease etiologies and systems of food classification in many parts of the world. A number of writers on hot-cold beliefs have assumed that the classification of foods is the central element in this system of beliefs, and that it is consistent. They have then proceeded to explain these beliefs in symbolic or adaptive terms, generalizing from systems of classification which have only local applicability. More recently a number of writers have recognized the importance of intracultural variation in the hot-cold classification of foods, and have turned their attention to revealing the underlying principles of classification. But because food classifications are only consistent within a limited geographical area, if they are consistent at all, these 'general principles' are only applicable to a single area or limited cultural context. In this article I describe the hot-cold system in a rural area of the Indian state of Gujarat. I show that by proceeding from the classification of diseases, and not from the classification of foods, it becomes possible to reveal certain underlying classificatory principles which also appear to be applicable to other manifestations of the hot-cold system. These principles seem to be based on the phenomena which accompany temperature changes in nature. Finally I suggest that hot-cold beliefs should be seen as an explanatory model which seeks to make the puzzling and threatening phenomena of disease and death more acceptable and predictable.
在世界许多地方，寒热概念在疾病病因学和食物分类体系中都很重要。许多论述寒热观念的作者都假定，食物分类是这一观念体系的核心要素，且具有一致性。然后他们进而从仅在局部适用的分类体系进行归纳，用象征或适应性的术语来解释这些观念。最近，一些作者认识到了食物寒热分类中文化内部差异的重要性，并将注意力转向揭示分类的潜在原则。但由于食物分类即使存在一致性，也仅在有限的地理区域内，所以这些“一般原则”仅适用于单个区域或有限的文化背景。在本文中，我描述了印度古吉拉特邦一个农村地区的寒热体系。我表明，从疾病分类而非食物分类入手，就有可能揭示某些潜在的分类原则，这些原则似乎也适用于寒热体系的其他表现形式。这些原则似乎基于自然界温度变化所伴随的现象。最后我认为，寒热观念应被视为一种解释模型，旨在使疾病和死亡这些令人困惑和具有威胁性的现象更易于接受和预测。
