Paper short abstract:

Comparing the amorphousness of rumors to the written and recorded archive of "the news" in an ethnic minority region of Southwest China, I discuss rumor as a thing outside the control of the state. The potency of rumor lies in its ability to breach taboos and create alternative realities/truths.

Paper long abstract:

In rural Southwest China, on the border to Northern Burma, the Chinese urbanization machine churns. Freshly built bridges, buildings, and electric stations incessantly sprout in this remote mountainous region. Rumor has it that people are going missing from these developments. They are sacrificed―poisoned, kidnapped and buried alive under the new edifices. Such rumors are not unique to China. Similar stories have been reported in other parts of the world, including in India and in Malaysia. This paper attempts to account for this "Body Snatcher" rumor. Who are the body snatchers? What do they do with the people they kidnap? How do they chose their victims? This paper compares rumors to such things as dreams, jokes, and legends. I analyze the form, the narrative structure, and the symbolic content of the body snatcher rumors to understand the significance of such kinds of rumors in this particular historical moment. Comparing the amorphous nature of rumors to the written and recorded archive of "the news," this paper discusses rumor as a thing outside state purview and bureaucratic control. This ability to breach taboos and create alternative realities/truths is precisely where the potency of rumors lie. I argue that the body snatcher rumors show us the generalized fears and unspoken desires that ordinary people have towards their condition and towards authority.

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