妊娠、安胎暨「妊娠宇宙觀」－－性別與文化的觀點

The Concept of Pregnancy, Fetal Sedative, and the Traditional Cosmology: A Perspective from Gender and Culture

本文是有關臺灣傳統婦女「妊娠儀式叢」的研究；文中，筆者除透過人類學泛文化研究論述的反省，強調「妊娠」文化建構的概念之外，主要乃自傳統臺灣妊娠文化中的「安胎」切入，以近二、三年來筆者在臺中地區田野工作所得的「安胎儀式」暨妊娠安胎符籙為主，配合田野訪談及文書資料的解讀，試圖提出一個有關傳統臺中社會的「妊娠宇宙觀」，以及套妊娠宇宙觀所可能涵攝的「性別」與「文化」的觀點。全文主要論點，擇要如後：其一，我們透過泛文化民族誌的觀照可知，在不同的族群、社會中，如何界定「妊娠」的發生，或證明「妊娠」狀態已然發生的判準原則，其實都是一種文化性的定義，而且必須置於民間知識及該文化宇宙秩序的整體脈絡中，才的以全然的理解；「不潔」與「疾病」的象徵概念，也是我們必須審視的一環。其二，處在臺灣傳統文化「妊娠「狀態中的婦女，自妊娠之初即捲入一個與六甲胎神、土社（土公、土母）、日遊、太歲、流霞等超自然力互動關聯的宇宙秩序之中。這類神靈，相對於人們在符籙、儀式中敬請前來坐鎮的各界尊神，是所有安胎策略直接所指的操作對象，我們稱之為「第一相關」。就其本質而論，祂們在臺灣漢人民間信仰的神靈概念體系中，份屬於「煞」的概念，且應獨立劃歸為「神」、「鬼」、「祖先」等三大分類範疇之外的「第四範疇」。其三，我們在提出一個以「煞」為中心的「妊娠宇宙觀」的同時，也企圖透過Arthur Wolf（1974）以降西方學者有關漢人民間信仰「社會宗教觀」的典範架構的反省，重新審視前述四大文化分類範疇的類分，以及祂們在臺灣民間信仰中的基本性質及文化上的意義。我們最後也指出，傳統社會在建構這個妊娠宇宙觀的同時，實則也建構了傳統「婦女」在妊娠狀態中的一些文化註解。一方面，「妊婦」和「鬼」在文化象徵分類的類屬中，是屬於同一範疇的；另一方面，男性神明與儀式執行者的角色特徵及性別優勢，也在在說明了「性別意識」在這個宇宙秩序系統的形成過程中，占有相當重要的支配地位。

In this study, I have attempted to understand the traditional 'cosmology of pregnancy' and its ramifications from the perspective of gender and cultural studies. I emphasize as well the culturally constructed nature of the concepts of pregnancyfrom a cross-cultural point of view. My main point of entry is through fieldwork conducted in Taichung from 1998 to 2000 on the rituals associated with 'fetal sedative' (an-t'ai), a complex of practices intended to 'calm the fetus' and prevent miscarriage that forms an important part of the traditional culture of pregnancy. I have also used documentary evidence to outline a cosmology of pregnancy and the meanings of gender and culture that such a cosmology might entail. I found that criteria for defining pregnancy (or conception) are largely cultural determined and the concepts of pregnancy can only be properly understood within the cultural context of local knowledge relating to its cosmology. Upon becoming pregnant, Taiwanese women are according to this traditional cosmology thought to enter a supernatural state occupied by all kinds of deities and spirits, especially the system of evil or dangerous spirits so-called 'the primary relevance' such as the liu-chia t'ai-shen, t'u-shen, ji-you, t'ai-sui, and liu-hsia. Iargue that such dangerous spirits are essentially sha, which have references to supernatural elements of Taiwan folk religion that do not belong to the realm of gods, ghosts, and ancestors and therefore belong to a fourth category. From this research, it became evident that local perceptions of disorder and pollution are two key notions that need to be explored in future studies. While outlining a cosmology of pregnancy centered around sha, I also work with the social landscapes model of Chinese religion developed by Arthur Wolf (1974) and other western scholars to re-examine the four categories for classifying the supernatural and their basic nature and significance in Taiwanese folk religion. Finally, I show that through the social construction of this cosmology of pregnancy, other cultural notions of gender were simultaneously created. On the one hand, pregnant women were classified into the same category as that of ghosts. On the other had, male deities called 'the secondary relevance' and the ritual practitioners such as 'hong-lou priests' held superior and dominant position over females. It demonstrates the relevance of gender ideology to the construction of the cosmological order.