馬蘭阿美族宗教信仰的變遷

RELIGIOUS CHANGE AMONG THE AMI IN VALANGAU

本文的目的在了解住在馬蘭的阿美族與外界接觸後在宗教上所發生的變遷，並與臺灣其他土著做一比較，以求得臺灣土著宗教變遷的模式。馬蘭地近臺東，阿美族居民與漢人接觸的時間既久且幅度又大。早在日治時期的早期，居民就普遍受到漢人民間信仰的影響。雖然日治時期的末期，因受皇民化運動的影響，漢人民間信仰在馬蘭受到壓制，但光復以後壓制消失，漢人民間信仰又在馬蘭阿美社會中恢復過來。基督教新舊兩派有機會在馬蘭傳教是臺灣光復以後的事。因為馬蘭阿美人先與漢人民間信仰接觸而且普遍接受，致使漢人的民間信仰與阿美族的傳統宗教混為一體，更肯定其固有的文化體系。基督教是一神信仰，否認其他宗教的存在價值，而引起馬蘭阿美人對基督教義的抗拒：不但基督徒在馬蘭阿美人口中居於少數的地位，而且基督徒與深受漢人民間宗教影響的阿美人之間的關係也非常不友善。這種不友善的關係使得基督教的處境非常孤立。馬太安、大港口的阿美族宗教變遷的情形卻與馬蘭阿美族的完全相反。雖然馬太安與大港口與馬蘭三地都同時於光緒年間列入清朝的行政區域而開始與漢人接觸，但馬太安、大港口遠離當時的臺東，以及後來的花蓮，兩地的阿美族居民與漢人接觸的情形不論就幅度與頻率講，遠遜於馬蘭阿美族居民。由此，兩地的阿美族居民在沒有和基督教接觸以前，都沒有受漢人民間信仰的影響。所以基督教挾著完整的傳教機構、富有哲理基督教義和誘人的救濟物資傳教時，居民只有一面倒的情勢而接受基督教義了。住在新社的卑南族、住在大梅的排灣族的宗教變遷的過程與結果與馬蘭阿美族的相似；住在筏灣的排灣族，與住在南澳的泰雅族與馬太安、大港口的相似。所以會造成這兩種不同類型的原因，恐怕要歸於不同的宗教變遷的過程吧。

Valangau is the name of a village in the‘Hou Shan’(rear mountain) area. Originally, the inhabitants of this village were all of the Ami.‘Hou Shan’is an ancient name of Hua-lien and Taitung area, because it is beyond the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan. Before 1874, it was a mystical place. The Chinese government prohibited her subject to cross the border by the reason of security. In the year of 1874, the Chinese government changed her policy. The order to prohibit people to go to 'Hou Shan' was abolished and the Chinese government encouraged people to enter this new territory—Pei-nan. Gradually there were more and more Chinese in this area. Owing to the administrative center of Pei-nan (now the town of Tai-tung) was founded near the village of Valangau, and Valangau became a part of the township of Tai-tung in the later days, the inhabitants of this village contacted Chinese folk religion during the early period of Japanese Occupation. The people who carried Chinese folk religion to Valangau were not farmers who were the basic elements to constitute Chinese traditonal society but the shaman, and at that time there were very few Chinese inhabitants lived Valangau, so there were only family worships (ancestor worship and Buddha and other kind of deities worship) and no community worship among the Ami who believed Chinese folk religion. And this phenomnon is continued to be although there is a community temple (to worship Matsu, a lady deity to protect marine passengers) in Valangau built by Chinese inhabitants.