南屯的字姓戲－－字姓組織存續變遷之研究

THE 'SURNAME OPERA OF NAN' T'UN: A STUDY IN THE PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE OF SURNAME ORGANIZATIONS

臺中市南屯區萬和宮前的字姓戲已持續一百五十餘年，每年連演一、兩個月，形成一個極有特色的地方性傳統。本文除敘述分析字姓戲與字姓組織產生的背景與傳說，以及不同時期的演變情形，還企圖從字姓組織本身的性質、歷史背景、社會發展來解釋其存續的原因。作者發現新、舊字姓組織的最特殊處在於它們具有宗親團體、神明會與地緣宗教團體的多重性質。在一個與Skinner所提的標準市場區域（standard marketing area）大致相同的區域內，大多數的姓氏各自組成的高層次宗親團體藉一共同的媽祖祭典活動聯合成一個字姓組織的綜合體，其成員分佈的範圍作者將之稱為‘字姓圈’。‘字姓圈’雖與‘標準市場區域’作高度重疊，但其持續與擴張需靠父子承續、同姓宗親觀念、血緣親屬網絡及鄉土宗教信仰的認同，往往包含了標準市場區域以外的人群，並且不能完全包括該區域中所有的人群。作者將字姓組織的發展分為四個階段，由每個階段‘字姓圈’與‘祭祀圈’成員變動的情形，可以看出它對社會發展變動所作的調適。字姓組織的功能也因時變換，唯有與環境作適切的配合，字姓戲與字姓組織才得以存續。

The 'surname opera' of Taichung, held in front of Wan-ho Temple in the Nan T'un district has a history going back over 150 years. The series of performances span a period of about two months each year, and have become a distinctive local tradition. In this article, The author describes and analyzes the legends and other historical material relevant to the emergence of the opera, and also attempts an explanation of the pattern of persistence and change in terms of both their internal structure and external societal development. The proximate cause of the initiation of Nan T'un's 'surname opera' in 1824 was an accidental event. As was customary, the image of Matsu at the Wan-ho Temple attended the procession of another Matsu in eastern Taichung that year. At the end of the procession, the sedan chair bearing Matsu's image became too heavy to enter the Wan-ho Temple. The inhabitants of Nan T'un prayed to the goddess and promised to present the 'surname opera' and hold the impressive 'rite of three offerings' annually form then on. The oldest settlement of the Chinese pioneeers in the Taichung Valley, Nan T'un early developed into an militarily and culturally important market town. The 'surname opera' appeared during Nan T'un's 'golden age'，taking the form of 'Luan T'an' (in northern Chinese terminology and broque). Like the temples in Lukang Nan T'un's 'surname opera' is a survival of the more gloriou past, and continues to provide a common identity to local residents (Cf. Deglopper, 1974). Nonetheless, this psychological function seems inadequate as a full explanation of the origin and persistence of the 'surname opera'. A comparison of 10 old and 15 new surname organizations in the Nan T'un area provides the basis for an argument that such organizations simultaneously contain characteristics of the three most popular forms of religious organization in rural Taiwan, namely, ancestor-worshipping clan organizations, territorically defined religious groups, and shen-ming hui (deity worshipping organizations).