「親屬」到底是什麼？－－一個卑南族聚落的例子

What Is 'Kinship'All About?－－ A Case Study of a Puyuma Settlement, Eastern Taiwan

卑南族「親屬」是母系、血親型或非單系，向來是該族研究者爭議的課題。然而，不論其間的差異性，這些論點呈現出學者在繼嗣論（descent theory）的影響下，把以血緣、系譜界定的「親屬」觀念帶入卑南族的研究。換言之，研究者強調家庭或家戶之上的親屬群體的研究，另一方面又把圍繞著karumaan而共同舉行儀式的團體當作親屬群體，並且根據參與者之間的系譜關係而論斷其系性。筆者認為，這樣的論點不但未能探討親屬群體構成的基礎，同時也忽略了karumaan做為祭祀場所的特徵以及蘊含的重要性。針對這些研究上的限制，筆者指出ruma（H）家作為研究課題的重要性。這樣的探討方式不但契合當地人的觀念，同時從家的三個主要特徵及其關聯性－－亦即，家的成員、家屋和作物種籽（bini，尤其指稱小米）－－我們不但可以瞭解其親屬群體構成的基礎，種籽bini的概念也更賦予重新思索karumaan在卑南族社會文化的重要性，以及可能隱含的理論意義。根據這個個案研究，以及綜合近來人類學對於親屬研究的發展，筆者提出「居住群體」（domestic group）研究上的意義。亦即，筆者認為，當我們問及「親屬到底是什麼」的問題時，其實也是在瞭解個體之成為一個「存在體」（being）和一個「社會人」（social person）的過程中，'domesticgroup'的性質以及所具有的重要性。

The main purpose of this article is to reconsider the issue of kinshipstudy from the case study of a Puyuma settlement, eastern Taiwan. Previousdebates about whether Puyuma kinship is matrilineal, cognatic, or non-unilinealare found unsatisfactory. All parties to the debate assume a priori that kinshipis biologically defined and kin groups genealogically mapped. Thus, conclusionsabout extradomestic kin group constitution simply repeat the analyst'sassumptions. Specifically, the extent literature does not come to terms with thesociocultural significance of karumaan (literally, 'ritual house'), insteadvaguely treating it as some sort of kin group and then debating its implicationsfor understanding the nature of kin groups.Consistent with the wider anthropological literature on the 'house' and faithfulto indigenous understandings, ruma (H) ('house') is found to be crucial toindigenous understandings of kinship and kin groups. Examination of threeseparate but interrelated compoents of ruma-'house' members living and cookingtogether, the building (including the talisman that marks it off from otherruma), and ('millet seed')-shows not only that the ruma is an independent unit,but also the basis for extradomestic kinship organization. In particular, cadetruma share the same millet seed with the 'original' ruma to form an assemblagethat other writers have glossed as 'lineage.'Additional implications for karumaan as an important ritual locale are exploredto indicate other ways in which the Puyuma socio-cultural formation can befurther investigated. Lately, based on this case study, the author suggests thatthe nature of the 'domestic groups' and its import in the definition andtransformation of individual being and social personhood are pivotal tounderstanding the issue such as 'what kinship is all about.'