神明的標準化──從老二媽、玉二媽、六房媽的傳說談起

Standardization of Gods : Starting with the Legends of Laoerma, Yuerma and Liufangma

有關人類學者華琛所提出的標準化理論，以華南沿海天后取代地方神為例，說明國家藉由推動欽准的神明，將象徵符號滲透到地方，但不設定符號的內容，是中國文化大一統的主因。本文則運用神明傳說資料，探討老二媽、玉二媽、六房媽等有關案例，指出標準化須有地方精英配合推動才能落實，但其推動的目的未必與國家有關，且民眾也會基於對地方神的信仰與記憶，決定是否接受標準化。成功的標準化須包括神明的外在名稱及民眾對其內在認知之改變，它是一個動態的過程，有些標準化並非失敗，而是正在進行中。標準化成功的關鍵在於神明的正統性，它來自國家賜封、父系社會的價值觀等，但也有地方實質利益的考量。神明的標準化仍在現今社會運作，持續發揮文化整合的功能。

The theory of standardization proposed by James L. Watson provides explanationfor the process of the infiltration of symbols to local communities made by the nationthrough the mandate of specific gods without setting connotation, such as the case ofreplacement of the local gods with Matzu in the coastal areas in southern China, and itis considered to be one of the main reasons for the unification of Chinese culture. Theinformation of legends related to gods was used in the study to conduct investigation inthe cases of Laoerma, Yuerma and Liufangma. The results show that the standardizationwas realized only in the case that local elites cooperated in the process of promotion.However, their purposes of helping in the promotion were not always concerning thewhole nation. Based on their belief and memories for local gods, local people would alsodecide whether they are going to accept the standardization or not. A successful standardizationshould contain the external name of the god and the change in the internalperception of people toward the god. Standardization is a dynamic process. Some casesof standardization do not fail but are still ongoing. The key for a standardization to besuccessful is the legitimacy of the god, and the legitimacy may come from the grant ofthe nation or the values of patriarchal societies. Sometimes the substantial benefits of localcommunities may also be blended with it. The standardization of gods still works inmodern societies, and it keeps functioning for the integration of different cultures.