女人、不潔與村寨認同：岷江上游的毒藥貓故事

Women, Pollution and Village Identity: Stories of Poison Cats in the Upper Min River Valley

這一篇文章分析中國四川省西北岷江上游村寨中的毒藥貓傳說。說明女人如何在一種孤立的村寨認同中，因外來者身分而被視為有毒的，被歸罪為某些疾疫與意外死亡的元兇而成為代罪羔羊。我由村寨生活中的資源利用、分配與競爭，婚姻與家庭關係，分析舅權與父權間、鄰近村寨間、「爾瑪」（我群）與「蠻子」、「漢人」間的對立。以及在此社會背景下，貓與女人如何因破壞「家內」與「外面」的邊界而被視為有毒與危險的。透過神話、歷史與個人經驗，村寨民眾將他們對於上游「蠻子」與下游「漢人」的敵意與異類感，化為他們對於女人與鄰近村寨人群的敵意與異類感。如此內部的毒藥貓（女人）與外面的毒藥貓（蠻子、漢人）互為表裡。講述毒藥貓故事，也就是由強化邊緣來確認村寨認同；這也說明為何民眾認為「無毒不成寨」。

This paper analyzes stories of poison cats, a wide current belief among mountain villages in the upper Min River Valley, northwestern Sichuan. Based on data gathered from within these villages, I explain why women, as outsiders in an isolated village, were believed poisonous and dangerous, and were blamed for many sudden illnesses or deaths. I start with presenting the oral data of the poison cats. Then, I proceed to explain the social background of the belief: the allotment and competition of natural resources among villages, the concept of purity in blood and in sexuality, and women's role in family and marriage. Against this background I explain that it is the fear and hostility toward outsiders of various levels that makes the purity of blood (family and village) and of sexuality important to villagers. Women coming from other families, villages, or valleys broke through the distinction of insider and outsider and brought in physical or moral barbarism; thus, they were considered dangerous, and were scapegoated for many misfortunes occurring in the society. I further suggest a theory of the mutual induction between ''the inner poison cats'' (neighbors, women) and ''outer poison cats'' (barbarians, foreigners), as both facts for and imaginations of the people, interpreting a general mode of origins of hostility and confrontation among human groups. Based on the data drawn from this case, the relationship between myth, history and personal experiences in oral tradition, and how they work together in a society, is proposed in final section.