鋸木賽事的文化脈絡──從一個傳統與新穎兼備的泰雅族類家族團隊談起

Athletic Woodcutting Competitions within an Indigenous Cultural Context: A Participatory Story of an Atayal Family Team

本文探討臺灣原住民族「全國原住民族運動會」中，一項傳統但又非典型的新穎鋸木賽事，並從運動人類學的角度，審視這項競技背後的族群文化元素。鋸木為桃園泰雅族人傳統生活中的一部分，傳統生活技能轉而成為今天的運動賽事，有它的自然環境、歷史背景與文化脈絡等元素的共構相成，認識這些運動賽事背後的文化要素，有助深入理解賽事本身的意義與性質。本文以蟬聯冠軍的桃園市泰雅族鋸木隊為研究對象，剖析在過往歷史中，鋸子出現之前，伐木活動已普遍存在於泰雅族人的傳統生活中，人與木的關係受傳統u t u x信仰規範與影響；日治時期鋸子出現後，鋸木有它特定的時空意義，也因而在它從日常生活技能成為運動競技後，這樣特殊的族群意涵，也就使得賽事不只是身體與力量、技能的較勁，而是族群文化與體育活動的綜合呈現，因此觀賽也就不只單從勝負、速度角度切入。本文提出在賽事的訓練與展現，參賽隊伍由類「家族」的團隊概念組織而成，賽事展開中的克敵致勝戰略、招術與領導統御等競技行為，也都可看到泰雅傳統g a g a、u t u x等文化核心價值的運作，這些層面與運動賽事體能活動本身，應當同時被看見。鋸木在現代運動場上華麗轉身，成了既有競技特色的活動，又有族群歷史記憶、文化發展脈絡要素，統攝政治、歷史、文化與體力的複合載體，呈現出多層次、豐富內涵的人類身體技能與精神心靈統合的活動現象。

This article explores a traditional yet unconventional and innovative wood-cutting event within the annual“Taiwan Indigenous Peoples' Sports Competitions”from the perspective of the anthropology of sports. It examines the cultural elements behind this competition. Wood-cutting is a traditional part of Atayal life, where traditional life skills have transformed into today's sports events. It represents a convergence outcome of the natural environment, historical background, and cultural context, among other elements. Identifying active cultural elements behind the sports event helps to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning and nature.
This work specifically focuses on the Taoyuan Atayal wood-cutting team from Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, which has consecutively claimed the championship. It analyzes the historical presence of logging activities in the traditional life of the Atayal people before the introduction of saws by Japanese colonists. The relationship between people and wood is influenced by traditional utux (spirits) beliefs. During the Japanese colonial period, the use of saws gave wood-cutting specific temporal and spatial significance. As wood cutting transformed from a daily life skill into a competitive sport, its unique ethnic-owned significance turns the event into more than just a test of physical strength, skill, and speed. It becomes a comprehensive presentation of culture and sports activities, expanding its scope beyond mere victory and speed.
This article proposes that in the training and demonstration of the event, participating teams are organized based on a concept similar to traditional families. Strategies, tactics, and leadership displayed for achieving victory, during the competition reflect the operation of Atayal core cultural values such as gaga(ethics) and utux. These dimensions, alongside the physical activities of the sports event, should be acknowledged simultaneously. In the modern sports arena, woodcutting has undergone a magnificent transformation, becoming an activity with distinct competitive features, interwoven with elements of ethnic historical memory and features of cultural development or even regency. It acts as a composite carrier encompassing politics, history, culture, and physical prowess, presenting a multi-layered, richly meaningful phenomenon that integrates human physical skills with spiritual and family-ethic aspects.