由祭祀圈來看草屯鎮的地方組織

THE RELIGIOUS SPHERE AS A FORM OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY FROM TSAOTUN TOWNSHIP

本文承續以往學者所建立的祭祀圈的概念，對草屯鎮的所有地域性民間信仰的組織與活動作一詳盡的探討，以釐清祭祀圈的內涵和本質，並了解臺灣漢人社會地緣組織的原則和特性。祭祀圈是指一個以主祭神為中心，共同舉行祭祀的居民所屬的地域單位。根據此一定義及以下幾項參考的指標，我們可以劃出草屯鎮所有的祭祀圈：（1）共同出資建廟或修廟，（2）收丁錢或題緣金，（3）演公戲，（4）頭家爐主，（5）巡境，（6）其他共同的活動，如宴客等。草屯鎮的祭祀圈可分為以下幾個層次，不同層次的祭祀圈各有其特色與目的，可以不同的組織原則來解釋。（1）聚落性祭祀圈，以土地公為最多；（2）村落性祭祀圈，多以村廟為中心。此二層次的祭祀圈反映出臺灣漢人村庄有共同祭拜天地神鬼的信仰需求，其形成可以同庄結合的原則來解釋。（3）超村落祭祀圈，以歷史悠久的主要寺廟為中心，傾向於聯結同姓聚落區。此外尚有一個十二年一次的建醮，其祭祀圈可以水利結合的原則來解釋。（4）全鎮性祭祀圈，指洪、李、林、簡四大姓共建的朝陽宮之媽祖祭祀圈，其形成可以自治結合的原則來解釋。總結來說，祭祀圈本質上是一種地方組織，表現出漢人以神明信仰來結合與組織地方人群的方式。不同層次的祭祀圈之間的擴展模式，表現出傳統漢人社會以聚落為最小運作單位之融合與互動的過程。

Earlier scholars have confirmed that it is appropriate to use the concept of the religious sphere when describing the folk religious organizations and activities of a certain locality or territory in Taiwan. Nevertheless, they often focus on the kind of religious sphere that is associated with village temples without going further to study variation of the religious sphere itself. This study is an attempt to explore various types of religious spheres existing at different levels of the locality. The hierarchical structure of religious spheres in relation to village organizations and alliances will be analyzed. Lastly, factors will be delineated to explain the development of the religious sphere according to the social function or purpose the religious sphere serves. The data is based on an overall investigation of communal worship and communal temples in Tsaotun Township located in central Taiwan. It is expected that this study will promote our understanding of traditional social organization in Han Taiwanesesociety. As defined by earlier scholars, a religious sphere is a territorial unit whose residents participate in communal ritual organizations and activities to worship various gods who are represented by a principal deity. According to this definition and the following indices, which show the previlleges and obligations between the community god and tha residents. 140 religious spheres can be found in Tsaotun Township: (1) collective contributions to the constructions or repair of the communal temple, (2) equal shares in the expenses or random donation for the communal rituals, (3) Touchia(頭家)and Lotsu(爐主)as representatives who take the responsibility for communal worship, (4) performing Taiwanese opera for the god with funds collected within the community, (5) inspection of the territory by the main god in a parade, (6) other communal activities associated with the worship of the god, such as feasts given to guests from the outside. It is not necessary that all these indices appear in a religious sphere. However, a religious sphere with a greater number of indices will have a clearer territorial scope.