胆（月曼）阿美族的宗教變遷：以接受天主教為例

Conversion to Catholicism: A Case Study from an Ami Settlement of Taiwan

本文以一個海岸阿美聚落為例，探討其接受天主教的過程。筆者認為該聚落阿美人「改宗」的過程，顯示出我們必須瞭解他們原來社會組織與宗教活動所具有的「間隔化」特徵，方能掌握天主教在當地發展的性質與限制。換言之，年齡組織finawlan與親屬組織（尤其是家loma'）之間的關係是間接的，而且各有不同的活動領域。這種「間隔化」（compartmentalization）也明顯呈現於宗教活動。天主教傳入後，其主要影響的對象是傳統巫師和在家戶場所所舉行的宗教活動。相較之下，從年齡組織的運作以及其迄今舉行的儀式來看，做為「部落」表徵的年齡組織與代表外力的西方宗教之間存在著複雜且動態的關係。就此而言，探討天主教的發展以及「部落」的宗教變遷，顯然必須與「部落」之納入外在社會過程與性質的研究彼此銜接。

The main purpose of this article is to investigate the process of converting to Catholicism in an Ami settlement in Eastern Taiwan. Based on fieldwork undertaken since the early 1980s, the author argues that the distinctive feature of `compartmentalization' between the domains of loma' (`kinship') and niyaro' (`tribe') is crucial to the understanding of the development of Catholicism in this settlement. Within the settlement, various groups conduct (and in some cases still conduct) differenct kinds of religious ritual. Whereas Catholic periests have tried to eradicate shamans (cikawasay) and peridic rituals conducted in households, the situation is quite different for ago organization (finawlan) and its associated rites. Indeed, church activities nowadays perfomr an important role both over the life cycle and in daily life, though here seemingly limited to the domain of age organization. Age organization not only still carries out the most important annual rite (ilisin), but as a well-organized institution it also transcends distinctions between households, and is where disputes are resolved. In other words, age organization symbolizes the `tribe' as a whole and is where external influences are confronted, including in this case certain Catholic activities. But, even if the Catholic Church and its representatives do not directly challenge the age organization, problems associated with the exodus of youth from the settlement are overcome through this organization. This is the problem of the organization's continued survival. In this sense, the author suggests, the development of Catholicism in the settlement, including its religious change, should be understood within a framework that takes account of how the settlement articulates over time within a wider social field.