慶典、聖像與地方形成：以屏東萬金的天主教社群為例

Festival, Statue of Virgin Mary, and Place-making: A Case Study of a Catholic Village in Taiwan

屏東萬金的天主教徒如何透過每年重複實行的儀式慶典──主保瞻禮與聖母遊行──將萬金與赤山標示成為一個與眾不同的「地方」？而聖母遊行如何塑造出人們對「聖母轎每行到的所在」的認識？本文將探討萬金天主教徒如何在以萬金聖母像作為關鍵象徵的儀式慶典裡，透過共享的歷史過去與身體經驗將空間、人群與地方連結起來。然而，本文也指出儀式慶典雖然能夠塑造出萬金天主教徒以萬金聖母為認同核心的一體感，但是萬金天主教社群內部仍然因祖源記憶的不同而產生差異與衝突，並且透過聖母象徵再現。最後，本文企圖以萬金天主教社群的研究對平埔研究提出反省與批判：平埔人群是否如同過去研究所建構的是內部無分別的「族群」？平埔人群是否能以客觀文化要素或是血統論來定義？至少從萬金天主教社群的例子來看，筆者認為天主教提供不同來源的人群構成地方社會的重要機制，並且賦予改信天主教的人群得以藉此來重新理解過去、定義現在、重塑認同的全新框架。

This paper is concerned with how local Catholics perceive Bamkin as a particular place by re-enacting the annual festival of the Virgin Mary every December. I argue that local believers incorporate themselves with the statue of the Virgin Mary of Bamkin through intimately physical engagement in the festival. And central to the ritual process are bodily experiences by which a sense of oneness with the statue and the place is invoked. However, as Jonathan Amith(2005) suggests, place-making always involves place-breaking. I also discuss how the symbol of Virgin Mary represents internal differences and conflicts among Bamkin Catholics. At the end, this paper proposes a challenge to the study of Plains Aborigines in Taiwan. Based on the assumption of ethnicity, researchers construct images of reified and objectified ”Pingpu” cultures; furthermore, these academic discourses form an essentialized identity among ”Pingpu” people. But the case study of Bamkin shows that converting to Catholicism provides a chance for local people to resituate the past, redefine the present, and reformulate a different identity.