賽夏族矮人祭歌詞重探

The Ritual Songs of Paʃtaʔay Saisiyat Revisited

賽夏族矮人祭融合音樂、舞蹈、儀式於一體，值得做綜合和深入的研究（林 1956）。本文僅就其歌詞的部分嘗試做較完整的記錄和一些解析工作，重點在探討歌詞的結構和意義，對於相關的神話傳說、祭歌的形式、押韻、內容也都有較詳細的說明。至於歌譜的部分，請參見胡、謝（1993）。

The harvest festival of Saisiyat, Paʃtaʔay, is observed every other year. It used to last a full week, but was shortened to three days and four nights during the period of Japanese occupation. It is a service performed for the spirits of the pygmies, generally believed to be the Negritos. The songs must have been transmitted from generation to generation among the Saisiyat people for centuries. The songs and legends of Paʃtaʔay have been studied and briefly reported on by several scholars. The most comprehensive study was by Lin Hen-li (1956). However, even Lin left out some important details concerning the songs. This paper focuses on the structure and meanings of the words in the songs, as well as the legends and some of their implications. The rhyming scheme is among one of the most fascinating subjects of study for the songs. Like traditional Chinese poetry, each line mostly contains seven syllables. Each stanza may have one or more than one rhyme, designated by a plant name. The Saisiyat people sing and dance together while observing the ritual ceremony. According to the legends, the Saisiyat and the pygmies used to live nearby at which time they got along fairly well. The pygmies were very skillful in weaving and cultivating, and shared their knowledge with the Saisiyats. But one year, during a certain ceremony, unfortunately a pygmy raped a Saisiyat woman. The enraged Saisiyats murdered all the pygmies except an old man named Taʔay and an old woman named Toway. Hence the en tire pygmy race became extinct.