臺灣苗栗地域社群之構成：以「芎中七石隆興」為例

Abstract

本研究以公私藏古文書、淡新檔案、族譜、地方志等文獻探討以及民間信仰之田野調查為方法，探討苗栗縣後龍溪支流雞隆溪「芎中七石隆興」地域社群之建構過程，並以此與祭祀圈、祭祀社群與地域社會等理論展開對話。 本研究除了繼承施添福在本區所完成的傑出研究成果外，進一步掌握了三項信仰活動現象：其一，憑藉明治42年（1909）的媽祖進香帳冊，重建了當年的進香活動；其二，以參與觀察法記錄了2009年「芎中七石隆興」北港媽祖進香活動；其三，以2008年中心埔五穀宮圓醮活動，補強上述聯庄進香活動中，各庄差異性之探討。 本研究亦同意前輩研究者的主張，「芎中七石隆興」之所以成為「芎中七石隆興」，係以同一地理疆界為基礎，因應水田生產及對外防衛需求而建立；同時，本地域社會雖然後來歷經地理環境重大災難，但是仍依靠媽祖信仰進香活動之地域外交流活動，而維繫住這個地域社群的界限。 然而，筆者認為前輩研究者的不足在於缺乏對「芎中七石隆興」內部交流的論述。筆者發現「芎中七石隆興」這個地域社群整體性的維持，其實是表現在媽祖進香時，「五聯庄各庄之主神皆被邀請至主辦庄之公廟，且共同安奉於同一神桌」這一核心象徵意義上。每一尊主神都代表一個村落，祂們共同安奉於主辦庄之神桌，則在象徵上實踐了五村作為一個整體。因此，年復一年的媽祖進香活動，關鍵不在於與外在世界的交往與畫界，而是不斷反覆地在內部實踐了「芎中七石隆興」這一整體性。也因此，四十餘年前，幾乎被颱風滅村的芎蕉灣，至今仍艱困、但卻堅持在進香儀式中，繼續扮演著「芎中七石隆興」一份子的角色。

This study reviewed the official and private collections of ancient texts, Dan-xin archives, pedigrees of clans and local gazetteer and a field survey on folk beliefs to investigate the construction process of territorial community “Qiong-Chung-Qi-Shi-Long-Hsing” (QCQSLH) at the branch of Houlong River, Jilong River, in Miaoli County. QCQSLH was taken as an example to investigate the theories such as religious sphere, religious worship community, and territorial society. Besides following the outstanding research achievements that Prof. Shih Teng-fu had accomplished at this area, three phenomena of religious activities were further investigated: 1) the pilgrimage activity in 1909 was reconstructed by using the account book of Matsu pilgrimage at that time; 2) participant observation method was used to record the Beigang Matsu pilgrimage of QCQSLH in 2009; 3) the Taoist sacrificial ceremony for rebuilding at Zhongshinpu Wugu Temple in 2008 was taken as an example to supplement the investigation on the differences of the multi-village pilgrimage activity above among each village. Prof. Shih Teng-fu’s opinion on the formation of QCQSLH which was formed based on the same geographical territory and constructed in response to the needs of production of paddy fields and external defense, was also agreed in this study. In addition, although this territorial society experienced a severe disaster of geographical environment thereafter, the villages still replied on the contact activities of Matsu belief and pilgrimage activities outside the territory to maintain the boundaries of this territorial community. However, it was suggested that the deficiency of Prof. Shih’s study on QCQSLH was the lack of discussion on the internal contact. It was found that the wholeness of QCQSLH this territorial community was actually expressed by the core symbolic meaning of “the placement of statues of the chief deities of the five villages on the same god table at the public temple of the sponsor village.” Each statue of chief deity represents a village and the placement of these statues on the same god table of the sponsor village puts the symbolic meaning that the five villages represent as a whole into practice. Therefore, the meaning of the Matsu pilgrimage year after year is not to demarcate the communication with external world but to repeatedly fulfill the wholeness of the QCQSLH inside. As a result, more than 40 years ago, Qiongjiaowan village which was almost destroyed by typhoon and still suffers difficulties at present insists on keeping playing the role as a member of QCQSLH in the ceremony of pilgrimage.