結「結」與「解」結：鹿港「送肉粽」儀式的探討

所謂「送肉粽」，並非真的送粽子，在鹿港，一旦有「上吊事件」發生就得舉行的一種送煞儀式，目的是將「導致」人們上吊的「神煞」送走，否則不幸相同事件恐一再發生。「送肉粽」一詞，其實是近三十年來才廣為流傳。至於為何稱為「送肉粽」，蓋因上吊者形似裹粽子用繩吊着。「送肉粽」在網路上有很高的討論度，甚至成了恐怖電影的題材，諸多以訛傳訛卻引發民眾的疑懼。使得原是要有解決問題與安定人心的儀式，最終卻反而成為社會不安的來源，此實值得吾人就此課題作學術性探究。一般咸認，鹿港的儀式是保存較為傳統、較具代表性，因此，本文將以彰化縣鹿港鎮的「送肉粽」作為研究對象，藉由實地的田野調查，試圖勾勒出儀式的脈絡，希冀對鹿港「送肉粽」有清晰而深入的瞭解。

關鍵字

送肉粽；送煞；上吊；鹿港；田野調查

並列摘要

Despite its name, the so-called ＂sending off meat dumplings＂ ritual has nothing to do with dumplings; in fact, it is staged in order to expel malevolent spirits caused by someone having committed suicide by hanging, with the above-mentioned euphemism only gained currency during the past three decades. Such rites have become the subject of extensive discussions, including online ones, and a film was made about them as well, yet the nature of these performances remains largely misunderstood. The goal of this paper is to draw on fieldwork and interviews to analyze the significance of ＂sending off meat dumplings＂ rituals held in the town of Lukang (central Taiwan), which tend to be more traditional in nature. The data presented below is intended to help readers gain a better understanding of the place of these rites in the Han Chinese religious culture.