內埔客家公墓的古老大人風俗

「古老大人」在客家原鄉稱為「古君子」，在內埔客庄則是構築墳塚墓作時，為意外遭掘出土的無名骨骸另立墳塚安葬祭祀的尊稱，立碑奉祀名稱另有「古人」、「古老人」、「有緣公」、「古老仙人」、「古老先人」、「古老太人」等，皆同屬長眠於墓區地底之無主枯骨，文後均以「古老大人」稱之。安奉「古老大人」的風俗，呈顯出客家人在傳統祖先崇拜的核心價值之外，因憐恤之心所衍生對於「靈魂崇拜」的變例。立墳祭祀者與「古老大人」之間無血緣世系的權利義務關係，卻仍依時祭祀奉如先祖之尊，更顯示客家族群崇尚儒家倫理思想的傳統民族性，近代客家風俗文化漸泯，冀透過田野調查，完整且詳實的記錄此一特殊鬼靈信仰儀節，以達客家文化與知識傳承的時代意義。研究結果顯示，在臺灣源自清代官方鼓倡的建置義塚掩骼埋胔義行，在內埔地區發展到日據時期產生了變革，原以大型墳塚叢葬無主枯骨的「義塚」分由兩路發展，維持集葬者後經建廟設祠發展為「有應公」信仰；另由民間私人構築小型墳塚收埋枯骨者，則立墳奉祀為「古老大人」。換言之，「古老大人」即為中國宋朝以來社會救濟事業項目中設置「義塚」的變例，亦為清代以降祭厲風俗之延伸。「古老大人」有基於先來後到的倫理觀念而生者、有因自古人們怕鬼情結而立者，另有基於私心的「號墳」之說而成者，此一風俗存在內埔客庄由來已久，雖非客家人所獨有之風俗，閩客之間卻存在著顯著之差異性，沿襲古風傳承至現下，成為民間墓葬文化中較為特殊之一環。

關鍵字

客家風俗；古老大人；無主枯骨；孤魂野鬼；號墳

並列摘要

＂Gǔ lǎo dà rén＂（古老大人） is also called ＂gǔ jun zǐ＂（古君子） in Hakka people's native lands. In Hakka communities in Neipu, Taiwan ＂gǔ lǎo dà rén＂ is the courtesy title engraved on the headstones that were placed over the graves built specifically for the unclaimed bodies that were accidentally excavated during the construction of new graves. As the study shows, the righteous deed of establishing burial grounds for the unclaimed bodies found in the wild originated from the Qing Dynasty when it was advocated officially; and changes in this righteous deed had occurred during the Japanese colonial period since it development in Neipu, Taiwan. Specifically, the ＂burial ground for the unclaimed bodies＂（義塚）, a mass grave, has two paths of development. The first path is one in which the tradition of mass burial had survived and was later transformed to the veneration of ＂yǒu ying gong＂（有應公or the Lonely Ghost） with the construction of temples and halls. The second path refers to the ＂gǔ lǎo dà rén＂ veneration with small-scale graveyards constructed by the general public for burial of unclaimed bodies. The ＂gǔ lǎo dà rén＂ custom has existed in Hakka communities in Neipu, Taiwan for a long time. While this custom is not unique to Hakka people, significant differences exist between this custom of Hakka people and that of Hokkien people. Despite the ethnic differences, it is imbued with tradition and passed down the generations, becoming one of the unique facets of the public burial culture.