「交換」作為蘭嶼社會生活的重要特色,很早就被研究者所注意,但正式討論蘭嶼「交換」本身的研究,卻相當有限。本文即以探討蘭嶼Tao族社會生活中各種交換為主題。首先透過對既有蘭嶼研究的回顧,帶出交換現象與議題的重要性。論文的主體,則試圖區辨Tao社會生活中不同類型的交換,並對應到幾個主要的社會範疇。當地存在著共享(sharing)、分享、只取不予(keeping without giving)、互惠(reciprocity)等幾種不同的交換形式,分別建構了不同社會範疇:家、雙邊親屬群zipos、父系「家族」,甚至「社會人」(person)。但由給予、收受、還報構成的「互惠」(reciprocity),是最基本的交換形式,其他類型的交換均由此發展而來。本文以Tao人對生命、理想人的觀念為交換的動力基礎,貫串起上述不同社會範疇與交換類型的討論,因此面對了Tao研究史上幾個主要的問題-親屬制度中「雙邊偏父系」的傾向、核心家庭的重要地位;並為當地重要社會單位:「社會人」、「家」、雙邊親屬範疇zipos、「父系」,提供新的解釋圖像。
Although ”exchange” as a prominent social cultural phenomena among the Tao of Lanyu (Orchid Island) has been noticed since the 1950s, studies on ”exchange” of Lanyu are quite limited. In this paper, I demonstrate that the diverse modalities of exchange in the Tao culture not only correspond to, but also constitute the main indigenous social categories-household (asa ka vahai), bilateral kin-category (zipos), idiom of patriliny, and person. I argue that the rationale of exchange among the Tao hinges on the indigenous concept of ideal person (yapia tao), which is constituted through a life-long process of reciprocating. By analyzing forms of exchange, I ask for reconsidering the main questions in the Tao kinship studies in a refreshed frame.