私人宗教儀式的社會意義：莆田東華「謝恩」儀式的田野考察

中國鄉土社會中的傳統宗教儀式，包括以村社或村廟爲主體的社區性宗教儀式和以個人、家族、社團爲主體的私人性宗教儀式，二者共同構成民間宗教的儀式系統，同樣具有豐富的社會意義。以往的相關研究大多關注社區性的宗教儀式，而忽略了私人宗教儀式的社會意義。本文主要依據田野調查資料，考察福建省莆田市黃石鎮東華餘家的「謝恩」儀式，探討這種私人性宗教儀式對社區關系的影響。本文首先論述了莆田民間「謝恩」儀式的歷史淵源與象徵意義，其次考察當地的社區環境與儀式現場，接著記述儀式活動的具體環節、參與人員、所需費用等，分析「謝恩」儀式在鄉村儀式傳統中的地位及其對社區關係與文化傳承的影響，力求深化對鄉土社會文化傳統的認識。

關鍵字

謝恩儀式；私人性宗教儀式；莆田平原；社區關係

並列摘要

Traditional religious rituals in Chinese rural society include community religious rituals of the village altar or temple, as well as private religious rituals of the individual, family, and other organizations. Together they constitute a ritual system of popular religion and are both rich in social significance. Previous scholarship has largely focused on the religious rituals of communities and overlooked the more private ones. This article, based on data gathered from field investigation conducted at Donghua, Huangshi Township, Putian, Fujian Province, will examine the xie'en (thanksgiving) ritual of the Yu Family and explore the private rituals' impact on the community relations. The article begins with an introduction of the xie'en ritual content, its historical origin and symbolic meanings, followed by an investigation of the community environment, ritual space and a description of the actual ritual procedures, the participants, expenses, etc. The status of the xie'en ritual within the rural ritual tradition and its influences on the community relations and cultural continuance will be analyzed to deepen our understanding of the rural social and cultural tradition.