Ritual as Self-Cultivation in Motion and Self-Healing Practice: The case of Tenrikyo's Mikagura-uta in Taiwan

移動修練與自我療癒實踐儀式－以天理教神樂舞在台灣為例

黃約伯(Yueh-Po HUANG)

《臺灣東亞文明研究學刊》 19卷1期 (2022/06) Pp. 173-215

https://doi.org/10.6163/TJEAS.202206_19(1).0005

摘要

This paper explores self-cultivation in motion in the context of a Japanese new religion, Tenrikyo. Mikagura-uta (みかぐらうた or 'Songs for the Service' to use Tenrikyo's term), is a ritual based around bodily movement. It contains a wealth of religious idioms and cultural references that express issues including self-cultivation, health, world-renewal and cosmic unity. The article will show that Mikagura-uta has, since its inception, offered adherents a realistic route to physical health through accessible activities, which embody the landscape of a utopian society, reconfigured in accordance with the cosmological terms of Tenrikyo's doctrine. This article will then suggest various theoretical approaches to Mikagura-uta through a discussion of bodies in respect of medical anthropology, religion and East-Asian philosophy, showing the interplay between ritual, health and environment. The research adopts a qualitative approach, providing ethnographic accounts of the significant role played by Mikagura-uta in the daily life of Tenrikyo members in Taiwan, and suggests that this self-cultivation in motion is an essential part of their lives, as a means to personal health, to personal life changes amidst an uncertain environment, and to develop social identity. In conclusion, this study discusses the implications of Mikagura-uta for understanding medical anthropology, religion, East-Asian philosophy and as well as suggestions for further research within this discipline.

關鍵字

Self-Cultivation in Motion ； Mikagura-uta ； Health ； Tenrikyo ； East-Asian Philosophy

並列摘要

日本新宗教脈絡下形成的天理教，發展一種名為神樂舞（みかぐらうた）之移動修練的宗教實踐方式，強調信徒日常生活的淨心與修身，企圖達成信徒個人、宗教組織、整體社會、甚至人類世界的重建與健康。本文以天理教的神樂舞為核心，採用多點民族誌所揭櫫的多語言／多文化圈的觀點，比較與分析神樂舞的在地實踐與相關課題。神樂舞以儀式為經，身體移動為緯，經緯之中蘊含宗教用語風格與文化展演參照架構，傳達淨心修身、個人與集體健康、社會重建、萬物合一的重要生命課題。田野資料顯示，神樂舞提供信徒一個健康生活之道，藉由教義的熟習、宇宙觀的認同、宗教活動的參與，得以構築天理教所揭櫫的完美社會典型。此一觀察，係參考醫療人類學、宗教研究、東亞哲學等文獻而得，藉此說明儀式、健康、環境脈絡之間的多重影響。以神樂舞在台灣的宗教實踐為例，臺灣信徒視神樂舞為日常生活之不可或缺，移動修練成為信徒的生活核心，在面對動盪與未知社會時，得以確保個人健康，生活適應、以及社會認同。筆者認為，神樂舞的探討與後續研究，對於醫療人類學、宗教研究、東亞哲學等學科領域，可提供若干研究啟示。

並列關鍵字

移動修練 ； 神樂舞 ； 健康 ； 天理教 ； 東亞哲學

參考文獻

HUANG, Yueh-Po. 2016 “Colonial Encounter and Inculturation: The Birth and Development of Tenrikyo in Taiwan.” Nova Religio – Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 19, no.3 (2016): 78−103. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2016.19.3.78.

HUANG, Yueh-Po. 2017a “Embracing Ritual Healing: The Case of Sazuke in Tenrikyo in Contemporary Taiwan.” Journal of Religion and Health 19, no. 3 (2017a), pp. 1317−34. DOI:10.1007/s10943-016-0201-3.

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