花蓮勝安宮王母信仰的雙重特質及其對地方社會之影響

Abstract

花蓮勝安宮自1949年草創至今，其王母信仰為台灣頗具影響力的女神信仰，勝安宮迄今亦是全台較著名的進香中心與花東地區的信仰中心。勝安宮王母信仰因扶乩傳統得以聞名花東，扶乩傳統為勝安宮奠定一批忠實的參與者（王母義子女，以下稱：王母門徒）。王母門徒以居於花蓮市的中產階級、中小企業主與居於吉安鄉的客家人藍領階層為大宗，在1950-90年代積極參與花蓮市與吉安鄉各廟宇與宗教團體的創建、整建與管理人事，是勝安宮得以拓展其地方社會影響力的基石。時至今日，勝安宮已廢止招收門徒，其爐主祭祀改為由吉安鄉18村之村長輪值擔任。由此可見，當前勝安宮作為志願性宗教團體的面相已經式微，轉變為義務性宗教團體並確定其地方大廟的香火權威。本文透過：1.王母門徒的社會網絡與加入動機；2.與花蓮地方政治、社會之關係；以及3.與花蓮民間信仰、各宗教團體之互動等三個層面來討論影響勝安宮得以跨地域與祖籍群限制，發展為花蓮平原信仰中心及全台進香中心的重要因素：兼具志願性與義務性的雙重特質之如何形成。

The Sheng’an Temple was founded in Hualien in 1949, with its cult to the Eternal Mother becoming one of the most influential goddess belief systems in Taiwan. This temple has also developed into a well-known pilgrimage center nationwide, and is particularly popular among worshippers living in Taiwan’s eastern regions. The spread of Sheng’an Temple’s Eternal Mother cult was in large part due the performance of spirit-writing rituals, which attracted a core of devout participants known as adopted children of the Eternal Mother (hereafter referred to as disciples of the Eternal Mother). These disciples were mainly middle-class men and women, small and medium-sized business owners living in Hualien City, and Hakka blue-collar workers residing in Ji’an Township who played active roles in the establishment, renovation and management of local sacred sites as well as organizing religious groups throughout Hualien City and Ji’an Township from the 1950s to the 1990s. The disciples of the Eternal Mother thus provided a solid cornerstone for the Sheng’an Temple to expand its influence in local society. In recent years, the Sheng’an Temple has abolished the recruitment of disciples, and the incense masters who used to be in charge of its ritual activities have been replaced by the heads of 18 villages in Ji’an Township. This indicates that the voluntary religious facets of the Sheng’an Temple have declined, and it is being transformed into a more ascriptive religious organization that is aimed at consolidating the temple’s incense power. This thesis explores the factors that influenced the growth of the Sheng’an Temple through three different perspectives: 1) The networks and motivations of the Eternal Mother’s disciples; 2) The temple’s links to local politics and society in Hualien; and 3) Its interaction with other Hualien local cults and religious organizations. In addition, this thesis considers how such phenomena shaped the Sheng’an Temple’s development into a leading sacred site in the Hualien Plain and pilgrimage center in Taiwan that proved able to transcend regional and native place ties while featuring both voluntary and ascriptive characteristics.