面向他者：帛琉的經濟適應與文化變遷

Abstract

本論文處理小型經濟體在與全球資本主義經濟的接軌中，當地社會如何適應與接納快速變遷的經濟環境，同時又如何維繫文化的核心價值。筆者以位於密克羅尼西亞的帛琉為例，討論當地人如何在面對全面而難以抗拒的資本主義式的市場經濟的席捲之下，仍然維持當地的貨幣體系的運作。以往對「變遷」議題的研究往往具有傳統/現代二分的預設，因此對於文化變遷的解釋上有「很現代化」、「傳 統流失」等帶有價值判斷的論述，卻無法真正的理解文化變遷的機制。實際上，有許多美拉尼西亞社會既有的交換體系，隨著與世界經濟的接軌而更加繁盛，而進口的物品也混用在儀式交換中來維持社會的再生產。帛琉亦有類似的現象。隨著現代經濟的繁榮，帛琉當地同時也更加強了當地貨幣體系的運作。這個現象挑戰了新古典經濟學所認為的全目的貨幣（all-purpose money）的引入將會理性化既有的社會關係的說法。因此，筆者欲以行動者為中心（actor-centered）的觀點來重新檢視帛琉人如何面對外來的市場經濟，並著重於文化的主體如何透過時間與空間上的「他者」之互動而產生在地的行為，以跳脫以往侷限在單一地點封閉式的文化觀。 我以當地兩項最被珍視的價值物：土地與貨幣做為研究客體，並以二次戰後出生的日帛、或中帛混血兒為主要的研究對象，透過這些具族群邊緣性的群體如何面對新舊的經濟價值轉換之經驗，來檢視帛琉人在市場交換已經主導當地經濟的現況下，如何面對這兩種傳統價值物以及相伴的儀式性交換。筆者從田野現象中發現，兩種價值物的價值朝向不同的變化。土地雖然聯繫著家族的遷移記憶以及以此而衍生的社會關係，但是因為經濟開發的需求，歷來殖民政策的影響，以及國家力量的介入，土地的經濟價值超越既有的意義，逐漸走向商品化。當地貨幣（udoud）卻隨著經濟繁盛而刺激傳統儀式的舉行，越發彰顯其價值，甚至有假錢（bali）流入儀式交換中。筆者認為，這兩種價值物的發展差異是因為傳統貨幣與新的全目的貨幣在社會不同的層面創造不同的社會關係，而帛琉人至今仍需要透過成功的儀式交換來建立自己的聲望。維繫社會再生產的社會秩序並沒有被外來經濟所影響，反而新興經濟菁英必須透過參與儀式來維持自己作為一個帛琉人的認同。以上的發現可以讓我們重新思考文化變遷的議題。以往帛琉被認為具有高度的接受外來影響的性格，此論述一方面忽略文化主體本身具有能動性，另一方面則忽略了維繫社會再生產的核心才是最重要的文化延續機制。

This research contributes to how capitalism affects local economies by focusing on the juncture of local and global economic markets, and examining the ways that local communities participate in and are affected by these interconnections. Many researchers support the idea that a capitalistic economy is socially harmful and dangerous, and the penetration of all-purpose money would destabilize the existing social relationships. However, the case in Palau shows that local exchange system appears to have flourishedrather than withered from linkage with the world economy; the foreign currencies and imported goods mingle within formal exchange system which is fundamental to social reproduction. When Palauans are eager to embrace “modernization,” it also results in anxieties at different levels of society. I focus on two Palauan valuables—Palauan money and land—to see how they handle the existing value system while market economic value system is introduced. In addition, I focus on the experiences of a particular group, biracial people whose fathers are Japanese, Okinawan, or Chinese that came to Palau during the war. Most of them lead successful lives in politics, economics, and other “new domains” of social life. By analyzing their experiences of handling market economic system and traditional value system, it shows that two kinds of Palauan valuables have different tendencies of change. Palauans reconfirm the value of indigenous currency and it flourishes in of the new market economy. Modern currency did not harm the existing social relationships, on the contrary, the new economic elites use new wealth to participate in traditional ceremonial exchanges in order to gain the social status. However, the bonds that attached people to their land were destroyed under the successive colonial administrations, codification, and the intrusion of a capitalistic economy. The common perception among Palauans is that land is gradually becoming a scarce resource in terms of its economic value. These findings force us to reconsider the issue of cultural change. Early ethnographies describe Palauans as being highly receptive to change, this discourse actually ignores the dynamic nature of culture, and that the mechanism of social reproduction is most important to cultural continuity.