作物、经济与社会:东埔社布农人的例子

台湾岛上东埔社布农人的主要作物,从20世纪20年代到90年代,由小米、水稻、番茄到茶的转变,不但具体呈现出其不同时代的社会性质,以及当地布农人如何在外在的历史客观条件中,经由原有hanido信仰与人观来理解、转变,乃至创造有关新作物的活动及其文化意义。更重要的是透过以作物作为研究的切入点,使我们得以超越传统与现代、前资本主义与资本主义、礼物经济与商品经济、为使用而生产与为交换而生产等二元对立观念的探讨之限制,而能进一步呈现出“经济与宗教的区隔和经济的独立自主性”如何浮现,以及“纯粹布农人社会如何消失”也调节了物质论与象征论之间的冲突。

Crops, Economy and Society of the Bunun of Taketonpu

Millet, paddy rice, tomatoes, and tea have taken turns since 1920s in serving as major agricultural crops in Taketonpu. These crops have respectively been the sepresentation of this Bunun society at different times. Historically, with the external impact of wider society, the Bunun have recognized, transformed, and created new activities and cultural meanings relating to new agricultural crops through their hanido belief and their concept of the person. Using agricultural crops as a point of departure, restrictions derived from dual-opposite concepts, such as tradition vs. modernity, pre-capitalism vs. capitalism, gift economy vs. commodity economy, production for use vs. production for exchange, and so on, can be overcome. A study of agricultural crops reveals how the distinction between economy and religion and the autonomy of the economy have emerged, and how the pure Bunun society has begun to vanish. It is further suggested this approach can also mediate the contradiction between materialism and sybolism.