你以為全天下的大洪水傳說，都是下雨造成的嗎？排灣族五年祭：大錯特錯！Who saved us from the great flood in the beginning of the world? Paiwan: Earthworm!

很多捧油都知道，五年祭可說是排灣族人最盛大的祭典之一，而五年祭的由來，也眾說紛紜，常常換個部落，就換了個說法。例如根據屏東部落大學校長 Lavuras Kadrangian（拉夫琅斯 ‧ 卡拉澐漾）的說法，就說排灣族人舉辦五年祭啊，是為了感謝神明讓族人倖免於世界之初的大洪水！ 那麼大洪水，是因為人類不乖，所以天上一直下雨，而造成的嗎？Flood legends seem to be a phenomenon, or better a myth among worldwide religions or mythologies. The flood legends can be found in the mythologies of many Taiwanese indigenous peoples, such as Cou, Bunun, Amis, Kavalan, and Paiwan. And in the legends, almost all the causes of the inundation are a torrential rain — Not necessarily, at least not for Paiwan! NO！  

五年祭的由來

Lavuras 說，根據下排灣社的傳說，曾經在創世之初，平地有隻叫達洛凡（Tarovar）的大怪物，平常人們所見的河川啊，其實最後都匯流到達洛凡的大嘴巴裡…… 可是，凡事總有可是！ 有一天，達洛凡疺了，嘴巴懶了，閉起來了，河水都留不進去，於是就在平地釀成大洪水了！洪水氾濫成災，很多人都淹死。只剩一對兄妹恰好抓住水中的拉葛葛日草，這才倖免於難。 接著，你萬萬想不到的是，拯救人類祖先的，卻是一條大蚯蚓！ 這時有條大蚯蚓出現了。牠的便便，又大又長，變成一座座高聳的山丘。於是兄妹兩人，就趕緊逃到 便便 山丘上。就醬子，兩兄妹活了下來，為了傳宗接代，只好互結為夫妻。也就因為兄妹結婚的關係，他們所生下的前兩代子女，都有些殘缺，直到第三代子女，才是健康寶寶。這就是排灣族的祖先。 因此為了感謝神明讓他們活下來（蚯蚓先生表示：），排灣族人從此與神相約，定期舉辦祭典以謝神。一開始並非有固定的舉辦時間，直到後來，才慢慢定為每五年一次。  

五年祭的進行與禁忌

排灣族捧油把五年祭叫做 Maljeveq；從排灣語來看，ma– 是「已經、要」的意思，ljeveq 則是對「創造祭儀的神靈」的統稱，因此簡單來說，Maljeveq 是類似「祭神、祭天」的意思。由於它是每五年舉行一次，又有傳說是與神和人的約定有關，因此中文常把 Maljeveq 翻成「五年祭」或「人神誓約祭」。但我想，最適當的稱呼，還是直接叫它 Maljeveq（編按：來，跟小編唸一次：「馬勒 ㄈㄜ」）。 每次五年祭，多半在 10 月或 11 月舉行。例如今年五年祭的主祭，就從這週開始：

活動日期（2003 年）		祭儀名稱	活動內容
前祭	10/16 – 10/20	Seman tjuljat kata qapulun	製作祭竿與祭球
	10/18 – 10/23	Paselem	為部落領域、居住地、祭儀、刺球祭場、河川、狩獵地、各家屋等進行遮蔽，以保護這些地方
		Seman tsakal	製作刺球臺
		Seman ririt	宰殺豬隻
	10/21	Pakuvangavan tua maqatsuvuntsuvun	給未成年的神靈刺球
	10/22 – 10/24	Pasumus	神和祖靈輪流練習刺球 （勇士練習刺球）
		Pakiqetsen	阻擋
		Pasalut	驅除邪穢
主祭		Tsenvul	召喚祖靈
		Kiveli ta ljeveqan	向神、祖靈租借行使儀式權力
		Mivun	聚集來到人間的神、祖靈
		Semanluqem	增強力量
	10/25	Tjumuljat	刺球
後祭		Kiqavai	收小米糕
	10/25	Pusau	送神、祖靈
	10/26	Sumu paselem	解除遮蔽

而其中呢，「刺球」這項活動，往往被視為是五年祭的重頭戲。然而勇士所刺的球，是有代表「人頭」的意涵；在以往，也只有出草成功的勇士可以刺球，甚至刺中哪顆球，還會因此決定這些家族未來的興衰禍福呢！因此看似有趣的「刺球」運動，其實是場非常嚴肅的宗教活動喔！ 也因此五年祭的參與，是有一些禁忌的。例如：

1. 不得抽煙、嬉鬧
2. 孕婦不得靠近刺球架
3. 正在服喪或有孕婦的男人，不可以參加刺球，甚至不可以參加整個刺球活動
4. 祭典期間，女人不可進行織布等女紅

以上是我們現在參加五年祭時，排灣族捧油會告訴我們的。其實以前更嚴格，例如：祭典開始後的第七天之後，任何人都不能離開部落、祭典前的九天，族人不得酗酒鬧事等等。 原來許多排灣族的部落，都曾舉行五年祭，但日本人來台後，為了避免這些傳統祭儀讓族人團結，因此就以「野蠻」為藉口，禁止排灣族人繼續舉行五年祭，加上部分部落改信西方宗教的原因，目前只剩下台東達仁鄉的土坂部落和屏東來義鄉的古樓部落有舉行。 今年輪到土坂部落舉行五年一次的五年祭，而明年 2014 年則輪到古樓部落，接著就還要等四年了！因此想一睹五年祭廬山真面目的捧油，就記得把握今年的機會喔！  

部落怎麼玩？

土坂部落（Tjuabal）位於台東縣達仁鄉土坂村，是台灣至今仍有舉行五年祭的少數排灣族部落。 今年土坂部落的五年祭，也正式從 10/16 開始，正式的刺球活動則將於本週五 10/25 舉行。有興趣參加的朋友，可搭鐵路在大武站或龍溪站下車，再自行前往，或是在 10/25 當天，在下列車站使用「土坂村102年度Maljeveq文化推廣小組」的接駁車服務喔！（排灣族揪甘心！）

• 官方粉絲專頁暨接駁車報名及使用資訊：土坂村102年度Maljeveq文化推廣小組

資料來源：〈台東縣達仁鄉大谷舊部落五年祭祭儀〉（蔡浩俊）／圖片來源：Fridy（CC Licensed）

 

---

想隨時看更多原住民的新聞和故事嗎？ 現在就加入我們的粉絲團吧！

The Origin of the Five-Year Ceremony Maljeveq, or commonly known as the Five-Year Ceremony, is probably the most important ceremony for Paiwan, an indigenous people living in Southern Taiwan and is also the 2nd largest indigenous group in Taiwan. According to Lavuras Kadrangian, the principal of University of Pintung Aboriginal Tribes, one of the origins of the ceremony is about a fatal inundation in the beginning of the world: In the beginning of the world, there was a behemoth called Tarovar. It lived in the lowlands, and all the rivers flowed to its mouth eventually. The monster had kept opening its mouth so that the waters could flow into its belly day and night, and felt so exhausted. One day, the monster shut up its mouth, and all the waters flew to nowhere, causing a huge flood to the world! The flood killed almost all the people in the world, only a brother and his sister grasped a kind of wood in the water and survived. And then, guess who saved the world? — An earthworm! So there appears a giant earthworm. Its shits were so huge that they became mountains and hills, and so the brother and sister could eventually escape to the mountains and survived. In order to extend the lineage of human-beings, they got married and gave birth to babies. However, as they were consanguine, the first two generations of their descendants were not healthy, not until the third generation. And they were the ancestors of Paiwan. To give thanks to the world’s deities to let them survive, the descendants of Paiwan made a vow with the deities to hold ceremony for them periodically, which became Maljeveq or the Five-Year Ceremony eventually.

The Process and the Taboos of Maljeveq

In Paiwan, the prefix ma– means “already”, and ljeveq is a general term for the deities of ceremonies or rituals, and so the name Maljeveq could be simply translated as “the Ceremony to the Deities”. As it’s now held every five years and also serves as a vow between the human-beings, so it’s commonly called “the Five-Year Ceremony” or “the Ceremony of the Vow between Gods and Humans”. And most Paiwan people think the best name of it is still “Maljeveq”! Maljeveq is usually held between Oct or Nov after the harvest of millet. For example, the ceremony began just in this week this year:

Event Date (2003)		Name	Activities
Pre-Ceremony	10/16 – 10/20	Seman tjuljat kata qapulun	Making ceremonial poles and balls
	10/18 – 10/23	Paselem	Covering the territories of the communities, ceremonial sites, rivers, hunting fields, and houses to “protect” the areas
		Seman tsakal	Making rattan balls
		Seman ririt	Offering pigs
	10/21	Pakuvangavan tua maqatsuvuntsuvun	Infant spirits practicing thrusting rattan balls
	10/22 – 10/24	Pasumus	Deities and ancestral spirits practicing thrusting rattan balls in turn (Paiwan warriors practicing thrusting rattan balls)
		Pakiqetsen	Blocking evil spirits
		Pasalut	Evicting evil spirits
Main Ceremony		Tsenvul	Summoning deities and ancestral spirits
		Kiveli ta ljeveqan	Borrowing the power of hosting a ceremony from the deities
		Mivun	Gatherings the deities and ancestral spirits
		Semanluqem	Enhancing power
	10/25	Tjumuljat	Thrusting rattan balls
Post-Ceremony		Kiqavai	Collecting millet cake
	10/25	Pusau	Sending deities and ancestral spirits
	10/26	Sumu paselem	Removing the coverings

Among all the activities, the rattan balls thrusting, or Tjumuljat, is usually regarded as the highlight. The rattan balls that the warriors strive to thrust imply the heads of enemies; before, only those who successfully hunted heads could join the sport, and which ball a warrior thrust would even tell whether his family would receive blessings or misfortune in the following years! So rattan balls thrusting that seems to be an interesting sport is actually a serious religious activity. And therefore there are some taboos when attending the ceremony, for example:

1. Smoking and quarrel are strictly prohibited
2. Pregnant women can not approach the rattan ball rack.
3. Men in mourning or with a pregnant wife can not join the rattan balls thrusting.
4. Women cannot do needlework during the ceremony.

The rules for the ceremony used to be stricter; for example, no one could leave the community after the 7th day of the ceremony, and no alcohol abuse nor quarrel were not allowed during the 9 days before the ceremony. Maljeveq used to take place in many Paiwan communities. However, during the Japanese colonial period, the ceremony was then prohibited by the government, saying that the ceremony was barbarian but actually for avoiding the union of each community. Also due to the influence of Christian and Catholic, almost all the Paiwan communities have stopped the ceremony for decades. Now only two communities, Tjuabal in Taitung and Uljaljau in Pintung, still hold Maljeveq. It’s the turn of the community Tjuabal to hold Maljeveq this year, and Uljaljau next year. If you don’t wanna miss the important ceremony that takes place every five year, be sure to take the opportunity to attend the ceremony this Friday!  

What to See in the Community?

Tjuabal is a Paiwan community located in Daren Township, Taitung County, in Eastern Taiwan, and is a mere Paiwan community that still holds Maljeveq nowadays. This year Maljeveq of Tjuabal started from Oct 16, and the formal rattan balls thrusting will take place on Oct 25. Those who wanna attend could simply take North-bound train and stop at Dawu Station (大武) or Longxi Station (龍溪), or could simply apply the shuttle bus service provided by the community at the train stations below on Oct 25:

• Official fan page: 土坂村102年度Maljeveq文化推廣小組
• Contact: 886-(0)927-474521 (Miss Chu)
• Time/Place of pick-up on Oct 25: (South-bound)
  • 6:45am – 6:50am: Taitung County Cultural Affairs Department
  • 7am – 7:05am: Taitung Main Station
  • 7:25am – 7:30am: Zhiben Station
  • 8am – 8:05am: Taimali Station
  • 8:25am – 8:30am: Jinlun Station
  • 9am: Tuban Activity Center

(North-bound)

• 7:25am – 7:30am: Dawu Station
• 8am – 8:05am: Longxi Station
• 8:40am: Tuban Activity Center

Source:〈台東縣達仁鄉大谷舊部落五年祭祭儀〉（蔡浩俊）／Photo via Fridy（CC Licensed）

 

---

For more interesting Taiwanese indigenous stories?

Now follow us on our fan page!

]]>