关于在环东海地域使用船的“送瘟神”民俗

On the Folklore of "Farewell to the God of Plague" By Vessels in the Annular Region of East China Sea

"送瘟神"是一个古老的习俗。它起源于瘟疫发生的原因无法用医学来解释的年代,人们把瘟神的横行看作是精灵、鬼怪、瘟神等的作为,于是就产生了通过巫术把视为病因的鬼怪和瘟神等送走来消灭瘟疫的习俗。在送走鬼怪和瘟神之际,马和船被假定为鬼怪和瘟神乘坐的工具,所以在施术的时候,把代表瘟神的偶人放在马和船上,运到村边境的河边或海边,让其漂走或把其烧毁。"送瘟神",虽然也有作为个人的祈祷行为而进行的,但瘟疫的流行关系到共同体的生存。所以一般来说大多作为村落等共同体的仪式而举行。关于此类的瘟疫观与送瘟神的咒术。中国、韩国、日本等环东海地域里存在共通点。本文主要例举以中国、韩国的为中心的事例,考察"送瘟船"民俗与东亚稻作文化的关系。

'Farewell to the God of Plague' is an old custom which originated in the times when the reason of plague eruption could not be explained by medicine,and its spread was regarded as the activities by genii,ap- paritions,plagues,etc..Thus,with the witchcraft,the custom of perishing the plague by seeing off the appari- tions and the god of plague which were regarded as the cause of the illness was established.While the apparitions and plagues went out,horses and boats were assumed as their facilities.Therefore,idols,which symbolize the god of plague,are put on the horses and boats and transported to the riverside or seaside of the village borders,and drift away or are burned out.Although'Farewell to the God of Plague'is undertaken as a personal activity for praying,the prevail of plague relates to the existence of the whole community,therefore,generally speaking,it is held mostly as a rite of a community-such as various villages.As to the similar plague concept and conjuring of farewell to the god of plague,there are common points in the annular region of East China Sea-China,Taiwan, South Korea,Japan,and so on.The paper mainly takes cases which center on China,Taiwan and South Korea, and studies the relationships between the custom of'Farewell to the God of Plague'and the culture of rice culti- vation in East Asia.