从甲骨刻辞探析殷人的地母神崇拜

An Analysis about the Yin People’s Worship of Earth Mother from Oracle Bone Inscriptions

殷商甲骨刻辞中有几则关于“东母”与“西母”的记录,学界一般认为她们是日月神。东母与西母的诞生应源于先民对太阳运行规律的认知,其中“东”与“西”表明她们具有方位神的神职。东母与西母的“母”字,不仅表明两者是女神,而且反映出她们具有女性祖先神的神职,能赐予后辈女性强大的生育能力。殷商时期的土地神被称作“社”,已经完全人格化为农业丰产神与国家保护神。据传世文献记载,“社”这个单音词本身就有“母”的意思。而且在古代的江淮、蜀汉、中原地区等地都广泛分布有“谓母为社”的方言称谓。所以东母和西母是殷人的社神,也就是地母神。《山海经》有“羲和生日,常羲生月”的记载,又说这两位女神都是帝俊之妻。一般认为,帝俊是殷人的高祖神,那么羲和与常羲就是殷人的女性祖先神。而且帝俊又是日月之父,或可称其为“天父”。按照神话系统中“天父地母”的对应原则,羲和与常羲应为地母神。东母与西母或许就是羲和与常羲的前身,但这一观点还需要更多的证据予以支持。可以肯定的是,东母与西母实际上是生育出日月的地母神。

There are several records of offering sacrifices to“East Mother”and“West Mother”in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty. Scholars generally believe that East Mother is Sun-god and West Mother is Luna. The birth of East Mother and West Mother should originate from the ancestors’recognition of the sun’s movement. The “East”and the“West” indicate that they have the priesthood of Directional God. The word“mother” of East Mother and West Mother not only indicates that they are goddesses, but also reflects that they have the priesthood of Ancestral Goddess and can bestow the strong fertility on the female descendants. The Earth God of the Shang dynasty was called “She”, who have been completely personalized as the God of Agricultural high yield and the God of National Protection. According to the handed down documents, the monosyllabic word“She”itself has the meaning of“mother”. In ancient times, the dialectal appellation of“Mother is She”was widely distributed in the regions of Jianghuai, Shuhan and Central Plains. Therefore, East Mother and West Mother are the God of Society, that is the Earth Mother. It is recorded in Shanhai Jing that Xihe give birth to the sun and Changxi give birth to the moon. It also says that the two goddesses are the wives of Emperor Jun. It is generally believed that Emperor Jun is the Ancestral God of Yin people. Then Xihe and Changxi is Ancestral Goddess. And Emperor Jun is also the father of the sun and the moon, or can be called the “Heavenly Father”. According to the corresponding principle of “Heaven Father, Earth Mother”in the mythological system, Xihe and Changxi is Earth Mother. Maybe East Mother and West Mother are the predecessors of Xihe and Changxi, but this point of view needs more evidence to support. To be sure, the East Mother and the West Mother are actually Earth Mother who give birth to the sun and the moon.