臺南小法咒語的文體特徵和歷史背景

The Minor Rite Invocations of the Tainan Ritual Master Tradition: An Overview of their Literary Form and Historical Background

台灣地區的「小法」或「法仔」是宋朝就出現於文獻並大量影響道教的「法」運動（Ritual Method movement）的明清閩南遺產。在台灣地區與閩南文化圈，「小法」在地方民間宗教廟宇扮演很重要的角色；而且小法的法壇都傳自己的一套咒語簿和儀式本。這些咒語簿和其他儀式文本代表民間廟宇文化裡面極少數文書其中一種。小法的咒語簿的內容多半是請法壇並民間廟宇的神明降臨到法場的咒語；這些咒語有共同的語言和儀式上的特色，最突出的以神明的圖像學描述神明的顯現和動作，跟第一人稱語言代表法師變為神明。這一篇文章探索這些小法咒語的歷史背景，而顯示正統道藏裡面跟「法」有關的匯編，尤其《道法會元》，也有相近並雷同的語言、象徵、和文體。從這些共同的因素我結論小法咒語從同一個宗教情境演變出來的。而且道藏的資料指示這種有圖像學性的語言本來是存想技術的一部分，而後來才逐漸地在咒語出現的。所以這些小法跟道藏「法」的儀式文獻都用這種有圖像學性的語言在一種以身軀為模式的整體思想或範式。在「法」和民間宗教的儀式和象徵中，所有的鬼神都有具體的身軀；然而法師、神明和神兵都能夠使用暴力來控制或殺死妖怪鬼祟。以此這種有圖像學性的儀式語言跟以身軀為主的宗教範式運作為儀式效能和意義的基礎。

 

The Minor Rite, or Xiaofa 小法, is a late imperial and modern manifestation of the historic Ritual Master, or Ritual Method 法 movement that entered the textual record during the Song dynasty, and strongly influenced Daoism in the Song-Yuan-Ming periods. In southern Taiwan, and in much of the greater Taiwanese and Minnan regions, the Minor Rite tradition plays a major role in the local temples of the Popular Religion, and is notable for its ritual texts, which are among the only kinds of texts native to the Popular Religion itself. These Minor Rite ritual texts are mostly composed of invocations for deities, and largely share set of liturgical and linguistic techniques which feature iconographic depictions of these gods, linked with the god’s spiritual actions performed in the ritual present, together with first-person language of identification which identifies the Ritual Master with the deity. This paper explores historical backgrounds of the Minor Rite invocations and shows that similar language is found in Ritual Method texts of the Ming Daoist Canon, particularly the Daofa Huiyuan. The similarities are so extensive that we can conclude that the Minor Rite invocations evolved from the broader religious milieu in which these same Daoist Canon texts took shape. Furthermore, examination of Daoist Canon texts reveals that these linguistic techniques of iconographic depiction began as instructions for visualizations, and only later gradually became part of the liturgical invocations themselves. All of these sources employ such iconographic language as part of an overall paradigm of embodiment in which the language of the ritual texts consistently constructs bodies for spirits of all kinds, and through these spiritual bodies the gods and spirit-armies commanded by the Ritual Master are able to apply coercive violence upon the bodies of malevolent spirits, to slay or restrain them, and compel them to obey. This language of embodiment forms a comprehensive paradigm whereby ritual action is made efficacious and meaningful.