Adada（疾病）與kawas（靈）－以里漏社阿美族二個治病儀式為例

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to interpret the relationship between the Amis' illness and healing from the perspective of the kawas. The period of conducting this research is from 1992 to 2001 and the focus of which is on the group of the sikawasay (priests) and on their healing behavior in the rituals. The sikawasay in the Lidaw village believe that body and the kawas are related c1osely. When health of the villagers is not in a good condition, such an illness is considered to be a person's soul taken away by the kawas. If a patient has received several times of Chinese and West medical treatment and is still unable to recover from an illness, he/she will ask the sikawasay to cure his/her illness. By means of mipuhpuh (the ritual of erasing contaminant), the sikawasay will know where the soul of patient is located or the soul is held by the patevu (the kawas who give sicknesses). Then, the sikawasay examine a symptom of illness and hold the ritual of the patevu (the ritual of seeking soul). The healing procedure of the patevu is rigid, such as, different symptoms of illness are healed by different kawas invoked by the sikawasay. In this ritual the sikawasay heals different parts of the patient's body and enact a certain procedure to practice different forms of medical treatment. Besides this, the sikawasay use various types of ritual objects to accomplish aims and effects of the healing. The process of the healing rituals in the village not only delineates the relationships between body, soul, the sikawasay and the kawas but also evolves healing behavior in relation to the concept of religion. On the basis of traditional religious belief the concept of the kawas is embodied in the healing behavior. The behavior provides an account of an invisible connection between the kawas and the illness.