| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立屏東科技大學 === 客家文化產業研究所 === 105 === Veneration of the dead is an important family activity. This fact is particularly true in Hakka people, who hold veneration ceremonies to allow clan members from different generations to bond. Through this practice, individual members and the clan develop identical values and beliefs that lead to within-clan affections and approval. Therefore, in this study, the perspectives of Hakka descendants and generation differences were adopted, and the Liu clan of West Gate, Minong Village, Meinong District was selected as the study subject to explore various issues such as its clan history, space for veneration, and veneration behavior as well as the perception, imagination, and approval of veneration of the dead among clan members from different generations.
In this study, literature review, on-site event participations and observations, and interviews were conducted. Family elders and family event participants orally elaborated on their life experiences in an attempt to express their views and opinions of veneration of the dead. The spaces for veneration found in family halls (ancestral halls) and graveyards were analyzed to gain insight into their usage and profound cultural meaning. The findings were organized and family context-related information was examined to shed light on how generation differences were reflected on the culture of veneration of the dead.
The results showed that during the migration and reclamation in the Qing Dynasty, the Liu family of West Gate, Minong Village, Meinong District took part in other Liu families’ zuchang (a practice in which public farmland is sold in order to collect the money needed to venerate ancestors). Subsequently, the pedigree of the Liu clan was edited to connect all the Liu families together and facilitate within-clan care and assistance. In the modern era, the Liu clan maintains a complete veneration system by practicing veneration in their own family halls and constructing family tombs and cemeteries. In addition, common spaces for veneration are utilized to bond the families together. Questions covering four aspects were introduced to three Liu clan generations, to which the answers revealed minimal differences between the three generations, indicating that the clan members share identical values and beliefs. By venerating ancestors at their memorial tablet and tomb locations each year, consensuses are reached and cohesion is formed between clan members.
The Liu clan of West Gate, Minong Village, Meinong District is a small clan. Although the clan has split up and each family manages its own affairs, the construction of tombs and cemeteries to hold the bodies of their ancestors together serves to illustrate the respect that the clan has for its ancestors as well as close relationships and cohesion between clan members. These practices exemplify that veneration of the dead has the effect of uniting clan members of same lineage, which shall be investigated in follow-up studies.
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