本篇論文是以宜蘭縣為範圍，討論一個具有民族特色的祭祀圈輪祀組織－－khiam，其信仰表相與民族底相。在信仰表相上，筆者透過普查方式，瞭解蘭陽平原上51間使用khiam的廟群現況與地理分布；在民族底相上，筆者透過史料蒐羅、族譜與施添福教授在《蘭陽平原的傳統聚落—理論架構與基本資料》所提供的基本資料，加上筆者田野調查所得的訪問資料，來討論一個隱性的民族：來自福建省漳州府的詔安縣客家移民，在蘭陽平原上的分布狀態。然後，再將khiam的空間分布圖、形成類型與詔安客的分布型態作一疊合比對的工作，找出khiam與詔安客的關係。最後，我們把研究場域移至台灣西部的雲林縣西螺鎮，比較蘭陽平原的khiam與西螺七khiam的在人群分布、使用語言、khiam的規模、形成與變遷以及民族認同等面相的差異，並藉由兩者的比較，來凸顯蘭陽平原khiam祭祀組織的區域特色與民族特色。 在研究方法上，我們使用了區域性普查與更深入的參與觀察，輔以文獻資料的分析比對，而有下列四個發現： （一） khiam是什麼？ khiam是一種具有民族特色的祭祀圈輪祀組織，khiam這個詞彙來自詔安客語，本義為「角落」。 （二） khiam的信仰特色 1. 廟數統計：宜蘭縣境內共48間使用khiam的廟宇，另有3間廟過去曾有過khiam，現已消失。 2. 神種統計：以三山國王（15間）佔多數，其次為三官大帝（5間）和開台國聖（5間），三山國王比例遠高於其他神種。 3. 祭典活動：多數廟宇以中元普渡作為khiam輪祀組織的主要祭典。 4. 形成類型：可分為原生型（35間）、移入型（13間）、消失型（3間）三種。 （三） khiam的區域分佈現象 以鄉鎮分，冬山鄉最多；以區域分，沿山多於沿海、溪南多於溪北，並呈現帶狀分佈與散狀分佈的現象。 （四） 詔安客的區域分佈現象 1. 詔安客分布集中於沿山地帶，且溪南多於溪北。 2. 詔安客分布的集中度以20％為界，聚落內總戶口數20％以上者為高密度分布區，20％以下者為低密度分布區。其高密度分布區集中在冬山鄉、員山鄉、礁溪鄉和壯圍鄉，以及宜蘭市與三星鄉的一小部分；姓仔底的分布區域也大致吻合高密度分布區的狀況。 （五） khiam與詔安客的關係 1. 詔安客人口比例與khiam原生型成正相關，而詔安客人口比例越低，khiam類型的變異性越高。 2. 從地理分佈來看，khiam廟群的帶狀分佈區與詔安客的高密度分佈區，兩者出現極大的重疊性。 本研究的貢獻，在於祭祀圈研究視野的擴展。透過區域研究以及民族學的角度，將過去人類學與宗教學者在祭祀圈研究上偏重信徒組織、廟際關係或儀式行為的傳統，拓展至台灣的聚落形成、民族分佈等面向。經由史料、文獻、地圖、族譜與田野調查資料的交互比對，來說明「khiam」祭祀圈組織的區域分布意義，並揭露其民族底蘊，以及蘭陽平原傳統聚落的民族樣貌。 / This thesis deals with the khiam, an ethnically distinct religious system in Yilan County. Both the religious and the ethnic aspect of the khiam are discussed. A census of fifty-one temples located on the Lanyan Plain serves my survey of the religious aspect of the khiam, which uncovers the present situation and the geographical distribution of the local temple community. On the other hand, I employ historical records, pedigrees of the local clans, materials offered by Professor Teng-fu Shih’s Traditional Villages on the Lanyan Plain: Theoretical Structure and Basic Information and information I gathered from my own oral history works as the base upon which to discuss the distribution of a “recessive” ethnic group on the Lanyan Plain, the Hakka immigrants from the Zhao’an County of the Fujian Province, China. Further comparative analyses of the geographical distribution and types of the khiam and the distribution of the Zhao’an Hakka identify the close relation between the khiam and the Zhao’an Hakka. In the last chapter of this thesis, I compare the khiam on the Lanyan Plain and that in Xiluo, a town in Yunlin County in western Taiwan. Differences in language and demographical distribution between these two ethnic groups, the formation, changes, and the scale of their khiam, and their ethnic identity all show the local and ethnic characteristics of the khiam on the Lanyan Plain. My research methods i.e. general surveys and further observations in local areas as well as analysis of historical records lead me to four discoveries: 1. What is khiam? Khiam is an ethnically distinct religious system, every sub-groups of which in turns undertakes the responsibility to preside at the annual worship ceremonies. The term khiam stemmed from the Zhao’an Hakka language, which originally means “locus.” 2. Religious characteristics of the khiam (a) Statistics of temples: There are forty-eight temples in the entire Yilan County that exercise the khiam. Besides, there are three other temples in which the khiam was once employed but is no longer performed today. (b) Statistics of deities: Sanshan guowang (三山國王) are the most worshiped deities (15 temples); Sanguan dadi (三官大帝, 5 temples) and Kaitai guosheng (開台國聖, 5 temples) come in the next place. Sanshan guowang are much more often being worshiped than other deities. (c) Ritual practices: in most temples, zhongyuan pudu (中元普渡) is considered as the major ritual of the khiam system. (d) Types of formation: there are three types of formation of the khiam i.e. the primitive type (35 temples), the immigrant type (13 temples), and the vanishing type (3 temples). 3. Local distribution of the khiam In terms of administrative divisions, there are most khiam systems in Dongshan. In terms of geographical features, more khiam systems appear in mountainous areas than in coastal areas, and more appear south than north to rivers, which, respectively, are distributed in band or are scattered. 4. Local distribution of the Zhao’an Hakka (a) The Zhao’an Hakka people are intensively distributed in areas along the mountains, and apparently more to the south of rivers. (b) Twenty-percent marks the average distributive density of Zhao’an Hakka, namely, high density areas refer to those villages in which the number of Zhao’an Hakka households is higher than 20% of the total household number. Villages in which the Zhao’an Hakka households account for less than 20% of the total number are defined as low density areas. It shows that high density areas centralize in Dongshan, Yuanshan, Jiaoxi, Zhuanwei, and a small part of Yilan City and Sanxin. Distribution in Xingzaidi also approximately coincides with the distribution of high density areas. 5. The relationship between the khiam and Zhao’an Hakka (a) The primitive type of the khiam is positively interrelated to the population of Zhao’an Hakka. The lower the population density of the Zhao’an Hakka is, the greater is the variation in the types of the khiam. (b) In terms of geographical distribution, the banding distribution of khiam temple community largely overlaps the high density Zhao’an Hakka areas. This research, I wish, may contribute to broaden the vision of researches on religious spheres. Anthropologists and religion researchers have been placing disciple organizations, inter-temple relations, or traditions of ritual practices in the centrality of religious sphere research. Nonetheless, my adoption of ethnological methods and local studies in this thesis may push the discipline to probe into its other aspects such as the formation of villages in Taiwan and the distribution of ethnic groups. By means of cross comparison of historical records, documentations, maps, pedigrees, and fieldwork data, I attempt not only to clarify the local distribution of the khiam system but also disclose the substantiality of this ethnic group, and the cultural features of the traditional villages on the Lanyan Plain.