自從郭英男為了《1996年奧運主題曲 Return to Innocence》與Enigma打官司之後，臺灣原住民的民歌便吸引的不少傳媒的注意。然而，除了一般的歷史性探討以及基本的音樂形式分析以外，專門討論阿美族歌謠文化與現代阿美族社會之間關係的文獻，至今仍相當罕見。 本文利用2000年3月、7-8月以及2001年7月間，在東臺灣（以東河鄉東河村為主）的田野調查資料，討論「生活」與「藝術」之間的區別。 「歌謠」的相當阿美語是 ladiw，這個詞彙除了有音樂上的含意之外，也有文化、禁忌、儀式與權力等方面的內涵。阿美族人這樣的概念，雖然未必能在語言上表達得很清楚，卻是日常生活中很重要的一環。 至於阿美語中的 yinyue，採借自漢人文化中的「音樂」一詞，是個與「藝術」相平行的語詞；它不是阿美族日常生活的原始概念，而是外來的，具有「美化」生活的點綴功能。 理論上，「ladiw（歌謠）」與「yinyue（音樂）」是兩個不能互通的類別；然而，對於非阿美族人來說聽起來一模一樣的旋律，再不同的場合出現時，阿美族人卻可以做出「歌謠」與「音樂」的區隔。什麼是「歌謠」？什麼是「音樂」？兩者之間的界線究竟何在？在「欣賞」、「聆聽」阿美族民歌謠之餘，其實背後隱含著「文化自觀（emic）」與「文化他觀（etic）」的問題。這當中牽扯的問題，遠比「生活」與「藝術」或者「局內人」與「局外人」的簡單區分，來得更為複雜。

TAIWANESE aboriginal folksong has received extensive media coverage since the launch (and settlement) of the copyright lawsuit following pop-artist Enigma's unauthorised use of the voices of Amis aborigines in the 1996 Olympics hit, Return To Innocence. However, little research on the relationship of this folksong culture to contemporary Amis society － beyong musicological-technical analyses and historical surveys － has been published. This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in Southeastern Taiwan (chiefly Fafokod) over March, July-Aug 2000 and July 2001, discusses the recurring issue of where the fine line lies between life and art. Ladiw, the Amis term for ‘song’, is a word laden with extra-musical connotations of culture, taboo, ritual and power － concepts not always articulated clearly in language, but nevertheless germance to ‘normal’ everyday Amis life. The foreign term of yinyue (music), borrowed from Chinese, belongs to the parallel universe of art; it thrives on a separate level of existence that is said to ‘add to’, or beautify life itself (meihua shenghuo). In theory, the two categories do not mix. But in practice (not necessarily = performance), a non-Amis ear hears the exact same melody being delivered on two separate occasions, first as a song, then as a piece of music. Which is which, and where lies the difference? The ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ undercurrents of Amis folksong appreciation are very present, even internally, within Amis cultures. But they are a far more complicated matter than the simple black-and-white distinction between life and art, or ‘insider’ versus ‘outsider’.