This study is the ritual music of Pu-An sect in Fa-Jiao at the Pescadores. Especially, it is focused on the rituals held in the situation of celebrating the birthday of village temple god.
Besides the introduction and the conclusion, the thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is about the traditional rituals and music at the Pescadores. It is concerned the background of the topic. The second chapter describes the performance and constitution of rituals. The information comes mainly from the fieldwork. The third chapter is the record of ritual music, including the vocal and instrumental music. The forth chapter is the analysis of music, discussing the structure and traits of ritual music. The last chapter discusses the inter-relationship of music and ritual. Then, the accomplishment of the research will be presented in the conclusion.
According to the study, in the rituals of celebrating the birthday of temple god, the specialists collect several kinds of rituals with different abilities and intentions. From the point of music, we can find the music is abundance in ritual.
The vocal music is the main part of the ritual music; besides, it is the core of the ritual music. The instrumental music is played in the rituals with the actions. The originals of music compass the traditional tunes and the tunes absorbed from the other music category. That the different kinds of tunes combine with the varied ritual progress completes the complicated meanings of ritual. The music is a necessary component of rituals; meanwhile, it develops the significance of the Pu-An sect ritual music at the Pescadores.