宋代 民間祠廟의 牛肉 犧牲 ―廣德軍 祠山張大帝 祠廟祭祀의 사례를 중심으로―

Abstract

This article examines the discourses on the issues concerning the Slaughters of Draught Oxen during the Song period. Since the draught oxen had been highly significant for the agriculture, the Song authority had repeatedly forbidden the slaughter of the oxen. However, the high values of the goods produced through the slaughter of oxen had kept promoting the general populace’s illegal acts. The oxen sacrifices offered in the popular religious temples obviously demonstrates the conflicts between the state regulations and the conventional practices of the local communities. Except the highly valuable products from the oxen, the enthusiastic followers of the local cults sincerely desired to offer the oxen sacrifice to the popular religious deities in anticipation of the divine helps. It was the local magistrates and local elites who arbitrated the conflicts. They made great efforts to induce general populace not to offer the oxen sacrifice by proving that the oxen sacrifice was not the god’s will. They, instead, gave positive aids to the popular cults through supporting maintenance and upkeep of the local temples to appease both the deities and the followers. Due to their efforts, the conflicts between the state and the local community or between the legal system and the conventional practices could be eased.