[ 摘要 ]
以原住民射日神話為研究對象，因為它蘊含著部落裡的宗教思想、文化習俗、價值觀念、行為準則與經驗知識。它與原住民恪守的祖規及族裡的祭儀巫術、禁忌，有著密不可分的關係，而這樣的文化和精神深深地影響著他們的思維，也適時地反映在各族的性格上；它在族裡深具教育意義和娛樂功能，對重溯原住民的歷史風貌和文化習俗有其重要的價值功能。
本文首先說明臺灣原住民的分類，以瞭解臺灣原住民與南島民族的關係，詳述原住民九族的族群分類與社會文化。近年來，隨著本土意識日益高漲，各族群母語教學之補充材料常見射日神話的蹤跡，足見臺灣原住民對其熟稔之程度。其次將臺灣原住民九族的射日神話內容逐一列出，對每一則射日神話作詳盡的比較與分析，並從太陽數量、射日英雄、工具、結果、類型，五個面向來進行分析與比較，找出其中的異同之處，並探討臺灣原住民各族為何會呈現出如此具有特色的射日神話主題，進而從射日神話的內容探究出各族的性格。
再者，就射日神話與祭儀之關係而言，如何豐富現代原住民文學創作與其存在的功能價值三方面闡述其對臺灣原住民的影響。以射日神話的角度來看早期原住民的社會文化及思維內涵，對重溯原住民的歷史風貌有其重要的價值功能。它保存著原住民的知識、規範、禁忌、巫術行為與文化習俗的由來，在文化傳遞上佔有極重要的地位。

[ 英文摘要 ]
This study aimed to focus on the aboriginal Myth of Shooting the Sun, as the myth involves the religious thinking, cultural customs, value systems, behavioral norms, and experiential knowledge in aboriginal tribes. It is closely related to the norms passed along by ancestors, rituals, medicine, and taboos. Such culture and spirit have profoundly influenced the thinking of aborigines and been reflected upon their tribal characteristics. The myth not only has educational and entertaining functions for aborigines but also carries significant meanings for retracing the aboriginal history and cultural customs.
In this study, the origin and classification of aboriginal tribes in Taiwan were first introduced to understand the relationship between Taiwanese aborigines and Austronesian tribes. The classification of the nine tribes and the social culture of each tribe were also elaborated. With the rising of nativism in recent years, the Myth of Shooting the Sun is usually included in the supplementary teaching materials for the mother tribal language. It can be inferred that Taiwanese aborigines have a certain degree of familiarity with such myth. Therefore, the correlation between Taiwanese aborigines and the Myth of Shooting the Sun should be discussed from three aspects, including the background of the Myth of Shooting the Sun, regional distribution, and its relationship with other aboriginal myths. Moreover, all the Myths of Shooting the Sun in the nine local tribes should be listed and further compared and analyzed from five aspects, including the number of suns, sun-shooting hero, tool, development, and outcome. Through the analysis, this study could identify the similarities and dissimilarities among the myths, examined why such characteristic myths were passed along in Taiwanese aboriginal tribes, and further find out the characteristics of each tribe based on the content of their Myths of Shooting the Sun.
Furthermore, in terms of the relationship between the Myth of Shooting the Sun and rituals, this study also elaborated its impact on the modern literary creation and the functional values of its existence. Probing into the social culture and thinking of the early aborigines from the perspective of the Myth of Shooting the Sun is important for retracing the origin of aborigines. The myth preserves the knowledge, norms, taboos, medicine, and cultural customs of the aborigines, so it plays an extremely important role in cultural transmission.