本研究為筆者參加2014年嘉義縣阿里山鄉鄒族生命豆季慶典儀式的田野調查資料，加上歷史文獻的記載，深入探討此慶典所蘊含的文化意義。阿里山鄒族生命豆季自2002年開始舉辦，是一個藉鵲豆旺盛的生命力為象徵，以族人集體婚禮為主軸，由地方政府輔助舉行的節慶活動。阿里山鄒族崇拜的生命豆，其實是一種生長在鄒族部落周邊，隨處可見的豆科蔓藤類植物，也是鄒族人傳統的食材之一。鄒語稱作「fo'na」，也就是臺灣人俗稱的「肉豆」。由於其旺盛的生命力，任何惡劣的環境，仍能堅強生長，因此取為活動的象徵，命名為「生命豆」。生命豆不選土地，不用澆水，耐旱，結果纍纍，阿里山鄒族人希望用生命豆堅忍不拔的習性來鼓勵族人。除此之外，阿里山鄒族人在適應現代生育的轉變，也面臨人口日漸稀少的危機，於是希望透過生命豆型構該族過去的社會傳統，並凝聚該族內部的認同，達到綿衍子孫的積極目的。阿里山鄒族生命豆季活動型態、可說是一種創發的傳統及人為發明的元素，藉由社會操作來形成共識。就此而言，鄒族人有意識地引進生命豆的價值觀，並使之習俗化（大眾化），尋找族群認同感。阿里山鄒族生命豆季充滿重生、新生、成長、希望和歡樂的氣氛，隱含阿里山鄒族未來樂觀的發展。

This article is a fieldwork report of 2014 ?Bean of Life? Festival held by the Tsou tribe in Ali Mountain Township in Chiayi County. Since 2002 the Tsou tribe in Mt. Ali has held the ?Bean of Life? Festival, a festival supported by the local government and jointly celebrating group weddings of clansmen with hyacinth beans as a symbol of vitality. The bean, named ?fo'na? in Tsou, as a common ingredient in traditional food is a leguminous vine plant growing around the place where the Tsou people live. Due to its vitality, it can grow sturdily in harsh environments, thus it is adopted as a symbol of the festival and called ?bean of life?. Being drought-resistant and fruitful, ?fa'na? beans are taken by the Tsou people to encourage their clansmen with perseverance. Since the Tsou tribe has faced the risk of decreasing population, they hope to actively increase the number of descendants through a celebration of ?fo'na? beans in order to shape social traditions as well as condense internally the people's self-identity. The Bean of Life Festival held by the Tsou people in Mt. Ali can be considered as an invention of tradition where people as element of invention form consensus through social operations. In this regard, the Tsou people consciously introduce and conventionalize the value of ?fa'na? beans in search for self-identity. The Bean of Life Festival is full of rebirth, regeneration, growth, hope and delight with optimistic future developments.