漢人父系宗祧制強調是以男性繼嗣為主的祖先崇拜，女性祖先通常只是在附屬於丈夫時才被提及。在台灣漢人的社會裡鮮少有個別的女性祖先被崇拜，然大陸客家地區卻存在不少尊敬甚至崇拜女性祖先(婆太)的現象。這以女性為尊的婆太崇拜的傳說故事，大多發生在開基始祖前後，有些女性祖先崇拜發展甚至成為跨宗族或地域的信仰神祇。 本計畫旨在以福建長汀嚴婆田村林姓遷始祖妣嚴婆為研究對象，試圖瞭解大陸客家地區對於女性祖先崇拜，甚至是女祖先神崇拜的現象究竟是如何產生的，又代表著什麼樣的意涵，並進一步窺探嚴婆信仰的全貌，以增補客家婦女、祖先崇拜及信仰的社會歷史圖像等。 ;Ancestor worship of the Han people has been performed mainly for male ancestors. Female ancestors are usually considered subordinates to their husbands and are rarely mentioned. The female ancestor worship of the Han people in Taiwan is seldom seen, but worship of female ancestors, or Po-tai, is fairly common in Hakka regions in mainland China. The legends of Po-tai, which focus on females, can mostly be traced back to the founding of the Hakka people. Some female ancestors have even become inter-clan and cross-regional deities. The purposes of this project are to: research Yan-po, the founding ancestor of the Lin Family in Yan-po Tian Village, Changting County, Fujian Province; get a general understanding of female ancestor worship in Hakka regions, how it had been established and its significance; obtain a whole social and historical picture of the Hakka women, the belief of Po-tai, and ancestor worship.
