過去對布農人傳統政治組織或秩序的主要硏究，一直相當強調其平等主義的 傾向。政治或社會領袖的產生完全是依個人能力與影響力而來，並沒有制度化階 序的形成。即使文獻上有關於類似靑年會所的軍事組織的記載，並未眞正受到重 視，而被視爲只是北部布農人向外遷出的原始住地，在人口過多、土地不足的壓 力之下，爲對抗鄰近聚落與異族的侵奪所發展出來的地區性組織。本文將挑戰這 種觀點，結合民族誌與歷史資料，來重新思考與解釋布農族傳統政治體系的性質。 筆者指出布農人所展現出的強烈的平等主義傾向，在相當大的程度上與日本殖民 統治的歷史過程有關。布農人的傳統政治體系，其實呈現出在平等性與階序性制 度之間的擺盪（oscillation)。不同族群之間的敵對關係與獵首戰爭，則是影響這 種擺盪的最主要因素。唯有檢視比較長時間的動態歷史過程，並將布農人置於更 寬廣的區域性政治脈絡中，我們才能淸楚看到這一點。由此，本文也進一步反省 過去硏究中的理論與方法論預設。

Previous studies of the traditional Bunun political system have emphasized the strong egalitarian tendencies of the Bunun. There is no institutional hierarchy, and political leadership is achieved according to personal abilities and influences. Even though the historical existence of military organizations such as men’s houses has been recorded, this is regarded as merely a regional phenomena and its significance downplayed or ignored. This article challenges these characterizations, combining ethnographic and historical materials to rethink the features of the Bunun political system and taking into account the larger-scale forces bearing upon the Bunun. I argue that the egalitarianism displayed by the Bunun is to a large extent a consequence of Japanese colonial rule. Before the advance of Japanese colonialism in Taiwan, the Bunun socio-political order oscillated between egalitarianism and hierarchy, and the most important factor triggering this shift was hostility and headhunting warfare between different ethnic groups. The suppression of headhunting and tribal warfare by the Japanese colonial state in effect halted such oscillation. Because only by examining the dynamic historical processes of a longer period, and by situating the Bunun within wider regional political contexts can we reach this understanding, this article also critically addresses the theoretical and methodological assumptions of previous studies.