In Taiwan’s various religious customs and rituals, women are traditionally not allowed to touch or get close to the sedan chairs that are used to carry gods. But in the ritual ceremony for welcoming the Wang Yeh gods, also known as the plague gods, at Wufang Village in Pingtung County’s Hsinyuan Township they have broken the gender taboo by allowing women to carry sedan chairs and religious items. Hsu Jung-huang, director of Hsinyuan’s Chengying Temple, says that the times and society are changing. Women can serve in the army, so of course they can be sedan carriers for the gods, he says.
Looking back at the month-long ceremonies for welcoming the Wang Yeh gods that recently ended in Pingtung’s Donggang, Liouciou and Nanjhou townships, only men were seen carrying the Wang Yeh sedan chairs and religious items, and every temple scrupulously reminded women about the traditional taboo of touching or getting close to sedan chairs or religious items.
But the group of sedan carriers for the recent Wang Yeh welcoming ceremony at Chengying Temple consisted almost entirely of elderly women and mothers.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者葉永騫
Hsu says that with a population of only 2,000 people, practically the entire village is mobilized to help out with the ceremony, so almost all of the young men in the village take part in the large Songjiang battle formation troupe and help conduct traffic. Women, on the other hand, are usually responsible for serving as sedan carriers — a division of labor among the sexes that allows them to work together in welcoming the gods.
The temple worships mainly the Wang Yeh gods surnamed Chu, Chih, Yen and Tang as well as Kuo Hung-fu. Having women serve as sedan carriers initially caused some controversy and some people said it was entirely inappropriate, but Hsu believes that it is not a problem as long as a woman does not participate in the ceremony when she is menstruating, which has allowed the temple to overcome the sexist tradition. Everyone has gradually accepted this new way of thinking and the women sedan carriers have become a unique feature of Wufang Village’s ceremony.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者葉永騫
台灣各類宗教民俗,女子不得靠近神轎,但屏東縣新園鄉打破傳統禁忌,五房村糖府千歲的祈安遶境活動,神明的轎班人員就多由女性出任,神明法器也有部份由女子手持;澄瀛宮總幹事許榮煌說,時代在變,社會也在變,女性都能當兵,當然也能勝任神明轎班。
反觀為期一個多月的東港、琉球、南州迎王平安祭典剛剛結束,盛大遶境隊伍,轎班清一色男性,王爺的神轎及用品,廟方三令五申交代女子不得觸摸、靠近,這是傳統民間禁忌。
但新園鄉五房村澄瀛宮糖府千歲日前祈安遶境活動,卻是娘子軍出動,七頂神明轎班多由婆婆媽媽組成。
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者葉永騫
總幹事許榮煌說,五房村僅有兩千多人,這次祭祀全村總動員,年輕男子幾乎都加入宋江陣,其餘男性投入交通指揮、村內婦女就加入轎班,男女分擔工作,合力為平安遶境奉獻。
澄瀛宮主祀朱、池、鹽、糖府千歲及廣澤尊王,這回轎班多是娘子軍曾引發議論,有人說不妥,但許榮煌認為,只須月事來時主動迴避即可,廟方突破傳統思維,讓大家慢慢接受新觀念,娘子軍也成了五房村神轎一大特色。六十三歲陳連女就說,為神明抬轎覺得很光榮。
(自由時報記者葉永騫)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You