The Cabinet-level Hakka Affairs Commission has coordinated with six Hakka families in the Hsinchu area to sponsor a series of cultural programs to mark the Hakka Yimin Festival (客家義民節) on the 20th day of the seventh lunar month, which this year falls on Aug. 28.
Every year right after the Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, Hakka people from around the country hold a series of festivities to commemorate the Hakka militia "Yimin" who, according to Hakka myths, were so loyal and brave that they became divinities some 200 years ago.
The Yimin Festival originated in the Hsinchu area as a commemoration of the Hakka militia in the late 18th century who sacrificed their lives to protect their homeland.
In late 18th century Taiwan, Hakka settlers from mainland China suffered greatly from killing and looting by rebel forces. When the ruling Ching Dynasty was unable to put an end to the insurrection, some 1,300 Hakka volunteers in the Hsinchu area formed the "Yimin army" to protect their settlements.
The rebellion was quelled under joint operations of Ching troops and the Hakka militia, with many casualties suffered by the Hakka volunteers. To remember the dead, Hakka families in the region erected a shrine in Hsinpu in 1790 and the Yimin spirits have been worshipped as local deities ever since.
According to a scholar with the Taiwan History Society, the "Yimin beliefs" were introduced to other parts of the country and to the rest of Southeast Asia by Hakka emigrants. Every year in Ghost month, festivities are held at Yimin temples.
In addition to the "original" Yimin Temple in Hsinpu, there are 41 branches around the nation. Over the years, these gods have been given multiple roles as guardians of the land, protectors against pests, and guardian angels for Hakka men in military service, as well as drivers.
RSS