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Hakka festival celebrates history, food and culture

This year’s Taipei Yimin Festival, which opens next Saturday at the Songshan Tobacco Factory, will celebrate Hakka culture with a series of displays and traditional Hakka delicacies.

Yimin (righteous people, 義民) was a title the Qing dynasty bestowed upon Hakka who helped the Qing government put down an uprising by the Hoklo in the 1700s.

The uprising led to the deaths of more than 200 people in Hsinchu. The bodies were buried at the local Sinpu-Fangliao Yimin Temple.

MEMORY

Hakka celebrate the memory of the Yimin on the 20th of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

The three-day festival will start at 8:30am with a parade of nine statues of Yimin temple gods from Taipei City Hall to the site of the festival, followed by traditional Hakka dance and performances.

One of the highlights of the festival comes on Oct. 18 with a parade commencing in which participants will carry food and offerings for the Yimin gods on their shoulders, balanced on poles made out of bamboo.

AWARENESS

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced the festival at a press conference yesterday and said he expected the event to attract Hakka from around the world, in addition to raising public awareness of Hakka traditions and culture.

More than 6,000 members of Hakka communities from around the nation will gather in Taipei for the festival, which will also feature 60 booths selling authentic Hakka food, Taipei City’s Department of Hakka Affairs said.

The festival will come to an end on Oct. 19 with rituals including incense offering and scripture recital and thanking the patron deities for their protection and blessing.
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