A delegation of experts in traditional Hakka performance arts and cuisine are to embark on a tour of Southeast Asia, as part of the Hakka Affairs Council’s efforts to establish cultural bonds with overseas Hakka communities.
Among the members of the delegation are master chef Lee Chieh-kuei (李杰奎), traditional opera singer Liu Li-chu (劉麗株) and folk singer Chloe Luo (羅茵茵), as well as linguist and Hakka language instructor Lu Sung-ian (呂嵩雁).
The tour is to begin on Monday next week and end on March 29, with performances planned in Singapore and four cities in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Council officials expressed their desire to convey Hakka culture to an overseas audience through a mix of cultural performances and arts, while sweet and sticky rice cakes (甜粄) are also to be served, according to Hakka customs during the Lunar New Year.
The event would also celebrate Tianchuanri (天穿日), or “the day that the sky breaks” — which falls on Tuesday next week — a Hakka festival observed on the 20th day of the first lunar month.
The festival commemorates the legendary deeds of the serpent-bodied goddess Nuwa (女媧), who in Chinese mythology mended the sky with colorful rocks after it was ruptured as a result of a battle between two other deities.
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