A “fiery horse run” (射火馬) ceremony on Wednesday last week at the Cyuanshan Temple (勸善堂) in Tainan’s Houpi Township (後壁) involved burning 34 papier-mache horses, the highest number of fiery horses used in the temple’s history, organizers said.
The Cyuanshan Temple is dedicated to Chih Fu Wang Yeh (池府王爺), one of the martial guardian deities, known as Wen Wang Yeh (溫王爺), that are said to wield power over plagues and are worshiped in many places in Taiwan.
Temple board of directors chairman Huang Chi-ming (黃啟明) said that the custom of burning model horses is believed to be more than 100 years old.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
Kanding Borough’s (崁頂) elderly residents told him that the ritual was well-established in the community when they were children, Huang said.
The temple’s board plans to apply to the Tainan City Government to obtain cultural heritage status for the ritual, he added.
Tainan City Councilor Lai Mei-hui (賴美惠), who donated one of the horses this year, said that she supports the temple’s application because the practice is unique to Kanding and is worth preserving.
The models are made out of bamboo frames and paper, Huang said, adding that beehive firecrackers are placed inside them and ignited, burning the paper horses, transforming them into “the steeds of the dead.”
They are usually burned in two ceremonies, one during the day and one at night, he said.
According to the temple, the ritual can be traced to the late Qing Dynasty, when the borough was said to be haunted by the spirits of a group of imperial soldiers who were ambushed and killed by bandits.
The Chih Fu Wang Yeh is said to have placated the spirits by promising that he would share tributes to the temple with the spirits.
The fiery horse run is said to since have been an annual event to commemorate the killed soldiers, the temple said, adding that worshipers this year were generous with their donations, resulting in a record number of fiery horses.
The ceremony began at 3pm on Wednesday last week during a thunder storm, but the rain stopped after the firecrackers were lit, which the worshipers attributed to a divine blessing, the temple said.
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