A historic rivalry between the clans of Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Bangka (艋舺, also known as Monga) is the focus of this year’s Taipei Xiahai City God Temple Cultural Festival (台北霞海城隍文化季).
The festival coincides with the 199th birthday of the Taipei City God (城隍) and will take place at the temple and various locations on Dihua Street (迪化街) in Dadaocheng throughout June. All events are free of charge and open to the public.
Celebrations start on June 1, when the City God traverses Tamsui River on a dragon boat. He will be accompanied by the tea association’s Matsu (茶郊媽祖), which turns 130-years-old this year, in a nod to the tea industry that has been vital to Dadaocheng’s prosperity.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Xiahai
On June 15, the City God will be taken through the neighborhood in a traditional procession, followed by an open-air market and music festival. And on his birthday, which falls on the 13th day of the fifth lunar month (June 16 this year), he will preside over a banquet of offerings.
This year’s festival connects the temple’s establishment with Dadaocheng’s development and the worldly struggles faced by migrants from China’s Fujian Province, who brought the City God with them in 1821.
It is the second part in a trilogy of celebrations that started with the story of the deity’s arrival at last year’s festival, and culminates in the bicentennial of the City God next year, says Titan Wu (吳孟寰), spokesperson for the Xiahai City God Temple.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Xiahai City God Temple
The migrants initially settled in Bangka, in present-day Wanhua District (萬華). But economic competition with earlier settlers in the area caused simmering tensions that eventually boiled over into open conflict in 1853. The migrants fled north with their City God and settled in Dadaocheng.
In the late 19th century, Dadaocheng’s prosperity would eclipse that of Bangka, becoming Taiwan’s equivalent of Wall Street, Wu says. It was where the scions of some of Taiwan’s largest existing conglomerates, including the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) and Shin Kong Group (新光集團), first got their start.
But economic fortunes did not always seem within reach. The festival’s theme of “incense passing down from generation to generation” (香火代代傳傳) evokes the uphill battle of that era. It refers not only to temple worship, but to the efforts of Dadaocheng’s residents who strove to ensure the continuity of their family lines and businesses, Wu says.
“A lot of our stories, a lot of our history, are not things that can be studied in school,” he adds.
The temple and the General Association of Chinese Culture (中華文化總會) have therefore worked with proprietors in Dadaocheng to create an immersive classroom using art, religious rites and oral history. Select shops on Dihua Street are also installing festive decorations and offering specially-designed products exclusive to the festival.
Visitors who want to learn more about the history of Dadaocheng and Bangka can also visit an exhibition at the Heritage and Culture Education Center of Taipei (臺北市鄉土教育中心), which runs from May 28 to July 7.
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