Shunxian Temple (順賢宮) is luxurious. Massive, exquisitely ornamented, in pristine condition and yet varnished by the passing of time. General manager Huang Wen-jeng (黃文正) points to a ceiling in a little anteroom: a splendid painting of a tiger stares at us from above. Wherever you walk, his eyes seem riveted on you.
“When you pray or when you tribute money, he is still there, looking at you,” he says.
But the tiger isn’t threatening — indeed, it’s there to protect locals. Not that they may need it because Neimen District (內門) in Kaohsiung has a martial tradition dating back centuries.
Photo: Julien Oeuillet
On April 5, Shunxian Temple hosted the Neimen Songjiang Battle Ritual, a yearly competition that combines choreographed martial arts and traditional theater.
MARTIAL TRADITION
The Songjiang Battle Ritual is a deeply Taiwanese tradition and stems from the region’s history of irredentism and local resistance to outside rule.
Photo: Julien Oeuillet
Militias were first formed by speakers of Hokkien (commonly known as Taiwanese) villagers of the Neimen area to defend themselves against raids by the indigenous population and Han Chinese pouring in from Tainan, then the seat of the Qing Empire’s attempts at subjugating the island.
Later on, the Neimen warriors allied with one of the indigenous communities to push back on Qing forces. The ritual was thus born at the moment when the island grew an identity away from the common root of the ancient Sinosphere.
Despite its ages-old character, the Songjiang Battle Ritual is a celebration of juvenile passion, dedication and determination.
Photo: Julien Oeuillet
Each troop numbers around two dozen, mostly in their early twenties, telling a story through simulated fighting, with weapons or bare limbs.
Live and recorded music is constantly booming, while flag-bearers wave their colors, sometimes carrying gigantic banners. Not a word is uttered: their choreographed fights, screams, movements and props do the job.
HONORS
Photo: Julien Oeuillet
This year’s winning team, Fengwu Xinchuan-Xiluo Fengshan Pavilion (鳳武薪傳西螺鳳山館), used modern imagery to tell the story of folk hero Liao Tian-ding (廖添丁), a sort of Taiwanese Robin Hood celebrated for his resistance to Japanese rulers in the early 1900s.
For their efforts, the troupe, received honors from local officials, including Ho Kuo-jao (何國昭) a 101-year-old kung-fu master.
After the competition ends, the food stalls close up, and performers and the audience disperse. Inside the temple, a few late pilgrims come to pray to Matsu and the deity of martial artists, Guan Yu, all while the tiger continues to cast its protective gaze.
Photo: Julien Oeuillet
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