Din tao (temple parade) performances such as the “eight generals,” lion and dragon dancing and war drum corps are characteristic and unique forms of Taiwanese folk religious culture. Nantou County Councilor Tsai Ming-hsuan said during a county governance interpellation session on Nov. 11 that din tao culture such as the “eight generals” is really a similar kind of performance to Beijing opera, despite their being performed in different places — one in temples, the other in theaters. Tsai pointed out that Chiayi City has registered one local temple’s “eight generals” din tao troupe as an intangible cultural asset. He suggested that Nantou County Government departments should work togethers to cultivate din tao cultural talents and place due importance on cultural heritage.
Tsai said that the county government’s Department of Civil Affairs is responsible for managing religious cultural activities, while cultural performing arts groups fall under the remit of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. However, under current arrangements the categories of performing arts group managed by the Cultural Affairs Bureau only include music, dance, modern theater, traditional opera and cultural performing arts, while din tao rituals such as the “eight generals,” which are a common sight at folk religious cultural events, do not fit in to any of these categories. As a result, nobody takes care of or assists din tao culture, leaving it to face many problems.
Tsai emphasized that din tao is a kind of performing art and folk religious cultural activity. He said that it can be combined with tourism, just as Taiwanese people are sure to go and see some local traditional festivals when they go on tours to Japan. He said that we should not just focus on bad aspects such as the fights that some din tao troupes occasionally get involved in. Tsai suggested that the county government departments should get together and include din tao under the heading of cultural performing arts groups. He said that they should guide and cultivate din tao cultural talents and establish an evaluation system whereby they can be struck off if they get involved in undesirable incidents.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報李容萍
Nantou Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Lin Rong-sen said that the bureau can actually help din tao troupes register as cultural performance groups within the county. Lin said that if their performances meet certain standards, they may also be selected as outstanding performance groups, in which case it can be arranged for them to do touring performances that take the arts to rural areas.
(Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)
八家將、舞獅舞龍及戰鼓團等廟宇陣頭，是台灣特有的宗教文化，南投縣議員蔡銘軒十一月十日在縣政總質詢時表示，八家將等陣頭文化與京劇其實是同樣表演性質，只是表演場合不一樣，一個在廟會，一個在劇院殿堂。蔡銘軒指出，嘉義市已將當地一間廟宇的八家將陣頭登錄為無形文化資產。他建議縣府應跨局處合作培育陣頭文化人才，重視宗教文化傳承。
Photo: Chang Hsieh-sheng, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報張協昇
蔡銘軒指出，縣府將宗教文化活動歸屬於民政處管理，文化演藝團體則屬於文化局業務，但現行文化局演藝團體只有音樂、舞蹈、現代戲劇、傳統戲曲、文化工藝等類別，廟宇宗教文化活動上常見的八家將等陣頭無法納入，使得陣頭文化無人關心與協助，面臨許多問題。
蔡銘軒強調，陣頭也是一種表演藝術及宗教文化活動，也能與觀光結合，就像國人到日本觀光必看當地傳統祭典。他說不要只看到少數陣頭打架等不好問題，建議縣府應跨局處合作，將陣頭納人文化演藝團體，輔導培育陣頭文化人才，並訂定考核機制，若有負面事件傳出，即予以剔除。
南投縣文化局長林榮森表示，其實該局可輔導陣頭登記為縣內文化表演團體，若表演有一定水準，也能獲選為優良表演團隊，安排藝術下鄉巡演。
（自由時報）
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