The Wangye Worshiping Ceremony in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) is this year held on a smaller scale than originally planned as part of the nation’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The festival, held from today to Sunday next week, normally attracts tens of thousands of participants holding rituals to prevent the spread of plagues, making it one of the largest religious rituals in the southern part of Taiwan.
The festival, held every three years, is this year limited to 98 groups, compared with about 200 groups that attended in 2018, said Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米), who is from Pingtung.
The number of participants is limited to 5,000, compared with 20,000 in former iterations.
Worshipping Wangye — who are believed to be divine emissaries to this world — is particularly popular in southern Taiwan. They are believed to expel disease and evil from those who worship them.
Influenced by traditions brought from China’s Fujian and Guangdong provinces, Wangye worship was widely adopted at a time when epidemics were frequent and medical knowledge was lacking in Taiwan.
The ceremony, centered around Donglong Temple (東隆宮), has been held for about 300 years. The highlight of the eight-day event is the burning of a King Boat built by worshiper specifically for the festival, which symbolizes the release of the Wangye.
The boat burning tradition dates back about 1,000 years, and some historians think that it might have been inspired by the discovery that fire is effective at destroying pathogens, the Tourism Bureau said.
Building a King Boat, which typically features detailed paintings of dragons, elephants and sages, often costs as much as a sports car, the bureau said.
In 2010, the ceremony was listed as an intangible cultural asset by the Ministry of Culture.
Despite its smaller scale this year, the festival is expected to attract a large crowd, as some believe that participation can stave off bad luck and bring blessings.
Traffic controls are in place around the temple, and visitors are advised to plan their trips in advance. Wearing a mask is required at all times.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei City Reserve Command yesterday initiated its first-ever 14-day recall of some of the city’s civilian service reservists, who are to undergo additional training on top of refresher courses. The command said that it rented sites in Neihu District (內湖), including the Taipei Tennis Center, for the duration of the camp to optimize tactical positioning and accommodate the size of the battalion of reservists. A battalion is made up of four companies of more than 200 reservists each, it said. Aside from shooting drills at a range in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the remainder of the training would be at
RSS