Jean gave me a phone call in the afternoon, saying that she had gotten the previously-ordered oil rice, which she and I could deliver to my sister who lives in Caotun, as man-yue-li. [Note: Customarily, when a newborn baby is one month old, his/her parents will give glutinous oil rice, or cake, to their close relatives and good friends as a way of celebration. The term man-yue-li literally means "full-month gift."] Jean asked me if I was able to go with her. "Sure!" I said, "I'm not too sick to drive!" Before Jean returned from our son's apartment, I telephoned my sister to make sure that she would be at home waiting for us in the evening.
We were very surprised to learn that there was a special religious activity (called zuo-jiao 做醮 in our language) held yesterday in the village where my sister lives. Unlike other "festivals" or "rituals" of the folk religion in Taiwan, this occasion is very, very special; it is rarely held -- In Caotun, for example, it was just held once every twelve years! To celebrate this festival, my sister and her family had prepared three tables of food for their invited guests and, as you may have guessed, we were invited for dinner there and then.
As I can remember, there were two zuo-jiao celebrations in my hometown Guoxing when I was a teenager. First of all, the villagers built up three huge altars in the rice paddies after harvest, to worship the gods and goddesses (each of whom has their particular name!) and to pray to them for good weather, prosperous communities, and healthy people (祈求風調雨順；庇祐國泰民安). Three years later, when everything went well as expected, the villagers built up huge altars and offered sacrifices once again, to express their gratefulness to heaven.
I remember seeing an extremely large turtle shell on the main altar on one occasion. That turtle shell was so shockingly gigantic that I can remember it even at this moment!
And I also remember this: One evening my mother asked me to go with her to look around the zuo-jiao site. She really wanted me to go together with her, but I said, "No. I would rather stay at home." In actual fact, I had some important school work to do at that time. But my refusal to go without a clear explanation made her very disappointed and upset. She would have scolded me for my "not respecting such an important activity" if there had been no such saying: "Keep in a good mood during the zuo-jiao period [just as in the Chinese New Year], and you can consequently bring your family good blessings." I noticed that my mother had always wanted to bring our family good luck and blessings.
Well, time and tide wait for no man! As years have passed by, I am now no longer a teenager but a man in my 50's. Sweet memories of my childhood seem to have started fading gradually out of my mind; what's more, occasionally I can't even believe that what I now recollect had really [actually] happened in those "good old days."
Anyway, so far as I know, there have been no more zuo-jiao activities in Guoxing since I left my hometown at 16 for further studies. And in Caotun, where my sister and her family are living, the previous zuo-jiao took place twelve years ago, that is, in 1998. It was really surprising to me and Jean that we could see the zuo-jiao activity once again yesterday -- when we delivered man-yue-li of our grandson to Caotun! Both of us were excited about this special festival, though we had been Christians for years!
As it is written in the entrance couplet [See the first photo below], the purpose of zuo-jiao should be prayer "for favorable weather, for timely wind and rain; for a safe country/society, for prosperous communities; for health and happiness of the people" (祈求風調雨順；庇祐國泰民安). For these same reasons I would also pray to the Lord: May God the holy Trinity bless all the people on earth, so that everyone can live in safety and in joy!
And I also remember this: One evening my mother asked me to go with her to look around the zuo-jiao site. She really wanted me to go together with her, but I said, "No. I would rather stay at home." In actual fact, I had some important school work to do at that time. But my refusal to go without a clear explanation made her very disappointed and upset. She would have scolded me for my "not respecting such an important activity" if there had been no such saying: "Keep in a good mood during the zuo-jiao period [just as in the Chinese New Year], and you can consequently bring your family good blessings." I noticed that my mother had always wanted to bring our family good luck and blessings.
Well, time and tide wait for no man! As years have passed by, I am now no longer a teenager but a man in my 50's. Sweet memories of my childhood seem to have started fading gradually out of my mind; what's more, occasionally I can't even believe that what I now recollect had really [actually] happened in those "good old days."
Anyway, so far as I know, there have been no more zuo-jiao activities in Guoxing since I left my hometown at 16 for further studies. And in Caotun, where my sister and her family are living, the previous zuo-jiao took place twelve years ago, that is, in 1998. It was really surprising to me and Jean that we could see the zuo-jiao activity once again yesterday -- when we delivered man-yue-li of our grandson to Caotun! Both of us were excited about this special festival, though we had been Christians for years!
As it is written in the entrance couplet [See the first photo below], the purpose of zuo-jiao should be prayer "for favorable weather, for timely wind and rain; for a safe country/society, for prosperous communities; for health and happiness of the people" (祈求風調雨順；庇祐國泰民安). For these same reasons I would also pray to the Lord: May God the holy Trinity bless all the people on earth, so that everyone can live in safety and in joy!
For more pictures of the above religious event,
please click and check the original Chinese article "巧遇建醮祈福活動",
which I posted yesterday -- Dec. 1, 2010.
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