We were lucky enough to catch several blessing rituals over the weekends, mainly to bless the minor gods, but which often had other purposes as well (the Chinese are a rather practical lot). None were for the benefit of tourists, though there are usually plenty of curious onlookers.
The first ritual we witnessed was dedicated to JiGong, a wine-drinking, meat-eating Buddhist monk who lived during the Song dynasty. He became immortal for his good works with the poor and is still worshipped today.
On our way up to Alishan, or Mt Ali, we stopped at a relatively large temple which tour buses seem to use mainly for washroom breaks. Our attention was caught by firecrackers going off, always a sign of activity.
Hurrying closer, we saw a bare-chested medium moving in a straight line towards the main incense burner (there is always one large one just outside the temple entrance). His gestures seemed jerky and described a wider arc than normal, but what made it obvious that he was in a trance was the axe. He was hitting it against his back, and seemed impervious to pain.
From time to time a yellow-clad assistant would retrieve one weapon and hand him another. He went through a rod with spikes on it, and an equally lethal-looking ball. At one point a trickle of blood could be seen.
As he neared the incense burner, another man dressed as JiGong in a yellow costume with faux patches, carrying a fan and a wine gourd, started dancing towards him. Throughout the entire ceremony, JiGong weaved back and forth, like he was drunk, but moved unerringly towards the outer, and then up the steps to the inner incense burner. His eyes were closed the whole time.
This was the cue for a group of devotees carrying their gods started moving forward. They had likely paid for the ceremony, and were careful to walk over a pile of smoldering holy paper. They then formed a human chain and handed the gods through the incense burner and into the temple.
JiGong was given a chair inside and began answering questions put to him by the devotees. His voice was high-pitched and rather soft; I couldn't make out anything though I was standing quite near him in the crowd. He then moved his fan over the backs of each devotee in complicated squiggles, as if he were writing something in Chinese calligraphy; after which he poured about an inch of wine from his gourd into a disposable cup for each devotee.
While this was taking place, the gods left the temple, ferried by the human chain through the incense burners until they reached their transport home. I thought this was a one-off thing until the next weekend, when we saw gods being blessed at two different temples. We were looking for a "very active" temple in Beigang (North Harbour), and while chasing tour buses ended up at a quiet temple dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu (Matsu).
The temple was almost deserted when we arrived, hosted a tour bus on a bathroom break, and then settled back into silence when a medium suddenly came out, moving in the same way as the medium we'd seen the week before.
We'd missed the weapons part, but it was obvious this medium had been using them on himself - there were holes in his back and I saw two wicked rods in the temple, one with triangular blades and another with spikes.
Two mothers, part of the group which had commissioned this ceremony, held up their babies for blessing, and the medium used a flag in one hand and a sword in another to describe squiggles on head, torso and feet of the children.
We'd also missed the gods entering the temple, but they came out the same way as before; through the centre of the temple, and through the centre of the main incense burner out front.
The medium was then invited to sniff at incense burning in a holder held by another man. He did this three times while others supported his body. Possibly this was to keep him from falling to the ground and hurting himself, or in case he went into a fit.
He started retching, and then a stool was eased under him. In a matter of seconds, he was just an ordinary man, shrugging on a checked black-and-white shirt. And in a matter of minutes, the devotees and their gods had packed themselves into vans and left.
On our way back, we happened across what was likely to be the temple we had set out to find. Lanterns decked the streets for over a kilometre near the temple, there were shops galore, and people all dressed up in costumes, despite the fact that a huge sign hid the actual facade - this temple, also dedicated to Mazu, was under renovation.
First, a procession of lorries decorated with colourful garland-like decorations moved out of the temple. As we got closer to the temple entrance, I saw the watermelon girls - a line of girls clad in striped green dresses covered with Chinese silken aprons (traditionally used as underwear), white nylons, and black sneakers, moving their arms and shuffling in a synchronised manner. Another woman, wearing gloves, hat, and petticoats, swayed and twisted while moving her arms in the air.
People in 'big-headed' smiling masks, dressed in colourful, richly embroidered classical military uniforms, whirled out and started moving down the road. More people started queueing up, holding their gods, as old firecrackers were doused from a watering can, and new ones lit to signify the beginning of another ceremony.
Moving into the temple proper, we passed another medium moving out with the now-familiar stylised gestures. Inside, the air was smoky with incense and general worshippers vied for space with groups visiting from all parts of Taiwan. To one side, a group from Baisha were adjusting their palanquin, taking up half the space in the outer court. There were people from Changhua and Taichung, who must have travelled an hour or more to get to Chiayi. The stream of gods moving out of the temple seemed endless, and each god was heralded with ritual cries by its devotees.
As the lorries we first saw began returning, we packed up to leave. The ceremonies we'd seen had by no means ended, and would go on as long as there are people who believe in their gods.
More pictures are available at http://community.webshots.com/shimmertje in the temple rituals album.
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