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Seeing the spirit of Shilin Zhongyuan Pudu

  1. 開墓門－農曆七月一日，打開芝山岩同歸所的墓頂，告知好兄弟鬼月的到來。
  2. 水燈隊伍途經士林夜市
  3. 放水燈－用光照亮冥路讓孤魂野鬼能夠前來享用普渡
  4. 巡孤－車隊一路前往士林、石牌、天母、陽明山各普場巡孤，告知好兄弟將有中元普度宴會。
  5. 石牌角巡孤－告知各方鬼魂們，快來接受款待
  6. 放焰口－用法施食，讓惡鬼安心飽食。燄口是餓鬼，喉管極細，難以吞嚥，進口之時，成臭穢膿血，烈燄從口而出
  7. 跳鍾馗－中元節夜晚重頭戲，雖有許多禁忌，但仍吸引許多人為此慕名前來觀賞。
  8. 跳鍾馗的目的在於送孤，讓好兄弟回歸其所不至於逗留。
  9. 送大士－普渡完畢，面燃大士普渡真君等眾神，同歸所好兄弟也該回返陰曹，所以焚大量紙錢、冥鏹，送其返回
  10. 團隊成員搭乘小巴和宮廟長輩們一起巡孤，並跟拍紀錄。

Origin


Three of the most well-known temples in Shilin– the “Hui Ji Temple”(1764), the “Shen Nong Temple” (1741), and the “Ci Xian Temple”(1796) were built during the era of late Qing dynasty. Despite all the regime changes and party alternation, the one tradition that has remained throughout a hundred and sixty years of history, will be the grand Chungyuan Pudu(中元普渡). It carried the tragic history of ancient Chinese immigrants, and became the key to bonding the “three-great temples” with local Shilin. Our team participated and recorded the entire Chungyuan Pudu event, from August 19th (July 1st of the Lunar Calendar), until the “closing of the ghost gate(鬼門關)", which is the end of the Pudu rite on September 17th (August 1st of the Lunar Calendar).

“Opening The Tomb Gate”(開墓門)


The Zhishan-Yan Pudu(芝山巖普渡) originates from late Qing dynasty, during the period of “Lin Shuangwen Event” and “Zhang-Quan Armed Conflict”. Local residents in Zhishan-Yan can’t bear watching the field of conflict become strewn with bodies of wounded and dying men, so they buried the dead, and decided to hold  “Pudu” rite for their lonely spirit. Later, for greater reassurance of the people, four of the main local population near Zhishan-Yan, the “Shi-Lin Street(士林街)”, “Shih-Pai(石牌)”, “Bei-Shan(北山)”, and “Nan-Ya(湳雅)”, decided to take turns hosting the annual grand Chungyuan Pudu Event. Each year on July 1st of the Lunar Calendar, people gather before Hui Ji Temple(惠濟宮) and carry out the ceremony of “Opening Tomb Gate”. It takes place in a total of seven different spots, including several of temples and graves around the Shilin region. Among the seven, one of the best-known will be the “Shelter of the Lost Spirits(同歸所)” in Zhishan-Yan, also known as the “Da Mu Gong(大墓公)”, which people call from the earlier days. As it is, the “Da Mu Gong” was said to be the witness of popular uprisings and armed fights down the history of Zhishan-Yan. The ceremony of “Opening Tomb Gate” in “Da Mu Gong” is special for actually opening the lid of the public grave, inviting the wandering souls to come up from the underworld into the light. Other spots like the “Shuei Che Bian(水車邊)” and the “Lin Zai Kou(林仔口)” is nearby Shuang-Xi Park, where commuters pass by every day; also another spot called the “Wan Shan Temple(萬善堂)”, located up on the hill in Nei-Shuang-Xi(內雙溪), was a great challenge for us to travel across hills and rivers. All seven spots of “Opening Tomb Gate” should be completed within the day. At the ceremony, the Master will lead the crowd to open the tomb gate and then close it, yet let the tomb stay unlocked. By doing this, the ghosts were allowed to go in and out the tomb during Ghost Month, while manage to avoid ignorant who enter by mistake.

“Chungyuan Pudu”(中元普渡)


This year , “Shih-Pai(石牌)” is on duty of the annual Chungyuan Pudu and the ceremony of “setting water lanterns(放水燈)”. It was to invite the souls of the drowned for a feast, so they may temporarily relieve the suffering; people also call it the “Jhao Ming(照冥)”, which means “lighting the way for the souls”. On the day September 1st (July 14th of the Lunar Calendar), right after the night falls, people carry hand-made lanterns and paraded through Shilin. The parade caught everyone’s attention while walking pass Shilin Night Market, until we finally arrived at Heshuang Riverside Park No. 21(河雙21公園) in Zhoumei(州美), where the ceremony mainly took place. District executives and local representatives also participated the event, it was a bustle along the river side. With the Master leading the crowd, we set our lanterns into the river, watching them glow while the mist of incense lingered in the air, along with moonlight shedding on the river, the atmosphere was beyond words.

The next day, on September 2nd, there was a whole series of Chungyuan Pudu event. In the morning, we prayed at “San Jieh Gong(三界公)” in Hui Ji Temple; during the afternoon, we headed to each Pudu place in “Shih Pai Jiao(石牌角)” for the “Syun-Gu(巡孤)” ceremony, it was to invite ghosts from around to come and sate their appetites. At night, we went back to Hui Ji Temple for the ending ceremony of the day, the “Song-Gu(送孤)”, “Fang Yan Kou(放焰口, offering of food for hungry ghosts)”, and “Tiao Jhong Kuei(跳鍾馗)”. They were performed to escort the wandering ghosts, in case of them sticking around, bothering the locality. Something special about the “Tiao Jhong Kuei(跳鍾馗)” is the taboos, for example, people cannot say each other’s names, nor answer when someone call your name during the ceremony, for fear of being possessed by ghosts. Everyone kept silent when “Jhong-Kuei(鍾馗)” was running around the place, the atmosphere was truly different from “setting water lanterns” on the day before.

“Closing The Tomb Gate”(關墓門)


It was September 17th(August 1st of the Lunar Calendar), the final day of Chungyuan Festival, we attended the ceremony of “Closing Tomb Gate(關墓門)”. The Master started with chanting funeral orations, burning incenses, and offering feasts; after that, the crowd burned out funeral orations and joss papers, then ended the ceremony by setting off firecrackers. Before closing the tomb gate, the crowd said prayers to the “Earth God(土地公)”, asking Him to guide the wandering ghosts successfully return to the underworld. Lastly, the Master and representatives closed and locked the grave lid of “Da Mu Gong”, then one after another locked up all other seven spots that had been opened at the beginning. Chungyuan Festival was then officially over.

The series of Pudu event had come to an end. Each time, when worshipers went up and down the hill for different events, our partner would ride his motorbike and follow the crowd, while another partner took videos and photos from the back-seat, only to seize the right moment and get a good shot. Other time, our partners would take a bus with the crowd, and listen to the elder’s fascinating stories about their Pudu experiences. After all, they cherish the younger generations to learn about the unique cultural event here in Shilin. The event demonstrates fully the “Pudu spirit”; no matter the ethnicity, no matter being good or evil during one’s lifetime, the Pudu spirit was meant to peacefully gather the lost souls, and treat them with respect and equally. We are hoping that our effort could arouse the younger generation’s attention toward our precious tradition of local religious ceremonies.

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