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Lu Jiang elementary school (2011 CyberFair Project ID 6639)
Taiwan,
New Taipei City
Official Status:
Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
We estimate 10 student(s) from 11 to 12 will work on this entry.
Description of Our Community: In ancient times, Luzhou was an alluvial sandbank. Owing to its low-lysing position, it used to suffer from floods and the residents were forced to fight against river. Because the residents in Luzhou lived along the river, Luzhou was called “River Island.” Moreover, due to the frequent floods, most of the residents willing to live in Luzhou were the poor from central or southern Taiwan making a livelihood in northern Taiwan. After Luzhou became highly populated, its own unique culture, which was different from that in northern Taiwan, was developed. Various temples have been built here and various temple ceremonies have been constantly held, which unites the residents in Luzhou and promotes the development of various industries, such as the paper money and incense, paper models, and cakes for ceremonies, as well as the chefs responsible for holding banquets and preparing ornamental sacrifices. The annual worshipping ceremony and Dajiao ritual always attract many believers to gather in Luzhou. The residents in Luzhou are proud of the magnificent temple ceremonies. With the change in time, the annual worshipping ceremony in Luzhou has gradually declined in the modern and indifferent society. It is hoped that this research project of “Ornamental Sacrifices” can make local residents in Luzhou recall the memory buried in their mind and better understand the culture of Luzhou.
Project Description: In early days, most of the residents in Luzhou were the people from central and southern Taiwan who came to make a livelihood in Northern Taiwan. Most of these immigrants preserved the customs and beliefs of their homeland; therefore, the density of temples in Luzhou is the highest in Taiwan. Worshipping ceremonies are always held on the birthdays of the Gods or Dajiao ritual, and the residents in Luzhou will all join these ceremonies. The temple personnel and local residents sponsor the construction of canopies where long altar tables were set up and various sacrifices were placed on them. The most noticeable thing is neither the incense burner table nor sacrifices, but the story characters made of ingredients, chicken, duck, and flour, such as Yang Jian and Jiang Ziya in “Fengshen Bang” or Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” In addition, colorful birds and animals, such as kylin, fresh-water turtle, octopus, crab, deer, rabbit, etc. made of flour can be seen on the long altar tables. There are also festival lanterns made of watermelon or white gourd sculptures where blessing phrases are sculpted. There is phoenix drawings made of taro and sweet potato. All the sculptures look vivid and beautiful, and the most important thing is that they are all made of edible ingredients. The ornamental sacrifices will be sent to the public after the ceremony. Because these ornamental sacrifices are produced delicately, people will scramble for them to take them home. This unique folk custom is quite attractive. Based on the on-site observation and the record of the production of “ornamental sacrifices for worshipping ceremonies,” these procedures were recorded and edited into webpage to convey to the world the simple and unadorned cultural spirit of Luzhou.