The King’s Boat

Every three years, a major religious ceremony is held at Donglong Temple in the town of Donggang in Pingtung County. It finishes with a boat being burned as an offering to Wen Wangye (“the Royal Lord Wen”), the main deity to whom the temple is dedicated. His specialty is warding off plague and disease. Known variously in English as the “Wangye Worshipping Ceremony” or “Welcoming the Royal Lord,” the event gets the entire local population mobilized, and attracts pious believers as well as fascinated tourists from far and wide. Activities last for one week, culminating on the last day with a “royal tour” of the town’s streets by Wangye’s boat. Just before dawn the following morning, the wooden boat is ritually set afire on the local beach. It symbolizes the “sending off” of plague and illness out to sea and the heartfelt hopes of local people for health and well-being.