When the Gods Go Home for the Holidays

After people have eaten their winter solstice sweet rice balls, the cold weather heralds the approaching end of the lunar year. One after another, employers hold their year-end banquets, and these serve as a prelude to New Year's. But it is the send-off ceremonies for deities held on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month that are the true harbingers of the New Year.

When the gods go heavenward for the holidays, the temple doors, which are usually wide open, are festooned with paper seals. The doors won't be reopened until the gods return.

Gods gone, taboos lifted

Among Taiwanese, it is believed that on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, when the deities among men must return to the Heavenly Court, a year's worth of human deeds-both good and bad-are reported to the Jade Emperor. Hence, every household prepares sticky sweet glutinous rice balls for their returning deities, and some people even go so far as to actually shove these confections in the gods' mouths. The idea is to "sweeten their tongues" before they make their reports, so that they "remember the good and forget the bad." Families also burn paper money printed with horses and armor to speed the deities on a safe journey.

With the deities in Heaven, the people are "home alone"-and in every household "a hundred taboos are broken." Normally, deities' altars cannot be moved, but now they are thoroughly cleaned, and a year's worth of incense ash is removed from the incense burners. Some households also use this time to bring down their ancestors' tablets and clean them-all the while recounting their family history to the younger generation. It's a very interesting time.

(left) Manipulated by Chen Hui-lung, leader of the Chifuhsuan Puppet Theater Troupe, Marshal Tiandu, who has the visage of a northern barbarian, kneels three times and bows nine times in the direction of the temple, conveying the devotees' sentiments to their deity.

Sending the gods off together

Apart from sending off their own household deities, three years ago devotees of Luerhmen's Queen of Heaven Temple in Matzu Village of Tainan City began to hold a ceremony to announce the coming of spring and send off the temple god to Heaven together with their household deities. Every year since, in anticipation of this ceremony, the Queen of Heaven Temple first gets calligraphers to brush New Year's couplets and then sends "announcing spring squads" through the neighborhood's streets, joyously striking gongs to herald the arrival of the New Year and to distribute the calligraphies.

Gathering together to send off the gods en masse is a unique celebration of the temple. Because of Matzu's appeal, at 6 a.m. on the 24th, the entire neighborhood gathers at the temple's gate with lighted sticks of incense, hoping that Matzu will lead all of their household deities heavenward. It is hoped that they will have strength in numbers when collectively appealing to the Jade Emperor to treat the good folk of the district benevolently.

(right) In southern Taiwan, puppet theater is used for major ceremonies in which thanks are given to the gods. The puppeteers always act out scenes from traditional dramas showing characters who meet with success and good fortune.

Gods on holiday

With the household gods returning to Heaven to spend New Year's, it is only natural that temple gods, who toil all year forestalling calamities and dispelling evil, are even more desirous of some time off. Like most individual households, temples generally hold ceremonies to send off their gods on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month. But Tainan is unusual in this respect, and its temples hold a steady stream of these ceremonies from the 15th to the 24th.

Because they provide a sense of closure to the year, these have remained popular rites among the people since ancient times. Puchi Temple, located in Tainan's Fucheng neighborhood, has preserved its solemn puppet theater performances as a traditional offering to the gods.

Located near Fort Provintia, Puchi Temple was originally built in the Yongli reign period (1647-1683) of the Ming dynasty, giving it a history of about 350 years. The neighborhood around the temple, Wutiaokang, was a thriving port back in those days, and its streets, which were laid out around an eight-sided central square, were full of merchants.

At the threshold of the modestly sized temple are a pair of lions carved from a single slab of stone-female on the right, male on the left. The male is playing with a ball, while the female is supporting a cub. The carving of the hard stone is exquisite. Legend has it that neighborhood residents have seen these lions patrolling the neighborhood at night, and locals particularly enjoy offering them cigarettes. The pair of simple single-dragon pillars in front of the lions were built during Emperor Jiaqing's rule (1796-1820) in the Qing dynasty, meaning that they are about 200 years old. And the ceramic figurines on the roof are the work of renowned folk artist Hung Kun-fu.

On the day that devotees are sending off Chifu Wangye on his holiday journey to Heaven, the master of ceremonies throws divination blocks to determine which drama the deity wishes to enjoy.

Early send off, late reception

Dawn has not yet broken on the morning of the mid-January day when the deities are to be sent off to Heaven, but several elderly devotees have already gathered under the trees in front of the temple.

"When I flipped through my calendar and noticed it was the 20th, I realized that Puchi Temple was going to put on some puppet performances," says one woman, who is in her seventies.

"Yes, earliest is best," continues another elderly woman, "because only by getting there early will our god get a good seat for himself in front of the Jade Emperor and put in a good word for us."

As the sky brightens, believers begin to arrive in a steady stream. "Today Wangye is going to see the emperor," says one young woman who is a native of Tainan. "Naturally I want him to carry my prayers to Heaven, so that my mother will soon return to health and the whole family will live in peace." Meanwhile, in front of the temple, members of Chifuhsuan, Tainan's last remaining string puppet theater troupe, have already set up straw blinds and got up on stage. "Many temples in Tainan used to hold puppet performances to send off the gods, but today most of these shows have been scaled back," notes Hung Chung-yi. "We're the only ones to have preserved the entire old ceremony,"

At 7 o'clock the percussionists arrive with their gongs and drums and start to play as firecrackers are lit. Under the officiator's direction, all of the believers hold incense and kneel, inviting the gods to descend into their midst. To that end, they offer incense, flowers, tea and fruit, kneel three times and bow nine times. "Revered gods and bodhisattvas," declaims the leader of the troupe, "the people you protect are today celebrating your return to Heaven and praying that young and old alike will enjoy peace and that all will go as desired."

After making respectful reports to the gods, the master of ceremonies (the chairman of the ceremonial committee, a position that revolves yearly), casts divination blocks to determine that Chifu Wangye desires to see a performance of The Top Examinee Returns Home. The first stage of the proceedings draw to a close, and the puppets move on stage for the ceremony's climax.

No matter whether it is cleaning the household deity's altar or sending the temple's god off to Heaven, the traditions performed generation after generation bear witness to the deeply felt bonds between the people and the gods.

First puppets, then a big show

To the sound of gongs, drums and suona trumpets, the troupe leader's son Chen Chun-ming dabs a little evil-expelling potion on his fingers and sprinkles it onto the puppets and all around the theater tent. Then he draws the Marshal Tiandu puppet near to his mouth and blows upon it to give it spirit. The performance has a much more mysterious air than most shows put on for the pleasure of deities.

"When casting this spell, you first request Marshal Tiandu to be stationed at the platform, so as to allow him to represent the people when reporting to the Court of Heaven," explains Chen Hui-lung.

String puppet performances like these were the earliest form of puppet theater in China. They were cited by the philosopher Liezi, who wrote in the Zhou dynasty not long after Confucius. Most experts hold that string puppet performances started during the Western Han dynasty, when they were performed during funerals. Later they would also be put on for celebrations.

Boneless, floppy puppets were originally used to quell epidemics and exorcise demons, to suppress the stars that caused natural disasters, and to soothe the dragon gods and request that the tiger gods leave before a temple was built. Because string puppet theater is especially ceremonial in nature, it was considered distinct from other forms of puppet theater (hand and shadow puppet theater), which were regarded as "minor theater." It has a higher status than Taiwanese Opera and Beiguan Opera.

"Because string puppet theater is largely used to worship the Lord of Heaven (the Jade Emperor), people say 'first string puppets, then other performances,'" explains Hung Chung-yi.

Broadly speaking, only important gods associated with major constellations, such as the Lord of Heaven, the gods of the Big and Little Dippers, and the Sanguan Dadi were considered worthy of string puppet performances.

In addition to the string puppet performances during deity send-off celebrations at the end of the lunar year or for the Lord of Heaven's birthday on the ninth day of the first lunar month, when a male child got married or reached his first birthday, or an elder reached a significant birthday, families would sponsor performances of puppet theater as a way of giving thanks to the Lord of Heaven. These were solemn affairs, aimed at giving thanks to the gods, rather than providing people with entertainment.

Taiwan's puppet theater has its origins in southern Fujian province. There is an expression "funerals in the north, celebrations in the south." In the north of Taiwan, when they put on string puppet theater performances it's mostly for turning aside natural calamities and expelling evil, whereas in the south it is used in celebratory fashion to pay thanks to the Lord of Heaven.

"Next year will be an inauspicious year to marry, and many people are trying to squeeze their weddings in before the year is out. Yesterday I was working until 2 a.m.," says Chen Hui-lung smiling. Though stringed puppet theater may be gradually dying out, this is its high season, particularly for the southern celebratory style.

First the gods, then the people.

When the puppet show begins, Marshal Tiandu, who has two long braids and the features of a northern barbarian, is the first on stage. As the puppeteer manipulates the strings and blows air onto the puppet's face, the formerly floppy and boneless puppet seems to come to life. It faces the multitude gathered for the temple ceremony, kneels three times and bows nine times.

After Marshal Tiandu reports the people's wishes to Heaven's court above, the show formally commences. As its name implies, The Top Examinee Returns Home describes a young scholar who comes to the capital to take the mandarin exams, answers a bunch of questions from the examiners, ends up earning the highest score, and returns to his village, where he joyously marries the daughter of a rich family.

After the drama is finished, the puppeteers perform some splendidly funny vaudeville. One puppet stands about 120 centimeters tall and weighs some four to six kilos. With the puppeteers manipulating its strings, all you can see is a child puppet in red underwear, bouncing around a little gourd, sometimes with its belly or feet. The puppet even flips over repeatedly. "When it turns around and around, how come the puppet strings don't get tangled in knots?" asks one audience member admiringly.

After enjoying these stunts, the audience is again greeted by Marshal Tiandu, who respectfully sends the gods off heavenward. This is the one time of the year that the temple closes its main doors, upon which are stuck two paper seals stating the years of the deities' arrival and departure. The month and days, however, are left blank.

"We can't write the full date, or the demons will find out and cause trouble," explains Hung Chung-yi.

"But while Wangye is in Heaven, who will protect the people?" asks one youngster. Hung explains that only Wangye and his retinue of lesser gods leave, but the temple still has its cavalry and guards. "It's like how during Chinese New Year's the police still has part of its force on duty," says Hung by way of example. He also notes that the temple sends off Wangye on the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, and then receives him again on the 25th. Does that mean that Wangye only gets five days off?

"Our Wangye comes from the village of Maxiang in Tongan County, Quanzhou Prefecture, " explains Hung Chung-yi. "Because he has been known as Heaven's sentry since ancient times, he returns to Heaven early, and when the other gods ascend on the 24th, he takes an early leave to keep the peace in the world of men."

Back to work

Whether the gods return to Heaven to make reports or have a vacation, the send-off ceremonies show the people's gratitude for a year's protection and good fortune.

The fourth day of the lunar year is known as "receiving the gods day." Most household and temple gods return to the world and take up their duties for the year on this day.

There is a saying: "The fourth day is for receiving the gods and the fifth day separates the holidays from the rest of the year." When the gods return, this period of laying aside one's duties is at an end. Many businesses also pick a time on the fifth to set off firecrackers and worship the gods, officially reopening and getting back to work!