The Messenger

During the "visit to Baijiao," many people's attention is riveted to the fascinating tradition of the centipede march, but the messenger who heralds the arrival of the centipede is another interesting aspect of the festival.

In the old days the messenger function was almost always played by an ox, but today the task generally falls to a person. Today's messenger walks around carrying a chunk of meat on the shoulder to draw the connection between himself and the ox that formerly fulfilled the task.

Just like the kids on the centipede, the messenger in the visit to Baijiao comes to the role in the traditional way. No choice of messenger is final until the temple authorities have consulted with the Great Emperor Baosheng and thrown the divination blocks.

On the day of the procession, police cars were dispatched to provide support. A patrol car from Hsuehchia Police Station rolled down the road ahead of the messenger to clear the route of vehicles. Fresh hay was piled on the trunk of the patrol car to keep the "ox" moving in the right direction.

There was nevertheless a minor incident in the procession. As we walked along with the villagers, the procession ground to a halt, and we went nowhere for quite a long time. We heard it was because the messenger couldn't go any further.

It turned out that the person chosen as messenger was someone who seldom got any exercise. He naturally had trouble under the sudden stress of the procession. Besides, pavement is not a good surface for long-distance walking. On the evening of the second day, the gasping "ox" refused to take another step. The next day he was moving again, but the sight of him trudging painfully along was rather pitiful.