The main hallIt is the main hall sitting at the center-rear of the courtyard which most obviously displays the characteristics that mark a home as Hakka.
In a Southern Fujianese home, the main hall usually contains an altar for praying to the gods. The Hakka main hall, on the other hand, contains the ancestral altar. The characters for "good fortune" and "prosperity" appear one each on small blocks hanging from the lintel of the main door of the hall, while the character for "longevity" is pasted on the wall facing these doors. Collectively, these characters represent a wish that one's ancestors may enjoy good fortune, prosperity and longevity.
"When Hakka pray to the gods, they go to a temple. The main hall is for praying to one's ancestors," says Ku Te-fu. Whenever Ku brings visitors to see a Hakka home, he is careful to inform them that the main hall is a place of great sanctity, especially among the Hakka of the south. It is used for the worship of ancestors and nothing else, whether it be eating, entertaining guests, chatting or putting on plays.
Ku Hsiu-fei, supervisor of Taipei City's Hakka Cultural Center, grew up in Meinung, and still remembers how her grandfather and uncles used to go to the main hall every morning and evening to burn incense for their ancestors. Starting in primary school, she was made responsible for lighting the stove and boiling the water every day for her grandfather's bath. "After Grandfather finished his bath, the first thing he would do was go to the main hall to burn incense."
Another trademark of the Hakka resides in the main hall-an altar to the Earthgod. "If you see [an altar to] the Earthgod in the main hall, 90% of the time, it's a Hakka home," says Chen Pan.
The altar to the Earthgod is located under the table on which the ancestral tablet sits. It is flanked by a couplet which reads, "May one's good fortune be as thick as the earth" on one side, and, "May one's virtue be as broad as the land" on the other. In the center it says, "Incense Altar of the Earthgod."
Chen Pan says that Southern Fujianese pray to the Earthgod when they finish the construction of a home, but only the Hakka continue to burn incense for him after that. As such, the altar to the Earthgod is unique to Hakka architecture.
There are also differences in the way these two peoples worship the King of Heaven.
Southern Fujianese hang the vessel for burning incense to the King of Heaven from the lantern beam in the main hall, but Hakka custom dictates that this vessel be located where it is exposed to the sky, therefore outdoors. But some Hakka place theirs just outside the entrance to the main hall, while others put it on the front wall of the compound, and still others place it in the center of the courtyard. There is no definite location.
Lee Yun-fei relates that it used to sit on the ground in front of the entrance to the main hall. But children don't really understand the meaning of such an object. They jump around and behave in a manner that is extremely disrespectful. It was therefore raised up higher. Still later, when people began to own cars, this placement interfered with getting them in and out of the courtyard, and people moved the vessel onto the front wall of the compound. But placing it here exposed it to the rain, and some families moved it once again, this time putting it on the outside of the front wall of the main hall.
The altar in the main hall most readily identifies a home as Hakka. In the center is the ancestral tablet (left, top.