Taivoan Night Ceremony
The Taivoan Night Festival (Taivoan: Taai, Taa) is one of the most important annual ceremonial rituals of the Taivoan, a plain indigenous people in Taiwan. It is held on September 15th of the lunar calendar in various Taivoan communities such as Siaolin and Rauron in Kaohsiung, and Dazhuang in Hualien. Additionally, the Liuchongxi community in Tainan conducts it a day earlier on September 14th, and the Liouguei community in Kaohsiung holds the ceremony on October 6th.[1]
The Taivoan Night Festival in Liuchongxi, along with four other Siraya Night Ceremonies in Tainan — Beitouyang, Kabuasua, Fuxing Palace, and Danei Toushe – are collectively known as the "Five Night Ceremonies" in the Tainan area.[2]
Cultural significance
The Shrine
The Public Hall or the Shrine (Taivoan: Kuba; Taiwanese: Kong-kài) of the Taivoan, currently used for rituals, houses Kogitanta Agisen, the seat of the spirits, representing the presence of the highest ancestral spirits of Taivoan.
Erecting the Ritual Bamboo
In Taivoan communities like Siaolin and Alikuan, the Malubiw or the erection of the Ritual Bamboo is a ritual conducted in the afternoon of the Night Ceremony. To prepare for this ritual, an elder from the family responsible for the Ritual Bamboo chooses a long thorny bamboo with its tip facing east ahead of the Night Ceremony. In the early morning of the ceremony, men from this family follow the elder to the bamboo site, cut it down, and bring it back to the ritual site. The tips of the Ritual Bamboo are left intact with thin bamboo and bamboo leaves, and a bundle of thatch is then tied to them, symbolizing the head of the enemy in the past. Seven evenly spaced bundles of thatch are also tied along the bamboo body, representing ladders for the seven Highest Ancestral Spirits to descend to the ritual site from the heaven.
In the afternoon, the indigenous people dig a hole at a designated spot and erect the Ritual Bamboo together. After the bamboo is erected, bamboo cannons are lit, marking the beginning of the ceremony.
Worshiping the Highest Ancestral Spirits
The Taivoan people prepare offerings such as mai (sticky rice cake), mochi, wine-cooked chicken soup, betel nuts, joss paper, wine, cigarettes, pork, etc., for sacrifice at the Public Hall.
During the sacrifice, the elders chant ancient songs, "Panga" (also known as the Song of Offerings or "O I Hei") and "Taboro", to report the sacrificial offerings to the Highest Ancestral Spirits. Some of the lyrics are as follows:
Ho i he, rarom mahanru ho i he, rarom taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, hahu mahanru ho i he, hahu taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, hana mahanru ho i he, hana taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, saviki mahanru ho i he, saviki taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, iruku mahanru ho i he, tuku taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, agagang mahanru ho i he, agagang taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, tamaku mahanru ho i he, tamaku taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, babuy mahanru ho i he, babuy taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, takuka mahanru ho i he, takuka taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, mapuli mahanru ho i he, mapuli taipanga ho i he.
Ho i he, tao mahanru ho i he, tao taipanga ho i he.
Reference
- ^ "六龜平埔夜祭" [Taivoan Night Ceremony in Liouguei]. Liouguei District Office, Kaohsiung City. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Yang, Chin Ch'êng (2019-05-02). "麻豆三元宮也拜阿立祖！ 中斷69年西拉雅夜祭5/7復辦" [Madou Sanyuan Palace also worships Alid! Interrupted for 69 years, the Siraya Night Ceremony will be reinstated on May 7]. Libterty Times. Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-03.