The Da Shih Ye Ceremony: A Century-old Tradition at Siaogang Longhu Temple
Photo by Carter
【◎Written by Li Siao-ping ◎Translation by Lin Yu-ciao ◎Photos by Carter】
As times have changed, many customs associated with the Hungry Ghost Festival（Jhongyuan Pudu, 中元普渡）have gradually disappeared. However, Longhu Temple（龍湖廟）in Kaohsiung's Siaogang District still upholds one century-old tradition: the Guardian God of Ghosts Ceremony that honors a deity of Chinese origin, Da Shih Ye（大士爺）. The ritual is held every year from the 14th day to the 16th day of the seventh lunar month. This three-day event is a distinctive part of Kaohsiung's Ghost Festival cultural celebrations.
Longhu Temple in Siaogang is one of just a handful of temples in Taiwan dedicated to the worship of Da Shih Ye. Rather than honor a statue of the deity on the main altar, this place of worship contains a deity tablet placed inside a niche. It is said that Da Shih Ye found his own image terrifying, and thus instructed his believers not to sculpt an effigy. If that is the case, where did the giant paper statue of the deity used during the festival come from? According to Li Wun-jhou（李文洲）, the chairman of Longhu Temple, Da Shih Ye instructed the temple to hire a paper-mache master. The god appeared in the master's dream, and the master fashioned the paper statue based on this vision. As the guardian of all ghosts in the underworld, Da Shih Ye oversees and guides them during the Hungry Ghost Festival, when they return to the world of the living to enjoy offerings of incense and food. The Hungry Ghost Festival therefore reflects Taoist concerns for the spirits of the deceased.
Photo by Carter
Preparation work for the Da Shi Ye ritual also includes chuanjin（串金）. To create this distinctive feature, believers work together to fold 224,000 sheets of gold paper into the shape of ingots, and then string them together using needle and thread. When it is time for the Hua Da Shih（化大士）ceremony — during which the giant paper-mache statue of Da Shih Ye is burned — these ingots are draped over the diety's shoulders for easy dispatch to heaven.
On the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, the Ying Da Shih（迎大士）ceremony includes a procession which visits various locations in Siaogang. On the evening of the 15th day, followers join the Hua Da Shih rite. Through a blazing fire, they respectfully send Da Shih Ye to heaven. This act symbolizes his role in helping spirits, warding off disasters, and safeguarding people's health and safety. The next morning, a Taoist priest invites Da Shih Ye's niche and tablet back to the temple for ritual enshrinement（安座）, while representations of the two guardians (the mountain god and the earth god) are burnt together, marking the successful conclusion of the festival.
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