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Transports of Devotion: Deities’ Palanquins

From Taiwan Panorama 2024-04-08

The palanquin of the Baishatun Mazu is woven from rattan, giving it the light weight and maneuverability needed for long pilgrimages.

Deities’ palanquins are crafted by skilled artisans, funded by the donations of pious believers. They manifest the majesty of the deities they carry.

The four-way interaction between a deity, their palanquin, the palanquin bearers, and the deity’s faithful followers is played out in countless temple processions, forming a touching chapter in the story of religion in Taiwan.

Tens of thousands of believers take part in the pilgrimages of the Dajia Mazu to Fengtian Temple in Xingang, Chiayi County, and of the Baishatun Gongtian Temple Mazu to Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin County. Along the way, people kneel to let the palanquins pass over them, or crawl under them when they are stationary—a practice known as lîng-kiō-kha—in hopes that the deity will bestow good fortune upon them. Nearby, a weeping mother holds an infant with a nasogastric tube as she kneels to beseech Mazu to help her child recover from illness. By the wall of a private residence, a frail, white-haired elderly woman kneels and begs for Mazu’s protection to enable a child of hers who has taken the wrong path in life to once again be accepted by society. Mazu, hearing of people’s sufferings, causes the palanquin bearers to halt, and through blessings expressed by lightly touching them with one of the palanquin poles, brings solace to their sorrowful souls.

Before the Baishatun Mazu enters Chaotian Temple, the bearers carry her palanquin forward and then retreat three times to express respect for the Chaotian Temple Mazu. Amidst cries from the crowd calling on them to “enter, enter, enter!” the bearers finally advance into the temple. The power of faith demonstrated at the event resonates in the hearts and minds of participants and observers alike.

In Taiwanese Hokkien the name “Huye” sounds the same as a word for “prosperity,” so during processions this deity is very welcome at businesses.

Palanquin bearers and the power of faith

During temple activities, palanquins are the vehicles that carry deities when they go out on a “tour of inspection” or other pilgrimage. This is the time when the distance between people and deities is closest, and it is the palanquin bearers who narrow that gap.

“For deities to flourish, you need people to worship them and people to carry them when they go out on tour,” says Lin Mei-rong, an adjunct research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology of the Academia Sinica. Deities use their own powers and the assistance of their “five camps of soldiers and generals” (wuying bingjiang) to preserve the peace and tranquility of the areas within their domain. In particular, the “mobile goddess” Mazu routinely goes on processions. Moreover, there can be a division of labor among multiple Mazu statues of a temple, with, for example, the main Mazu going on a pilgrimage to another temple (jinxiang), the second Mazu touring the local area (raojing), and the third Mazu lending support to the deity of another temple (zanjing) by joining the procession when that deity tours its own domain. Believers often organize teams of volunteer bearers who serve as the deity’s “motive power” when it travels through the mortal world, taking turns to handle the needs of rituals and processions.

Nonetheless, with each four- or eight-bearer palanquin typically weighing over 100 kilograms, the bearers need strong shoulders and steely determination to fulfil their task.

The honor of palanquin bearers

“Carrying a palanquin is a test of one’s physical stamina and willpower,” says Chen Bihong, a member of the temple management committee at Baishatun’s Gongtian Temple. He says that when the Baishatun Mazu is on a pilgrimage, a new team of bearers takes over every hour when moving at a normal pace and every half hour at a rapid pace. The carrying poles rub against the bearers’ shoulders while their legs absorb the weight, and sometimes they get blisters on their feet. “People can put up with the pain over the first part of a stint, but toward the end it gets excruciating, so they have to rely on the power of faith and on willpower to get through it.” Thus many long-time bearers have “badges of honor” on their shoulders. Chen shows us the large calluses on his shoulders and says: “These are ‘palanquin cocoons,’ which are marks of distinction given to me by Mazu.”

Bearers have strong religious faith, but the reasons behind it are many and varied.

Chen Bihong, who is in the interior decorating and remodeling business, suffered an occupational accident more than 30 years ago in which a 64-millimeter steel nail penetrated into his heart. “My first reaction was to call on the Baishatun Mazu to save me from danger, and incredibly in an instant I felt no pain and I was able to walk downstairs from the fifth floor to seek help and get medical attention. Mazu was my great benefactress, like the mother and father of my rebirth.”

As a result of this divine miracle and his faith, Chen became a palanquin bearer, which he has now been for 32 years. The moment he remembers most clearly came when they had to wade across the Zhuoshui River during the Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage of 2001.

“The riverbed was full of slippery mud and loose sand, but Mazu in her wisdom chose a safe path through the water. At that time the faithful demonstrated their trust in her, with more than 200 people who were strangers to each other holding on to one another to help each other across. Everyone demonstrated, with their very lives, the emotional bonds between people and gods and between people and other people. Even today I am moved when I think about it.”

Yao Bo-hsun says that in general palanquins can be divided into wen (civil) and wu (military) types.

Thanking the deities for protection

Shortly before Lantern Festival we come to Bantou Village in Chiayi’s Xingang Township, where Xie Ruicong, director of Fengtian Temple’s Sijie Mazu Association, and his team are preparing the palanquin that the Sijie Mazu will ride in on her tour of inspection during the Lantern Festival.

“Our association members all feel resonance with Mazu,” says Xie, adding: “When we put on our uniforms, we become military officers of Mazu and serve our community on her behalf.”

Preparations for the annual Lantern Festival procession at Fengtian Temple start at 7 a.m. and continue until two or three o’clock the next morning. Members of the Mazu Association take turns carrying Mazu’s palanquin and serving believers on her behalf by enabling them to worship her or pass under the palanquin (lîng-kiō-kha), and by hanging “gold medallions” around believers’ necks as expressions of the believers’ thanks for a prayer answered. “Mazu protects us all year round, so on this day we repay her by taking care of all the devotional affairs. Then at the end of a busy day, after putting down the palanquin we all kneel and pray to her for protection. This is the most touching moment and the one I look forward to the most,” says Xie.

Tiger God eating firecrackers

Firecrackers being set off in the path of palanquins is one of the unique features of the Mazu pilgrimage of Beigang’s Chaotian Temple. One of the deities who goes out on tour is Huye (the Tiger God), whose name in Taiwanese Hokkien—hó-gia̍h—is pronounced the same as a word for “prosperity,” making him a very auspicious and popular deity. He attracts the most firecrackers of any deity in the procession, and members of the Huye Association fearlessly carry the deity’s palanquin or protectively surround it as they “eat firecrackers” (withstand the barrage of exploding firecrackers all around them).

“The team members put their trust in Huye to protect them, and no matter how many firecrackers go off, everyone stands firm and resolutely continues to carry the palanquin, relying entirely on their willpower,” relates Lin Hongru, head of the Huye Association at Chaotian Temple. Their determination is not just the result of willpower, but also the presence of Huye’s spirit. “When we link hands and stand shoulder to shoulder around the palanquin, we show the power of unity and fearlessness; it’s very heartwarming.”

The charm of this feeling has even attracted foreigners to take part: Edouard Roquette from France has been “eating firecrackers” around Huye’s palanquin in the Chaotian Temple pilgrimage for 15 straight years. He says that when Huye has been safely returned to the temple, he can sense the team members’ spirit of focus and dedication and feels very moved.

The carvings on deities’ palanquins have auspicious meanings. Pictured here is a panel on the Chiayi Cheng Huang’s palanquin that depicts the Eight Immortals congratulating the Queen Mother of the West on her birthday.

Art, architecture and craftsmanship

A deity’s palanquin symbolizes the deity’s divine majesty and also demonstrates the pious devotion of the faithful.

Yao Bo-hsun, who has researched the craft of palanquin making, states that deities’ palanquins originated in the litters or sedan chairs that were once used by officials and the gentry. In form they are generally divided into nian (carriage) litters with two to four bearers, as well as wen (civil) and wu (military) litters with four to eight bearers. The luan (imperial) palanquin that Mazu uses is normally a wen-type litter.

For example, the palanquin used for the pilgrimage of the Baishatun Mazu to Beigang’s Chaotian Temple is a four-bearer wen litter built of rattan, and is very lightweight and maneuverable; it is only when the Mazu statue arrives back at her home temple that they switch over to a luxurious eight-bearer palanquin. The roof of the palanquin used for pilgrimages is covered in pink waterproof cloth, which is why is popularly nicknamed “the pink sports car.”

With changing times, deities’ palanquins have become increasingly elaborate. Some palanquins even mimic the structure of temples, with renowned artisans hired to incorporate architectural features like dougong brackets, windows, doors, and roofs. These marvels of craftsmanship and artistry have been described as the deities’ “mobile temples.” The first- and second-generation palanquins at Chaotian Temple far transcend the religious sphere and are actually brilliant works of art.

First-generation Mazu palanquin

Ji Renzhi, head of the rituals committee at Chaotian Temple in Beigang, takes us to see the “first-generation Mazu hexagonal phoenix palanquin,” which is currently kept in the temple’s nearby administrative building. The temple’s master woodworker Chen Yingbin led the way in its design and construction, and it was completed in 1912. In 1915, the fourth year of Japan’s Taishō era, the palanquin was awarded a prize at an exhibition for its craftsmanship.

The door is inlaid with carvings of the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, while the body of the palanquin is surrounded by figures of the “24 Officials,” symbolizing the large number of deities that follow Mazu on her processions and expressing the dignity of her high status. Decorative elements of the palanquin, including the roof tiles, dragon pillars, dougong brackets, decorative windows, and inscribed plaques are all carved in meticulous detail and the human figures are exquisite. Especially noteworthy are the elaborately carved pillars that support the body of the palanquin, while the back of the work deftly employs a hornless dragon motif to display the characters for “Beigang Chaotian Temple.” The superb craftsmanship of the artisans who made it is unparalleled.

“If you want to make a comparison with automobiles, this is the Rolls Royce of the palanquin world,” says Ji Renzhi. During the era of Japanese rule, four organizations issued postcards featuring the first-generation Mazu palanquin, which testifies to its artistic value.

Yao Bo-hsun says that the most remarkable thing about this first-generation deity’s palanquin is the emphasis on structure, with the artisans making extensive use of openwork for lightness. Moreover, the palanquin’s hexagonal shape with windows on all sides enabled believers to see the majestic deity inside from all directions, indicating Chen Yingbin’s originality and aesthetic sense.

The “dragon pillars” and “bird and flower pillars” on the Chiayi Cheng Huang’s palanquin can be taken apart into inner and outer layers. The workmanship is exquisite.

The foremost in Taiwan

When it comes to the artistry of deities’ palanquins, there is another palanquin on the same level as the Chaotian Temple Mazu’s: that of Cheng Huang (the City God) enshrined in Chiayi City’s Cheng Huang Temple.

This “eight-lion-ornamented wu palanquin” for the City God was funded by donations from local gentry and built by a team of more than 20 master craftsmen led by Huang Shuncai. It was completed in 1926 and retired from service in 1996. It was registered as a significant antiquity by the Ministry of Culture in 2018, and is currently on display on the second floor of the rear building at the Cheng Huang Temple; it is the temple’s most important treasure. The palanquin is kept in a sealed glass case at a controlled temperature and humidity, but the temple authorities “opened the box” for us so we could see the exquisite carvings up close. Their lifelike vitality left us in awe.

The temple commissioned Lin Jen-cheng, an adjunct assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of Conservation of Cultural Relics and Museology at Tainan National University of the Arts, and cultural artifact restorer Zhuang Junjie to study the palanquin. They found that the material used for the main structure is red-bark oak (Quercus gilva), a very hard and resilient wood, while the sculptures are mainly made from fine-grained “dog bone” false coffee wood (Diplospora dubia); the palanquin’s total weight is about 300 kilos.

An inscribed plaque on the palanquin reads “Appointed a nobleman of pacification by imperial command.” The palanquin itself is constructed using finely crafted interlocking wooden joints to ensure solidity and sturdiness, and the most important parts of the structure, the “dragon pillars” and “bird and flower pillars,” can be taken apart into inner and outer layers. The ends of the rows of roof tiles are embellished with turban shell motifs. The holes through which the bearers’ poles are passed are located at the bottom of the palanquin. On the left and right sides of the palanquin there are Western-style arcades, a departure from the woodworking style of the past.

The Ministry of Culture’s registration of the Cheng Huang Temple palanquin as a significant antiquity states: “Within the culture of deity litters of the Asia–Pacific region, it is representative of the history and craftsmanship of Taiwanese palanquins. It is extremely rare and precious.” During the era of Japanese rule in Taiwan, the Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News) called this palanquin “inimitable” and honored it as “the foremost in Taiwan.”

Deities’ palanquins are not merely the vehicles for gods and goddesses at temple activities, they are also valuable in terms of artistic expression, cultural significance, and craftsmanship. Moreover, they represent an emotional link between the human faithful and sacred beings. When you see one in person, you can truly appreciate the sentimental attachment that exists between Taiwanese and their deities.

For more pictures, please click 《Transports of Devotion: Deities’ Palanquins》