26
STUDIES ON HONG KONG JIAO FESTIVALS
CHI CHEUNG CHOI
I. Introduction
According to Liu Zhi-wan, there are various types of Jiao festivals which are celebrated regularly in the south and irregularly in the north of Taiwan.1 In Hong Kong, many Jiao festivals are "Tai Ping Qing Jiao" [literal meaning "the Purest Sacrifice celebrated for Great Peace'], which are a type of "Qi An Jiao" which pleads for peace. There are many such festivals in the agrarian communities in the New Territories of Hong Kong, often celebrated in a once-in-a-decade cycle. The festival has different ritual and symbolic meanings as well as different social and economic significance for the different groups of participants, namely the priests, the organizing committee members, the villagers and outsiders like the hawkers, the beggars and the researcher. For the villagers themselves, the Jiao festival is the most important community-wide event. Often millions of dollars are poured into the celebration. For example, in the Lam Tsuen Jiao in 1990, about HK$2,000,000 was spent, of which HK$260,000 was used for the construction of temporary mat-sheds, HK$150,000 for the engagement of Taoist priests, and $460,000 was paid to the opera troupe.2 It is not at all uncommon for villagers who have emigrated to charter flights to return to Hong Kong for the celebration. Emigrant villagers of Fanling, a single lineage community, chartered three flights from England for the Jiao celebration in 1990. No villager would disagree that the Jiao is the most important religious activity in their community. The significance of the Jiao festival is not only enhanced by complicated rituals performed by the Taoist priests during the festival, but also by the extensive social activities that bond members and alliances of the community together. However, systematic study of the event did not begin until the 1960s. Even then, cross-community comparative studies of the festival are extremely rare.
This paper will review previous studies of Hong Kong Jiao festivals. I will show what we can learn of the various local traditions by a synchronic study comparing the Jiao festival celebrated by different communities and also by studying the social and organizational changes within a particular community over a period of time by a diachronic study comparing the Jiao of one single community over that period of time.
2
11
26
STUDIES ON HONG KONG JIAO FESTIVALS
CHI CHEUNG CHOI
I. Introduction
According to Liu Zhi-wan, there are various types of Jiao festivals which are celebrated regularly in the south and irregularly in the north of Taiwan.' In Hong Kong, many Jiao festivals are "Tai Ping Qing Jiao " [literal meaning "the Purest Sacrifice celebrated for
太平清醮 Great Peace'], which are a type of "Qi An Jiao
2
11
which
pleads for peace. There are many such festivals, in the agrarian communities in the New Territories of Hong Kong often celebrated in a once-in-a-decade cycle. The festival has different ritual and symbolic meanings as well as different social and economic significance for the different groups of participants, namely the priests, the organizing committee members, the villagers and outsiders like the hawkers, the beggars and the researcher. For the villagers themselves the Jiao festival is the most important community-wide event. Often millions of dollars are poured into the celebration. For example, in the Lam Tsuen Jiao in 1990 about HK$2,000,000 was spent of which HK$260,000 was used for the construction of temporary mat-sheds, HK$150,000 for the engagement of Taoist priests and $460,000 was paid to the opera troupe.* It is not at all uncommon for villagers who have emigrated to charter flights to return to Hong Kong for the celebration. Emigrant villagers of Fanling, a single lineage community, chartered three flights from England for the Jiao celebration in 1990. No villager would disagree that the Jiao is the most important religious activity in their community. The significance of the Jiao festival is not only enhanced by complicated rituals performed by the Taoist priests during the festival, but also by the extensive social activities that bond members and alliances of the community together. However, systematic study of the event did not begin until the 1960s. Even then, cross- community comparative studies of the festival are extremely rare.
This paper will review previous studies of Hong Kong Jiao festivals. I will show what we can learn of the various local traditions by a synchronic study comparing the Jiao festival celebrated by different communities and also by studying the social and organizational changes within a particular community over a period of time by a diachronic study comparing the Jiao of one single community over that period of time.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.