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have served as the focal point of village coalition organization as early as the 18th century. Pending verification is the identity of Houwang. As commonly held, he was the Chinese folk hero, Yang Liang-chieh, who had loyally protected the last emperor of the Sung, fleeing by sea from the victorious Mongols. The young emperor and his bodyguard, under Yang's leadership, finally landed near what is now Kowloon. Legend also holds that they spent some of their last days in the Tung Chung Valley. It is suggested that not only Yang's honourable behavior, but also the fact that he was a refugee far from home, deeply touched the hearts of early immigrants to this new land, especially the Hakka people.
In local people's minds, indeed, there is no doubt of the efficacy of this hero-turned-god. For their families and themselves, they come to procure divine assistance in connection with serious illness, financial problems, the picking of propitious days for marriage, long journeys, house construction, and so forth. By casting the divining blocks before the altar, the deity's instructions are revealed to them. Small-scale ritual transactions between the deity and individual worshippers are usually carried out with the assistance of the miao-chu, the temple's keeper and religious specialist. In the case of marriage, for instance, it is the Houwang who decides, through the temple keeper, whether the betrothed are well-matched.
Besides day-to-day ritual transactions invoking the local god's help in meeting personal or family needs, annual religious activities also strengthen villagers' patronage of the temple. Examples are the occasion of tso-fu (make blessing), usually held in the second lunar month, during which the worshipper requests the god's favour in the coming year, and the observance of huan-shen (repay the spirits), held at the end of the year to repay the god for his blessings. While these relatively small-scale rituals are performed on behalf of individual worshippers, the Houwang's Birthday celebration is held on behalf of the community as a collectivity. Thus it best demonstrates the role of the local principal deity in maintaining a communal sense of identity among villages, which have formed a united body in the territory, and the function of the temple as a village-coalition temple.
Even the date for the festival carries distinctive local characteristics. While the Houwang's Birthday is on the 6th of the sixth lunar month
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have served as the focal point of village coalition organization as early as the 18th century. Pending verification is the identity of Houwang As commonly held, he was the Chinese folk hero, Yang Liang-chieh
who had loyally protected the last emperor of the Sung, fleeing by sea from the victorious Mongols. The young emperor and his bodyguard, under Yang's leadership, finally landed near what is now Kowloon "Legend also holds that they spent some of their last days in the Tung Chung Valley. It is suggested that not only Yang's honourable behavior, but also the fact that he was a refugee far from home, deeply touched the hearts of early immigrants to this new land, especially the Hakka people. "
In local people's minds, indeed, there is no doubt of the efficacy of this hero-turned-god. For then families and themselves, they come to procure divine assistance in connection with serious illness, financial problems, the picking of propitious days for martiage, long journeys, house construction, and so forth. By casting the divining blocks before the altar, the deity's instructions are revealed to them, Small-scale ntual transactions between the deity and individual worshippers are usually carried out with the assistance of the miao-chu, the temple's keeper and religious specialist. In the case of marriage, for instance, it is the Houwang who decides, through the temple keeper, whether the betrothed are well-matched "
Besides day-to-day ritual transactions invoking the local god's help in meeting personal or family needs, annual religious activities also strengthen villagers' patronage of the temple. Examples are the occasion of tso-fu fl-fi (make blessing), usually held in the second lunar month, during which the worshipper requests the god's favour in the coming year, and the observance of huan-shen (repay the spirits), held at the end of the year to repay the god for his blessings "While these relatively small-scale rituals are performed on behalf of individual worshippers, the Houwang's Birthday celebration is held on behalf of the community as a collectivity. Thus it best demonstrates the role of the local principal deity in maintaining a communal sense of identity among villages, which have formed a united body in the territory, and the function of the temple as a village-coalition temple.
Even the date for the festival carries distinctive local characteristics. While the Houwang's Birthday is on the 6th of the sixth lunar month
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