Most of the people are followers of China's three religious
traditions; Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, collectively referred to
as the "three teachings," or
sanjiao.
Each religion has a long history and its own temples, priests, and sacred
texts. Although the elite make distinctions between the
sanjiao,
most people practice a syncretic blend referred to as popular or folk
religion. Popular religion includes elements of these three sets of
teachings, along with beliefs in ancestors, ghosts, magic, and the
efficacy of religious mediums. Popular religion is based on localized
cults of nearly two hundred gods. The cults are centered in thousands of
temples throughout the island.
Each of the three great religions has priests who are responsible for
observing the religious calendar and carrying out the prescribed rituals.
The most colorful are the spirit mediums
tongqi.
Gods possess a
tongqi
and through him or her communicate to cult followers verbally or in the
form of "spirit writing." The
tongqi
also
dispenses charms in response to personal requests for aid, holding office
hours certain days of the week.
Rituals and Holy Places
The gods are honored on their birthdays in a public demonstration of
popular religion. The gods are brought out of their temples and paraded
down the streets in elaborately carved palanquins rolled along by four
men. Two men carry a litter on which the god's spirit descends
violently, shaking and rocking the chair. The procession is led by the
tongqi
who falls into a trance while possessed by the god's spirit and
practices self-mortification, by piercing his cheek with a skewer,
slashing his chest with a sword, or banging his forehead with a ball of
nails. The entourage visits each follower's household, which
displays an offering of food on a table outside the front gate. Afterward,
tables are set up in the street and a banquet is held for all temple
members.
The more faithful go on a pilgrimage that includes visits to
other temples dedicated to their god and eventually arrive at the
god's home temple, which usually is in the south, where the first
immigrants arrived. The birthday of Mazu, Taiwan's most popular
god, is celebrated on 23 May.
Death and Afterlife
Taiwanese believe in the Buddhist heaven and hell and reincarnation. A
good life is rewarded in heaven, and a bad life in hell, before
reincarnation. A person's fate is determined by past lives. One can
improve one's fortunes after death by performing good deeds while
one is alive. Through special prayers and offerings, the living can
improve the afterworld conditions of the deceased and their chances in the
afterlife.
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