Bootsverbrennungsfest, Donggang

Last week I had the honor to attend the Boat Burning Festival in Donggang in the southwest of Taiwan. It only takes place every three years and I not only got to be there, but also received numerous information about the festival from a local. This made it truly an unforgettable event.

In fact, there are Boat Burning Festivals in several places along the coast of Taiwan, which take place at different intervals. However, the one in Donggang is the largest. Behind this is the belief of the Taiwanese that there is a god/king who travels around the island on his boat to protect it from all possible evils. And from time to time, a boat is sacrificed to this guardian of the island by setting it on fire (it is not just any boat, but one that is specially made for this purpose). The guardian of the island is also accompanied to the boat by various other gods from other temples in the village, and some of them even accompany him on the boat. These gods are carried to the temple (where the boat is kept until it is set on fire on the beach) and through the town in colorful and brightly decorated sedans. This means that half the village is busy carrying sedans of the gods around. By the way, each god has his own function, such as giving advice.

The exact time when the boat is set on fire is determined by the 'guardian' himself. It is determined by priests through numerous ceremonies, but usually takes place between 3 and 5 o'clock in the morning. After we visited the boat in the temple and the fairground around the temple (we even tried Taiwanese gambling), we rested for a few hours at my host's house before heading back to the scene at 3 o'clock in the morning. And after all the gods had boarded the boat, it finally happened at 5 o'clock in the morning: The boat was set on fire with the help of fireworks. I have to say, it was very impressive to see the boat gradually catch fire until it was completely glowing and in flames, while the first rays of sunlight slowly appeared in the sky...

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Last week I had the honor to attend the Boat Burning Festival in Donggang, Taiwan, which only takes place every three years. And not only did I see it, but I went there with a local who tried to explain some of the traditions and customs to me. It really was an unforgettable experience.

Burning Boat festivals take place in several villages around the coast of Taiwan in various frequencies (some every year, some every other year). The story behind the festival is that people of Taiwan believe that there is a spirit/god/guardian who goes around the island on a boat to protect it from diseases or anything evil. They worship this guardian by sacrificing a boat by burning it. The guardian is joined by several other gods who escort him to the boat. They are brought first to the temple (where the boat is before it is brought to the seashore where it is burned) and then carried around the village in colorful illuminated sedans. There is a god from every temple in the village, so basically half of the town is carrying one or another god around. By the way, all of the gods have different tasks, like giving advice to those who seek it.

The exact time of the burning ceremony is determined by the Guardian himself and found out by priests through several ceremonies. The usual time of the burning takes place sometime between 3 and 5 o'clock in the morning. So after seeing the boat at the main temple and checking out the fair that is taking place all around the temple, even doing some Taiwanese gambling, we went back to my host's place where we rested for several hours before going back to the seashore at 3 am. Then it still took some time for all the gods to board the boat and then, finally, at 5 am the boat was lit with the help of fireworks. I have to say, it was a very impressive picture to see this huge boat slowly catching fire until it was glowing all over, while the first rays of sunlight became visible in the night sky...