Ah, September. A great month for a number of reasons. Professional and collegiate football have kicked off, MLB playoffs are rapidly approaching, the heat has started to subside slightly, and my flights to Thailand and back home are just around the corner. Perhaps most importantly, the arrival of September has meant that I survived August—which was, of course, Ghost Month here in Taiwan.
I didn’t know much about religion in Taiwan before I came over. Thanks to my East Asian history classes in college I figured there existed a mix of Confucianist, Buddhist, and Taoist elements—but to be entirely honest, I didn’t really know what any of them entailed. Apart from the mostly forgotten information I gleamed from those classes, the only other reference I could remember to Asian religion were Buddhist monks in The Hangover II.
Long story short, the religious scene in Taiwan isn’t like the religious scene in America. You’re not going to find lunatics on a soap box predicting the impending Second Coming, nor is anyone going to make outrageous claims that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. People aren’t at each other’s throats over any “Ground Zero Mosques” or anything like that. Religion presents itself in a very unique manner here.
For one, religion here tends to be very superstitious. And I don’t mean this in a judgmental way. It’s simply the truth.
Take a few weeks ago, for example. As I mentioned earlier, it was Ghost Month in Taiwan—a time when apparently the souls of those passed away come up to the earthly realm to beg for food, find peace, etc. etc. I was sitting at my desk at school, grading homework and minding my own business. Suddenly my Chinese co-teacher screams, runs out the door, and then breaks down in tears on the sidewalk. What happened? Well, apparently she was glancing at a picture on the computer when she saw a little girl come into the picture, look at her, and gesture towards some candles in the picture (which apparently suggests that this particular ghost-girl was hungry). Creepy, right? Even though I choose not to believe in ghosts and such, I was tripped out. Until August concluded, I felt similar to how I felt after I watched The Ring for the first time—constantly checking around whenever I was by myself.
But that’s just one telling example of Taiwanese superstition. There are many others I’ve witnessed, many of which concern death. I’ve found out the hard way that writing someone’s name in red ink is pretty much condemning them. It only took a near mutiny by my students to help me understand that mistake. Also, if you either stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl, or rest them at a 45 degree angle, this is also an omen of death (because it resembles incense burning). Locals also regularly burn Heaven Money, which is ostensibly meant to provide financial security to loved ones in the after-life. Non-death related faux pauses include eating the last piece of something (which naturally means you’ll never get married) or shaking your leg (which means you’re destined for a poverty-stricken life). Frankly these are all very humorous in how ridiculous they sound. But at the same time they remind me of some of the kooky things we sometimes believe in—like when our moms used to tell us “to not make that face or it will get stuck that way”, or that “cracking your knuckles will make them bigger.”
For a second thing, the religion here is almost inextricably linked to the culture. Whereas in the States we have separation of church and state, in Taiwan it’s the opposite. The temples are as culturally significant as they are religiously. And many of the local holidays have a spiritual or mythical foundation, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival that just passed—where the Taiwanese celebrate by giving offerings to the Moon Goddess.
This will be one of the more unique aspects of Taiwanese culture I miss when I go home. Especially considering there tend to be a lot of delicious treats that accompany these holidays :)
