Heavenly Marshal - Fire 2 (GIF)

Religion in Taiwan: Performance troupes on ‘Tours of the borders’ In Taiwan, on the anniversary of a temple’s founding or to celebrate the primary deity’s birthday, temples put on extravagant parades known as ‘tours of the borders’ where their deities, temporarily removed from their altars, are carried in sedan chairs to inspect and bestow blessings upon families and businesses within the borders of a temple’s spiritual domain. They are noisy events, and as a prelude to the arrival of the gods, a variety of performance troupes lead the procession, each with a function, symbolism or simply as entertainments for the bystanders and for the deities. Religion in Taiwan is loud, colorful and festive, and in these photos, a selection of performance troupes are depicted in hues of black and white to backdrops of superimposed sacred fire, or in situ performing on the backstreets of Taiwan. Lion and dragon dance troupes are well known on the international stage, but for more interesting are the painted faces and fangs of the Eight Infernal Generals who lead the procession to clear the path of malevolent spirits; giant puppets depicting Heaven’s military Marshals sent to Earth to battle the forces of evil, each with a performer inside swinging the puppets arms and head wildly; seductive dancers employed to entertain the gods in front of temple gates and at crossroads, and giant puppets depicting Jigong the Drunken Monk and a child deity ‘The Third Prince’ who entertain and charm the crowds as they dance in trancelike states and jest with the crowds. The Four Heavenly Marshals are among the most powerful military deities in the Taoist pantheon. They are Marshals Wen, Ma, Kang and Zhao.