Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Cuisine Food & Drink
1

:slight_smile: Hi all, this is my first ever post here - so please be gentle! :smiley:

In Penang and parts of Thailand, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a very popular annual event. My question is: Is the NEGF as widely celebrated in Taiwan, and if so, how is it celebrated and which part(s) of Taiwan is it the most publicly celebrated? I can’t find any information through google and thought I can ask you here. Will love to attend in Taiwan and indulge in the NEGF street feast! :slight_smile:

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

I don’t think there’s such thing in Taiwan. If it’s a religious thing then there may be some communities celebrating it? But I’ve never heard that name before.

3

Hmmmm… The Nine Emperor Gods are very popular Chinese Taoist deities that originate from Southern China (that includes the Hokkiens), and which can be found in countries with Hokkien or Teochew speaking ethnic Chinese communities. All Ethnic Chinese communities have at least one Taoist temple devoting worship to the Nine Emperor Gods, also known in Hokkien/Ming Nan as “Gao Ong Yah”.

This Taoist festival - the Gao Ong Yah Festival - follows the lunar calendar and typically occurs for 9 days in late Sept/early Oct.

4

Doesn’t really ring a bell. Seems to be more of an SE Asian thing

5

Yup, never heard of that.

6

Awwww that’s disappointing :frowning: Cos one of the links said it is also celebrated in Taiwan http://www.chinatownology.com/nine_emperor_gods.html

Anyway thanks :slight_smile:

7

There are a bunch of Jiutian Shengdi temples here in Taiwan, but it definitely isn’t a Southern Taiwan thing. Judging by the list of Jiutian Shengdi temples I find online, it’s a Northern to central Taiwan thing, and primarily in ethnic Holo areas.

North:
淡水宏龍宮, 淡水聖府宮, 新店新龍寺, 中和明龍宮, 鶯歌宏德宮

Central:
豐原北龍宮, 台中九龍宮, 台中大雅聖帝堂, 台中九天朝聖宮, 台中五德宮, 台灣南投慈靈堂

I’m sure they throw huge festivals, but just not as big as Matsu festivals here in town.

Also, technically Jiutian Shengdi is 9 Gods, with their master Sun Bin (孫臏) and their master’s master Guiguzi (鬼谷子) tagging along. Most are real historical figures.

8

Thanks Hansioux that’s good to know :slight_smile: hence that will mean the festival is only celebrated in Taichung and not Taipei then?

:slight_smile: By Southern China, I was referring to provinces like Fujian, Guangzhou etc and not to the South of Taiwan. Anyway this is a sensitive topic that can get political which is something I will rather not get in, hence paisay… :slight_smile:

:slight_smile: so in Taiwan, Jiu Wang Ye temple is known as Jiu Tien Sheng Di?

Also, is the Matsu festival fully vegan/vegetarian like the Jiu Wang Ye festival?

Thanks again :slight_smile:

9

After reading about Nine Emperor Gods Festival in South East Asia, I think it’s completely different from Jiutian Shengdi worship in Taiwan.

10

Last year for the Mazu festival we’ve had barbeque fish, so I don’t think it’s a vegetarian food celebration. Here we live by the sea, so any holiday/celebration is an excuse to have fish, though.

11

I see, Hansioux, no worries… :slight_smile:

Ibis… Awwww… I see >•<