Part 4 – Maritime Folk Culture 海洋文化民俗

Shenzhen lies right at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, and since ancient times it has a busy maritime economy. As such cultures and superstitions related to the maritime culture have grounded in the traditions of the different groups in Shenzhen. Together with influx of Hakkas from the inlands to Chiwan, and Nan’ao Tanka that came to dwell on land, they have evolved their own cultures into the fabric of everyday life in Shenzhen.

Dajiao Sacrificial Ceremony 迎神驱鬼打大醮

The withdrawal of the Great Clearance Edict 迁海令/迁界令 prompted the people of the region to celebrate it with a grand procession of deities and gods from the local temples.

The Dajiao Sacrificial Ceremony 太平醮 came from that tradition and can been practiced either every 3/5/8 years. An example of the ceremony that is world famous is held in Pengchau 坪洲 in Hong Kong that always ends with the snatching of the bun towers 抢包山.

Dapeng Dajiao Ceremony 大鹏清醮 is held every 5 years and originated from the Dapeng Garrison City. Besides the usual prayers for peace and prosperity, the Dapeng tradition also performs worship of the glorious dead of the Dapeng Garrison. The procession will start from Dapeng Tianhou Temple 大鹏天后宫 and go all the way to the beach. The last time it was held was 2018, we will have to wait to 2023 to witness the grand ceremony.

“Cisha” Sacrificial Ceremony 天后庙辭沙祭

There were around 30 different Goddess of Heaven Temple 天后庙 in Shenzhen at the turn of the 20th century, but only 11 remained today. Among those is Nanshan Chiwan Tianhou Temple 南山赤湾天后宫.

“Cisha” 辭沙 literally means “farewell to the beach”. The first mention of “Cisha” Sacrificial Ceremony 天后庙辭沙祭 was in 1464 but it has been carried out since Ming Dynasty when the locals built the Tianhou Temple to pray for safe passage as “Tianhou” 天后 or “Goddess of Heaven” is the patron god for seafarers.

The original Nanshan Chiwan Tianhou Temple 南山赤湾天后宫 was destroyed during the 1950s during the Chinese civil war. At its heydays during the mid-Qing Dynasty, it had over 100 rooms and occupied an area of 900 mu. The current temple was built on the original foundation of the main worship hall in 1992. It was very popular with worshippers in the past, it is still very popular and one of the most important Tianhou Temples in the world.

Nan’ao Tanka Fire Dragon 南澳蜑民「一天龍」

It is unclear how exactly the practice of burning incense arrived in China though some suspect that the practice could have traveled along the Silk Route.

Legend has it that on an evening more than 100 years ago, “Mazu” 妈祖 (also known as “Tianhou” 天后) showed up in the dream of a Tanka fisherman, saying that during the Spring Festival, everyone danced with fire dragons stuck full of incense, it would bring blessings to all with good weather on the seas. Because of this, Tanka people of Nan’ao 南澳蜑民 began the tradition of making the fire dragons.

Because they were boat people with no houses and land on the shore, they could not store the fire dragons. So every second day of the Lunar New Year, they organised young people to collect straws and hay, tie them into 33 to 60 sections to make a straw grass dragon. Then they planted the dragon body with incense, which were raised by dozens of people and came to Nan’ao Tianhou Temple 龙岗南澳天后宫.

In the evening, offerings were presented in front of the Tianhou Temple. Under the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, they lit up the fire dragon to worship Tianhou and Sea God, and it would send blessings to the boats docked in the bay one by one along the coast. After all the ceremonies are completed, the fire dragon will be burned on the beach, symbolising the dragon’s return to the sea.

Overland Boat Dance 渔民娶亲旱船舞

Wedding is always a joyous occasion. For the Tanka, they spent their lives on the waters, so their wedding procession would also be on the waterways between the boats. Similar traditions on land have been transcribed onto the boats. Instead of a carriage, the bride arrives on a boat.

One of the traditional dance that is the Overland Boat Dance 旱船舞. Of course, there are many versions around China, but this version among the Tanka is one that does not have a boat.

The Tanka wedding is often a noisy affairs, with processions and boat dance and lots of cool hats. Everyone’s invited to participate to send their blessings to the newly weds.

Wu’s Fish Lantern Dance 沙头角街舞鱼灯

Fish Lantern Dance is a folk art dance handed down from generation to generation by the Wu family in Shalanxia Village. It is a group dance made up of men (fishermen in the olden days) and has a history of more than 300 years. On the advent of Lantern Festival (15th day of the Lunar New Year) or Mid-Autmn Festival (15th day of the Lunar August), the people in Shalanxia 沙栏吓, Sha Tau Kok 沙头角 will perform the Fish Lantern Dance 舞鱼灯.

Traditional fish lamps are exquisitely made. First, bamboo strips are used to tie them into the shape of fish. Then parchment paper is pasted over the frame and then painted over with cowhide glue and pigments. It is finally coated with oil to make them waterproof and also make the fish lamps glisten.

The ancestors of the Wu from Shalanxia 沙栏吓 immigrated Shenzhen from Boluo, Guangdong. They combined the lantern dance of Boluo with the local fishing traditions to come up with the Fish Lantern Dance. The dance symbolises the teamwork of the villagers against local bullies, represented by the swarm of fishes chasing out the giant yellow snakehead 黄鳢鱼.

Afterthoughts

Culture and customs are something that you can never replace or forget no matter where you are. Even though the Chinese in Singapore have left the motherland for over two centuries, many customs were brought over and become rooted in the adopted lands.

With the “Cancel” generation, this strong objection to cultural appropriation was really unhealthy. If you study how cultures mix and match up, and how customs influenced one another, we should celebrate when people of another culture or race learn and appreciate our culture and customs. When they make mistakes, let’s just forgive and move on.