TU DI GONG
Taiwanese Folk Religion
Introduction
Tudigong, also known as the Earth god. Tudigong temples are considered the most (common temples) in Taiwan. “Both ends of every village have a Tudigong temple.” Beside the field and below the trees, we usually observe a statue of a mini Tudigong. Before farmers go to work and rest, they always pray to Tudigong with a pure heart, wishing for good luck, good weather, and good production for income. Tudigong always protects both ends of the village, no matter how long it takes. Tudigong is everywhere to be found, protecting and blessing every person; everything in life always contains the protection of Tudigong. This also represents that the relationship between farmer societies, humans, and Tudigong is bound together.
Purpose
Understanding Taiwan Tudigong’s originality and specialization, including the representation value, the legends, the distribution of Tudigong temples, community meaning, and the importance of culture.To help us investigate the influence of Tudigong faith on people’s daily life, such as the economy, human relationships, societal cohesion, etc. What’s more, we aim to analyze different-aged people’s perspectives towards Tudigong, to understand whether the faith has an inheritance or a change in its influence and understand how people look at the aspect of the Tudigong culture through questionnaires, organizing the roleplay of the Tudigong in modern society.
Motivation
Tudigong, one of Taiwan’s most common gods, whether in cities or the countryside, is always obvious to be observed in its temples and offering events, yet these events are often concluded as “custom” instead of a representation of complex societal meaning. We decided to deepen our research into the background story. Taiwan has a rich diversity of cultures, and Tudigong plays a significant role, understanding it means being closer to our cultural origin. We wanted to know how Tudigong influences people through sacrifices and interaction to impact people’s societal relationships, resonance, and daily routine/decision-making.
