Our second stop on Sunday was to see one of the many temples in Taiwan. Uncle Rex took us to Longtan township to see the Nantian temple. Longtan is also the site of an annual dragon boat race.
This temple is a Taoist temple, and even though I had visited temples in the past, I actually don’t know much about the religion. My aunt Michelle explained some of the rituals while we were there.
She said there are certain deities whom you pray to for different things. If you want advice on marriage, there is one god. If you want to do well on an exam, there is another one, etc. She also explained this fortune telling practice:
These sticks all have numbers on the other end, and you pick one of the sticks and it gives you a number. Then you put these two crescent shaped pieces in your hands and you ask the god if your number will have your fortune. Depending on how they two pieces land, it will confirm if the number you chose has your fortune. If no, you put your stick back and choose another number. If yes, then you take your fortune from the box with the corresponding number:
Inside each drawer is your fortune, which you then take to an interpreter who works at the temple. He or she will help you understand what the fortune is telling you and how to apply it to your life.
Another thing my aunt explained to me was that if you want to pray for something, say for good health for a sick family member, you pay a little money to have a candle lit in front of the corresponding deity.
Each of these lights has a name on it, and there are several of them in front of each of the deities at this temple. The deity is supposed to look after the people whose names are written on the plaques.
Below are some other pictures of the temple.
Finally, Michael saw this bird at a nearby street vendor.
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