Dawn was at long last approaching. We had passed the night playing card games with the local children, eating fried street food, and dipping our feet into the ocean to fight off drooping eyelids. Though we had been tempted to curl up on our towel and give in to the sleep that beckoned, we didn’t want to lose our prime seat on the sand, adjacent to the spectacle that was about to unfold.

Music pulsated the air, exotic melodies mixing with the lap of the ocean waves. Finally, the rhythmic drum beating paused as the religious elders took their places. An eerie silence crept over the anxious crowd. Our struggle to remain awake was about to be rewarded.

With a thunderous boom, the celebration began.

Dynamite exploded. It deafened the audience and engulfed its victim—a 14-meter wooden ship.

This was the Wang Yeh Boat Burning Festival—a unique ceremony that only occurs once every three years in the city of Donggang, Taiwan.

The Wang Yeh are folk deities worshipped in Southern Taiwan. They are believed to be supernatural beings that eradicate plagues and demons, replacing them with peace and prosperity. Burning the life-size boat serves as a medium to assist in the plague elimination.

But before the vessel can be set ablaze, there must be 8 days of ritual and celebration. To begin, a life-size wooden ship is skillfully constructed. It is then paraded around the city, sailing on the backs of its worshipers to collect sicknesses and ill fortune from the people. After it is stocked with food and necessities for the spiritual journey ahead, the boat is propped upon a giant mound of ghost money (paper money for the deceased) and set on fire via military grade firecrackers. The ill spirits are thus forced out of town, leaving peace in their place.

Burning Boat Festival has been a tradition for over 300 years in Taiwan. Even today, many Taiwanese are strong believers in the power of the Wang Yeh to cure sicknesses, and people from the town of Donggang continually return to take part in the ceremony. As the China Post says, some of the descendants of the original participants of Burning Boat Festival uphold the same tasks in the celebration today as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. The entire town of Donggang shuts down for the eight days of Burning Boat Festival, everyone doing their part to take place in the ritual. When the sun rises and the boat has burned, silence fills the city. If loud sounds of celebration are made, the evil spirits might return, thinking they are wanted in the town. 

Watching the Burning Boat Festival as a foreigner is akin to visiting a fair. On the day of the burning, the entire town comes abuzz with food stalls, vendors, lanterns, fireworks, and traditional Chinese plays. The festival gathers a large crowd of both foreign and domestic tourists, eager to watch the spectacle of a seaworthy ship burnt to ashes. As such, there are carnival games to play and music to enjoy. I even made friends with a man selling flying squirrels, and in a delirium from staying up all night seriously considered purchasing an animal for myself.

Many foreigners get anxious waiting for Burning Boat Festival to begin. It is a long and arduous process to set up the boat, and for those who do not understand what religious practices are occurring, waiting to see the boat alight is too tiring.

But good things come to those who wait; those of us who stayed awake for the entirety were rewarded with quite a spectacle. There is something mesmerizing about watching the flames that engulf the ship and cast out their fiery reflection on fellow spectators’ wide-eyed faces.

I can’t say I’m a believer in the Wang Yeh or their power to replace the bad with the good. However, standing beneath the warmth of the fire, watching as the boat slowly dispersed its ashes, I can say I felt a wave of peace wash over me. Perhaps it was a blessing from the gods; more likely it was contentment from the opportunity to take part in such a unique, cultural celebration. Regardless, one thing is for sure: experiencing Burning Boat Festival is a memory that will stay with me for a lifetime.

To Attend the Wang Yeh Burning Boat Festival:

Burning Boat Festival only occurs every three years in the costal town of Donggang, Southern Taiwan. Typically it is scheduled in October or November—check with a local events calendar for exact dates. The Burning Boat Festivals should occur in 2015, 2018, etc. The easiest way to arrive is to take a train to Tainan, and then a taxi to Donggang. Remember to bring a beach towel to sit on—the event takes place on the sand. Additionally, you will have to keep yourself entertained for the duration of the night before the burning begins. Need somewhere to stay? Here is a list of the top-rated hotels in the area (click for rates and availability). 

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Casey Siemasko, the Taiwan Editor for Wandering Educators, is a freelance writer, blogger, and avid traveler. She finds her life inspiration by exploring new places and meeting new people, and seeks to find magic in the most ordinary of places. When she's off the computer, she enjoys practicing yoga, training for marathons and scuba diving. Somewhere in there she also found time to write an eBook, 101 Tips to Living in Taiwan.