白沙屯媽祖 and this emerging Taiwanese national identity
National identity and world history classrooms
白沙屯媽祖National identity and world history classrooms. This emerging Taiwanese national identity. If a language is a dialect with an army (nifty idea, I would caution that one should be careful trying to universalize such an idea) – then is a religion a cult with an army? All of my classes have a religion/ritual component because it is so fundamental to understanding human behavior. What I have found with American students is a general impatience and naive optimism about knowing the boundary between “religion” and “cult” – in the same way that they tend to jump the gun on discerning the unstable boundary between education, information, and propaganda. In my familial life, it’s been interesting to ponder my highly educated Taiwanese parents as a microcosm of Taiwan’s complex social-political history. In behavior, they are modified traditionalists. Dad dislikes burning paper money and incense; mom is duty-bound because ancestor worshipping got handed to her by my paternal grandma. Yet ideologically, due to the China KMT’s campaign to de-Taiwanese Taiwan – a decades-long cultural genocide campaign to erase Taiwanese identity during their colonial occupation – my parents reflexively refer to Taiwanese religion(s) as backward, superstitious, and/or corrupt. Mom has spent decades hilariously trying to get my brother and me to become Christians – a status religion of the Chinese Taipei/China KMT – and whenever I ask her why she thinks a Middle Eastern/European God is superior to the Goddesses and Gods of Taiwan, she is unable to give me an answer. I have watched and studied this Mazu’s pilgrimage with great interest. The element I am most interested in is the emerging Taiwanese national identity; how the past is evolving into the present and future (This Goddess has a YouTube channel and a GPS APP ….); and the national discourse around the events. That a commander of a Taiwan army base – the army of all branches! – would welcome the Goddess in eloquent Taiwanese has sparked a social media debate. How dare Taiwanese speak Taiwanese to their Goddess, the Chinese sky dragon occupiers shriek. I am reminded of a session of World History I taught years ago when I tried to explain the nature of faith and why “superstition” is such a problematic idea when applied unthinkingly – all religions are human invented and sustained by human choices – hence all religions have the capacity for good, and cult-like bad behavior. Using myself as an example I explained why I believe that every person I meet has a reason – there is something I am to learn from them, these are not chance encounters. A very polite student asked me to prove this – and we had a great class discussion about the nature of believing versus proving. Can you, should you, try to prove that your spouse is your “soulmate” (not a fan of that term)? I would advise not. Other notes about watching the Goddess Mazu’s YouTube and studying social media posts. My favorite idea is that the Goddess does not change your fate, she offers you comfort and confidence to face challenges. The live feed gives me many glimpses of Taiwan outside of Chinese Taipei which I am far more familiar with. All of the grandparents and parents standing behind kids too young to hold incense and bai-bai to Mazu as she goes by – that reminds me a lot of my Neihu Grandma and me as a kid. I knew Grandma chatted with the Goddesses and Gods because in that position you hear the conversation intimately. The old people in wheelchairs and how high the volunteers must hold up the Goddess, and the folks holding the clothing of their loved ones – perhaps too ill to come out, maybe hospitalized or missing – bring back memories and are deeply moving. As a historian, I always ask students to imagine something like this pilgrimage for say someone 150 years ago – no tee vee, no radio, no newspaper, no formal education – the pomp, the sounds, the faith that Goddess Mazu is directing her route, the miracles small and big along the route, the impressive mass of pilgrims, the design of Her flag. Sure, we can arrogantly dismiss this as superstition. As I have watched the last six days, what I see is a psychologist, a social worker, a grief counselor, a neighbor, a good listener friend embodied in the Goddess Mazu – back a century ago, in impoverished, difficult communities when many such resources would be unthinkable. The fabric of these diverse Taiwanese localities, knit together by faith and historical memories, pageants and rituals, as a new and democratic island republic emerges. 22.3.2024
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