Monga。Qingshan King Festival。Secret Night Patrol

每年農曆10月「迎青山王」的祭典活動，是艋舺一年一度的盛會，也就是俗稱的「艋舺大拜拜」。祭典為期四天，活動包括前二日的暗訪夜巡，第三天的繞境活動及第四天的為青山王誕辰。無論是白天還是晚上，陣頭齊聚較勁、神兵神將繞境遊行，信徒聚集膜拜，炮聲樂聲此起彼落，場面熱鬧氣氛熱烈……

“Qingshan King” festival in October of lunar calendar year is the annual event at Monga, also known as “Monga Pilgrimage”. The event lasts for 4 days. The first two days are the night patrol, the third day a parade, and the fourth day Qingshan King’s birthday celebration. The troupes gather and rally around the streets. Faithful believers gather for worshipping. Continuous music and firecrackers make exciting atmosphere throughout the whole day and night…

坐落於台北貴陽街的艋舺青山宮，創建於咸豐六年（1856年），主祀靈安尊王，簡稱青山王，與台北龍山寺、清水巖祖師廟並稱為為艋舺三大廟，列為三級古蹟。

Located on Guiyang Street, Taipei, Monga Qingshan Temple was established in 1856. The resident deity of the temple is Qingshan King. Qingshan Temple, Longshan Temple, and Taoist Ching Suei Shrine are the three largest temples in Monga. Qingshan Temple is also a Grade Three historic site.

相傳清咸豐年間，發生的一場大瘟疫，來自福建泉州惠安縣的漁民，奉請故鄉青山王神像來艋舺，希望藉助神威來弭平瘟疫。罹病者前來祈禱庇佑後，多獲痊癒，於是信徒日增並集資建廟，至今已經有一百五十多年的歷史了。

According to the legend, a great plague occurred in the Qing dynasty Xianfeng years. Fishermen from Huian County, Quanzhou, Fujian Province asked Qingshan King to come to Monga to stop the plague with its power. With the blessing of the Qingshan King, the sick people came to the temple and became recovered completely. Faithful believers started to raise money to build the temple. The temple has been built for 150 years.

青山王不僅被視為可消除瘟疫的威靈，也和城隍爺一樣，有掌握陰間司法、賞善罰惡的地方守護神。

Qingshan King has the power to remove the plague. He is not only a local patron deity, but also a master in the nether world, the same as Cheng Huang Yeh. (City God)

「暗訪」指的是神明在夜間出巡，目的是驅逐邪惡瘴癘、探視民間疾苦及緝捕惡鬼凶神。因夜巡是抓鬼除惡的行動，為了防止惡煞跑進來，早期家家戶戶門窗緊閉，且大人會禁止孩童觀看，催促孩子早早就寢。不過，現在就沒有這樣的忌諱惡鬼凶神了。

“Secret night Patrol” refers to the deities performing the patrol at night to expel evils, see people’s pain and difficulties, and arrest evils. Because the night patrol is to arrest evils, all house doors need to be closed so that the evils would not get in. Children would be asked to go to bed early, and not to watch it. Now, there is no such a taboo for the evils.

本篇為紀錄此次祭典活動第二日(國曆12月7日/農曆10月21日)的夜巡行動。活動從下午四點就開始，從青山宮出發，繞行艋舺與西門地區，最後返駕青山宮。

This article is sharing with you on the second day’s event for the night patrol on December, 7 (October, 21 for lunar calendar year). The patrol started at 4:00pm. The route starts at Qingshan Temple, goes around Monga, Ximen areas, and returns to Qingshan Temple.

「報馬仔」是夜巡繞境隊伍裡的先鋒，任務是探路及報信，且行進時沿途敲鑼，告知信眾繞境隊伍即將抵達。

“Bao Ma Zi” is the pioneer of the night patrol troupe. His duty is to find a path and be a messenger. He also beats a gong to let the people know that the troupe is coming.

「報馬仔」的裝扮相當的奇特，頭戴斗笠、肩揹紙傘、手提銅鑼並穿著草鞋，另外還留有八字鬍、戴老花眼鏡等。報馬仔的這一身裝扮雖然看起來有點滑，但可是都是有特殊意義的，例如，斗笠與紙傘是讓報馬仔在趕路時可以遮陽避雨，眼鏡是要明辨是非，而兩撇翹起的鬍子宛若燕尾，有著言（燕）而有信之意。

“Bao Ma Zi” dresses very unique, wearing a bamboo rain hat and paper umbrella, holding a gong, and wearing a pair of grass shoes. He also has mustache shaped like the character”八” and wears reading glasses. He looks very funny. But all of them have special meanings. For example, the bamboo rain hat is for him not to get wet on the road, the reading glasses for him to judge right and wrong, and the tilted mustache for him responsible to what he says.

緊接著「報馬仔」的是「土地公轎」，為暗訪夜巡隊伍的帶路使者。

“Tou Di Gong Jiao” (Land deity) is following after “Bao Ma Zi” who is the guide of the night patrol troupe.

各軒社的頭旗、西燈、彩牌、鼓亭等參禮。

All different kinds of groups are in the parade.

由大型神偶組成的陣頭，是廟會活動代表性的陣頭之一，在南部稱這種大型神偶為「神將」，在北部則稱為「大仙尪仔」。一般來說，神將通常成群結隊，很少會單獨出現的。青山王出巡時，常見的大仙尪仔有謝將軍（七爺）、范將軍（八爺）、文判官、武判官等等。

The large Infernal Generals with elaborate costumes and gaudily painted faces usually take the lead in the Qingshan King Pilgrimage. In the southern Taiwan, the large Generals are called “Spirit General”, and called “Da Xian Wang Zi” in the northern Taiwan. All these large Generals show up in a group, rarely being alone. When Qingshan King shows, you would also see General Xie, (Chi Yeh) General Fan (Ba Yeh), literary judge, and martial judge…etc.

大仙尪仔的身長約有一般人的兩倍高，由一人穿套其中扛抬，邁大步行進，讓神偶雙手呈大幅擺動，以顯示其威嚴。

“Da Xian Wang Zi” is about twice tall as the regular people. One person is inside wearing and holding the large costume. They walk large strides with swinging both arms widely to show its prestige.

一高一矮、一白一黑的七爺八爺，為陰間的差使，職責是緝捕惡鬼妖怪，維持陰間秩序，是夜巡暗訪的隊伍中不可或缺的神將。

“Chi Yeh”, and “Ba Yeh” one is short, the other tall, one is black, and the other white. They are the messengers in the nether world. Their duties are to arrest the evils and to maintain order in the nether world. They are the important generals for the night portal troupe.

溫文儒雅、粉面的文判官（圖右），職責是調查人民的品德、紀錄善惡及下定判決，所以可以看到文判官一手持毛筆，一手拿判決書。氣勢威嚴、怒目而視的武判官（圖左），職務為文判官判決後，負責執行犯人罪行，其背後有五方旗並手持刑具。

With the courteous look, the literal judge (photo on the Right) is to decide the good or bad of a person. He is holding a writing brush, and a judgment book. With the prestige look, the martial judge (photo on the Left) is to implement the prisoners’ crime. He is carrying a Five Square Flag in the back and also holding the torture instruments.

大仙尪仔的脖子會掛著一串「鹹光餅」，這些中間穿孔的圓餅是祈福的平安物，經常可見信眾爭先恐後的討「鹹光餅」吃，以祈求平安。

“Da Xian Wang Zi” wears a bunch of “salty bagels” on the neck. Those bagels are the symbols of peace. Lots of believers are grabbing bagels for the peace.

緊隨大仙尪仔陣後的是手持「長腳牌」的「執事隊」。長腳牌上除了書寫神明的稱謂外，還有上肅靜、迴避等字樣。手持銅鑼的「清道伕」，是為神明開道的衙役，沿途清理污物、穢氣及陰間鬼魂。

Followed the “Da Xian Wang Zi”, “Deacon” is holding the “Long leg Plate”. On these plates are shown the names of each deity, and also the words of “Silence” and “Avoid”. The “Street cleaning porter” is holding a gong. He is to clear the path, clean the dirt and ghost spirits for all the deities.

「八將團」為青山王的駕前護法，是由八位將軍及一名葫蘆童子所組成的，因手持枷鎖刑具，故稱為枷將軍、鎖將軍（各四位）。枷將軍為紅面，身穿露右肩的紅色半衣，鎖將軍為綠面，身穿露左肩的綠色半衣，八位將軍皆頭戴官帽，面露獠牙。手持葫蘆的童子，相傳為白鶴化身，為「八將團」中的引路者，又稱引路童子。

“Eight officers” are the protectors of Qingshan King. It consists of eight officers and one bottle gourd boy. They hold torture instruments. Four of them are also named “Cangue Officer” and other four “Lock Officer”. “Cangue Officer” wears red with half shoulder showing, and “Luck Officer” green. Eight of them wear official hats with infernal look. According to the legend, the bottle gourd boy was the white crane in his previous life, now is leading the road for “Eight Officers”, also known as “Yinlu Tongzi” (guide the road boy)

「八將團」所持的武器有枷、鎖、虎牌，火簽，釘槌，大刀，虎頭閘及釘板。

“Eight Officers” hold all kinds of weapons, such as, cangue, lock, hammer, large knife, tiger head gear, and nail board…etc.

這裡的「八將團」並非「八家將」，除臉譜、造型與基本成員不同外，動作與步伐也不一樣。一般來說，「八將團」的動作較「八家將」來的陰柔些。

“Eight Officers” are different from “Eight Generals”. Their face makeups are different. The members in the group are also different. The movement of “Eight Officers” generally is not as strong as that of “Eight Generals’.

頭燈、馬頭鑼及哨角隊等，為青山王爺駕前的前導，有指揮、開路，並宣示神明的到來。

“Tou Deng” (Lanterns), “Ma Tou Luo” (Gong), and “Horn troupe” are coming before the arrival of Qingshan King.

最後就是青山王的神轎。

At last, here is the Qingshan King‘s sedan chair

為了讓神轎能夠停留久一點，有些廟宇與壇頭會排出哨角隊來接駕，並施放炮火與煙瀑，來達成擋轎的效果。

In order to have the King stay longer, temples welcome them with horn troupes and firecrackers.

夜巡繞境的最後一站返駕青山宮，大仙尪仔返廟前要舉行「過火」儀式。過火有清淨之意，神像過火代表著邪神不附身，而信眾過火表示祈福消災。

The last stop of the night patrol is to return to Qingshan temple. A ceremony is held for “Da Xian Wang Zi” to jump over the fire in the temple front. “Jump over the fire” means cleaning. The deity’s jump over the fire can get rid of evils, and believers jumping over the fire can bring peace.

大仙尪仔一一返回，青山宮內擠滿了觀禮的信眾。

The return of the “Da Xia Wang Zi” brings a huge crowd in the Qingshan temple.

最後青山王也返駕，結束了暗訪夜巡之行。

The return of the Qingshan King to Qingshan temple marks the end of the night patrol event. Read More