Dragon Boat Festival
Trip Start
May 28, 2008
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9
Trip End
Ongoing
It sounds intense...Dragons: totally intense; boats: not very intense, but if there was a dragon in a boat with you or on a boat it would be. The Dragon Boat festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. It's to celebrate the life of Qu Yuan (Chew You-en) who sacrificed himself in a river in protest of the government (which went on to become demolished by invading forces, should have listened). Qu Yuan was beloved of the people, an exiled politician turned poet, so they jumped into their boats and went to save him. Not only that, but on the rare chance he did survive and was just chilling out under the water they threw rice into the water to A) feed him and B) keep the fish from eating him. However it was all for not, Qu Yuan's spirit appeared to them and said the river dragon had been eating all the rice! So they wrapped it in leaves, not only did Qu Yuan and the fishies get their food but they also get a tasty red bean filling, kinda like a rice jelly dough nut, but no fried stuff. The festival we went to was very subdued, although the Dragonboat races are kinda intense. There's a drummer to keep the rhythm, a helmsman to steer the boat, paddlers and lots of them, and a flag catcher. The flag catcher leans out over the front of Dragonboat, his feet hooked around the dragon's cranium accessories (they aren't ears and they aren't horns, so I don't know what they are) and stiffens his or her body so they can reach the flag first. Even if your boat in behind another but you have a tall flag catcher who gets the flag first, you win! The pot was 2 million NT which is roughly...$600,000, I think. Don't quote me on it. It kinda reminded me of a swim meet. It takes a long time to set up each race. The Bazaar thing was kinda crowded and the "traditional food and games" turned into corn dogs and shoot the balloon. But it was very interesting to see and Ryan got interviewed for TV.
