Cheung Chau Bun Festival
or Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong.
It is by far the most famous of several such Da Jiu Festivals held by several (mostly rural) communities in Hong Kong, either annually or once every few years.Cheung Chau"s Bun Festival, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year, is staged to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, in the Chinese calendar (usually in early May). It thus coincides with the local celebration of Buddha"s Birthday.
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival began as a fun and exciting ritual for fishing communities to pray for safety from pirates. Today this religious origin has largely been forgotten, and the festival has become a showcase of traditional Chinese culture above all else.
The old-style "Bun Mountain" made up of bamboo poles
History
One of the reputed origins of this festival is that in the 18th Century, the island of Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague and infiltrated by pirates — until locaxDxxDl fishermen brought an image of the god Pak Tai to the island. Paraded through the village lanes, the deity drove away evil spirits. Villagers too disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits responsible for the plague.
Activities
Vegetarian
A notice announces that McDonald"s is selling vegetarian burgers
Every year on the 8th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the islanders organise a week-long thanksgiving, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival (usually in April or May). The festival lasts for seven days. On three of these days the entire island goes vegetarian; and the island"s famous seafood restaurants goes to detest this tradition, and the local McDonald"s restaurant would just sell burgers made of mush rooms
Parade of floats / Parade-in-the-air
No Chinese festival is complete without lion dances and dragon dances, but this island"s quirk is the children dressed as legendary and modern heroes suspended above the crowds on the tips of swords and paper fans. They form the parade-in-the-air (飄色會景巡遊) and are all safely secured within steel frames, though they appear to glide through the air. The "airborne children" can be seen to budge slightly in the steel cages. Their eyes can be partly closed during hot weather.
Though such treatment of children may be unsettling to a Western mindset, it is such a unique festival that parents consider it a great honour for their offspring to be part of the parade.
This fascinating procession is accompanied by the bedlam of musicians loudly beating gongs and drums to scare away evil spirits. It is led by a spectacular image of Pak Tai, the God of Water and Spirit of the North, to whom the island"s Temple of the Jade Vacuity is dedicated.
Deities
Here are some divinities Cheung Chau people would celebrate in the festival:
Pak Tai
Since Cheung Chau is traditionally an island of fisherfolk, Pak Tai is its most revered divinity, since it is believed that he has the power to confer smooth sailing for the fishing boats and good catches for their crews. Pious believers recognise him as "Pei Fang Chen Wu Hsuan T"ien Shang Ti" (True Soldier and Superior Divinity of the Deep Heaven of the North).
Tin Hau
The second of the significant deities whose images add a supplementary splatter of Oriental holiness to the pageant is the much-revered Tin Hau (Goddess of the Seas and protector of all fishermen and boat people). Celebrated for providing warnings of imminent storms and saving countless lives from wreckage, she is in many ways Pak Tai"s competitor for the fondness of the fisherfolk.
Other god and goddess
Two more Gods complete the celestial divinities taking part in the parade: Kuan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy with her tranquil and ever compassionate smile) and Hung Hsing (the terrifying God of the South with his menacing head-dress, unkind face, bushy black beard, and stave at the ready to chastise all enemies).
Bun snatching
Steamed buns for the "Bun Mountain", being stamped the crimson characters of the respective district (北社, "Northern Society" shown in a combined way) on the island.
The centrepiece of the festival is at Pak Tai Temple where are the "Bun Mountains" or "Bun Towers"(包山), three giant 60-feet bamboo towers covered with buns. It is those bun-covered towers that give the festival its name. Historically, young men would race up the tower to get hold of the buns; the higher the bun, the better fortune it was supposed to bring to the holder"s family; the race was known as "Bun-snatching" (搶包山). However, during a race in 1978 one of the towers collapsed, injuring more than 100 people. In subsequent years, three designated climbers (one climber to each tower) raced up their respective towers and having cleared the top buns proceeded to strip the towers of their buns as they descended.
The three "Bun Mountains" are still placed in the area in front of Pak Tai Temple, and are constructed using the traditional fixation method -- bamboo scaffolding.
In 2005, a single tower climbing event in the adjacent sports gound was revived as a race -- with extra safety precautions including proper mountain-climbing tools as well as tutorials for participants (which now include women). A teamwork version of the event was added in 2006.The revised version of "Bun-snatching" as well as the traditional three "Bun Mountains" still have their buns removed from the towers at midnight of the Festival.
In February 2007, it was further announced that the buns on the single-tower construct will henceforth be made of plastic. [Hong Kong Government press release http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200702/16/P200702160249.htm]
During the festival, Chinese operas, lion dances, and religious services also take place on the island.
Burning of paper effigies
At a quarter to midnight a paper effigy of the King of the Ghosts is set ablaze, enormous incense sticks are lit and the buns are harvested and distributed to the villagers, who, pleased to be sharing in this propitious good fortune, rejoice late into the night.
Return of bun-snatching
The new "Bun Mountain" used for bun-snatching competitions
As aforementioned, the bun-snatching ritual was abandoned by the government due to the 1978 tragedy. Still, a large portion of Cheung Chau villagers regard this as part and parcel of their daily life, and the precious culture of Hong Kong to boot. In addition to the villagers" immense urge to resume the ritual, a local cartoon movie My life as McDull recalled the forlorn ceremony, giving a tinge of nostalgia to its audience. As such, the long-awaited ritual was reintroduced on May 15, 2005. Safety measures were greatly improved: only 12 well-trained athletes selected from preliminary competitions were permitted to climb on one single "Bun Mountain"; instead of bamboo, the framework of the "Bun Mountains" was made up of steel.
More about My life as McDull and bun-snatching
My life as McDull was a sizable hit in Christmas 2001. This Hong Kong animated feature was primarily targeted at children. Aside from the cute character designs, however, My Life as McDull had also shown many renowned qualities of Hong Kong people — hard-working, carefree, and never giving up. The "Hong Kong dream" depicted in the film has charmed much of its audience. The animation is aided by computer-generated backgrounds, but it retains a delightful hand-drawn look that is pleasing to the movie-goers. In a part of the film, McDull decides to train to be an Olympic-level athlete like Hong Kong Olympian Lee Lai-shan. However, the trade he learns is Cheung Chau bun-snatching. Realising that bun-snatching is not a formal sporting event in the Olympic games, McDull’s mother writes a letter to the chairman of International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ask him/her to sanctify the so-called sports event with her limited proficiency of English.
Some people think that the Hong Kong Tourism Board began to promote the forlorn ritual thanks to the unanticipated box-office success. It spawned a laughing stock, though, when the Secretary for Home Affair, Patrick Ho Chi-ping, said he might contact IOC later on in order to formalise the "sports". He even told to the public that the bun-snatching ceremony can be varied into many other events, like cake-snatching ceremony, doll-snatching ceremony, etc..
The Cheung Chau
Bun Festival
Said to be a hundred years history, every
year in May all people on the island must
kept vegetarian diet for three days, at
the last day the procession held. When
midnight came hundreds young men
hurried up to the three bun towers, torn
off all the buns, put them in bag or
spread them over the crowd. This kind
of activity was ceased after an accident
in 1978, the bamboo structure of the bun
tower bent in the middle and half fall.
The festival itself is an combination of
praying to gods, ganged together, and to
navigate the lost spirits.
year in May all people on the island must
kept vegetarian diet for three days, at
the last day the procession held. When
midnight came hundreds young men
hurried up to the three bun towers, torn
off all the buns, put them in bag or
spread them over the crowd. This kind
of activity was ceased after an accident
in 1978, the bamboo structure of the bun
tower bent in the middle and half fall.
The festival itself is an combination of
praying to gods, ganged together, and to
navigate the lost spirits.
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| part 1 small size better view | part 2 small size better view |
| The festival day in year 2007 | The Cheung Chau Bun Festival main procession day already held on Thursday, 24th May. | ||||||
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| Videos in 2006 | ||||||||||||||
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| The 2005 pictures | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Daily pictures of the Festival in Year 2004
| May 5 2004 | ||||||
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| Photo Album 2000-03 | |
| Page 1 | Year 2003 index page, 17 photos. |
| Page 2 | Year 2003 index page, 27 photos. |
| Page 3 | Year 2003 index page, 23 photos. |
| Page 4 | Year 2002 index page, 37 photos. |
| Page 5 | Year 2002 index page, 16 photos. |
| Page 6 | Year 2002 index page, 27 photos. |
| Page 7 | Year 2001 index page, 35 photos. |
| Page 8 | Year 2000 index page, 17 photos. |
Video clips of Bun Festival in Year 2000.
 Title 1 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 2 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 3 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 4 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 5 quick preview medium size better quality |
 Title 6 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 7 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 8 quick preview medium size better quality |  Title 9 quick preview medium size better quality |
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a kind of Jiao Festival - a festival that a village might hold every year or every few years. More specifically, it"s a Tai Ping Qing Jiao [literal meaning: "the Purest Sacrifice celebrated for Great Peace"]. Such festivals were perhaps widespread across south China, but under Mao were regarded as feudal superstition, and were suppressed in mainland China.
The origins of the Bun Festival are unclear. Choi Chi-cheung - a history professor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong - noted that while many people related it to misfortunes brought by pirates and disease during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), two old men said it was originally held on Hong Kong Island, in Taipingshan - where many people were killed by bubonic plague.
They said a man from Huizhou (Hailufeng) asked Pak Tei (Beidi) to stop the plague, other residents joined his prayers, and the disease subsided. Later, the festival was banned in Taipingshan, as fire regulations were tightened. The festival was transferred to Cheung Chau, where there was a strong Huizhou community in Pak She Street.
Regarding Pak Tei becoming like the island"s patron saint: I have also read of ways he helped islanders in times of crisis, especially when plague struck in the late 19th century. Then, his first emissary was a stranger known as the Crane Brother, who rode about in a chair with knife blades for seat, arms and footrest. The plague subsided. It returned again after Crane Brother left, and a local took a turn in the chair, and the benevolent Pak Tei again came to the rescue.
A helpful god, and ghosts of pirate victims
A similar tale is related by Joyce Savidge in This is Hong Kong: Temples. But in this version, an image of Pak Tei was paraded during a plague on Cheung Chaun in 1777, and a black wooden statue of Pak Tei was paraded on a sedan chair to help reduce another plague in the late 1800s. The statue was so effective that it was borrowed by people (also from a C
Savidge noted that Cheung Chau elders said the festival began to thank Pak Tei for saving islanders. Around the same time, workmen digging foundations for new houses found mutilated bodies and human bones - perhaps the victims of pirates. Islanders became prone to blaming mishaps on ghosts of these victims, and began holding religious ceremonies to placate them. In time, the thanksgiving to Pak Tei and the ghosts" placating ceremonies were merged to become the Bun Festival.
Whatever the exact origins, the festival was originally only celebrated by the Huizhou ethnic group (in turn belonging to the Hoklo) on Cheung Chau; and by the time it began, the Huizhou folk were all or mainly land people - so it is not, as I"d long assumed, a festival that strongly belongs to Cheung Chau"s fisherfolk. Even today, the rituals, priests and opera reflect the Huizhou origins.
Huizhou only priests Indeed, Choi relates a story from islanders, which tells of the organiser of the 1962 festival being from the Chaozhou ethnic group. He invited Chaozhou priests to perform the rituals, and they supposedly angered the deities so much that typhoon Wanda struck later that year, killing many people. Since then, apparently, the rule for the priests has been: Huizhou only. |
The bun scramble and the bureaucratsOn the last main night of the festival - late on the day of the parade - there used to be a scramble for the buns on the three main towers. This was evidently a rough and ready affair; in 1977, Joyce Savidge wrote:" At exactly midnight, a gong sounds and all the young men who have taken part in the festival rush forward and begin to climb the 60-foot towers. Some climb up inside the tower and burst through at the top – for it"s the crowning bun and the banner on the top that will bring the best good fortune throughout the year. Without any thought for safety, the young men swarm all over the towers like bees over a honeycomb, collecting buns as fast as they can and stuffing them into pockets, baskets and sacks. It"s usually all over within 10 minutes, leaving three sorry-looking frames of bamboo, tattered paper and rough string. " Given the bun towers are made of bamboo, and around 60 feet high, this would seem a dangerous practice. And in 1978, one of the towers collapsed during the race, resulting in over 100 people being injured - and the government banning the bun scramble. Bun Festival organisers have asked the government to allow the bun scramble to restart. But officials remained cautious (bureaucrats: doncha just love em!) - and instead opted to start a new scramble, up a specially built bun tower with a metal framework. Just 12 people were allowed to compete in the first race, in 2005, which was won by 23-year-old local fireman and bodybuilder, Kwok Ka-keung. All had to use safety harnesses. The new race did not impress some islanders, including race old-timers. As reported in a newspaper article, A Hong Kong tradition is revived, but carefully: " many on the outlying island grumble that the event will never be the same. "It was much more exciting in the past, so many people rushed to the towers," said Woo Liu, a 73-year-old resident. "We could do it without any ropes at all." " |
Plastic wrappers and plastic buns |
| Officials also decided that it was a potential health threat to keep steamed buns out on towers for three days, then knock them down and distribute them to islanders - even though it seems most people don"t eat whole buns, but maybe use small amounts for supposed medicinal benefits: Joyce Savidge wrote in 1977: "In the event of a backache, a cold, or perhaps a headache, a bit of the dried bun is broken off and dissolved in water or tea and drunk by the patient." The officials decreed the buns had to be individually wrapped in clear plastic. This year, the officials have gone even further: plastic buns will be used on the climbing tower. Again, this has not impressed all islanders. A blogger quoted the (unlinkable) South China Morning Post in Meaningless Sport: " Kwok Kam-chuen, who has prepared the 8,000 buns used in the climb since it was revived in 2004, said it was not the loss of business that bothered him as much as the loss of tradition.... The 58-year-old baker, who has made the buns for more than three decades, said the tradition had been further watered down by Leisure and Cultural Services Department safety measures, which include a 14-metre-tall steel tower rather than the traditional bamboo structure. “With the steel tower and plastic buns, the climb will be turned into just another sport. On one hand, I appreciate the concern for hygiene and safety. But on the other hand, the heritage value will be gone and the meaning will be lost.” "These changes have arrived as the Bun Festival has become an important Hong Kong tourist attraction, bringing visitors from Hong Kong and overseas, who throng Cheung Chau, especially around the time of the main parade. |
Further info
This article draws heavily on "Reinforcing Ethnicity: The Jiao Festival in Cheung Chau" by Choi Chi-cheung, in David Faure and Helen F. Siu, ed., Down to Earth: The Territorial Bond in South China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995, pp. 104-22.Bun Festival in Cheung Chau is a web page written in 2005 by Dr. Sui-wai Cheung, with info, photos and a video clip.
This is Hong Kong:Temples by Joyce Savidge (Government Information Services, 1977) has a chapter on Pak Tei (Pak Tai) Temple, mainly covering the Bun Festival.
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