Audio
The Sacrifice to God: Song of Grown-ups

The Sacrifice to God: Frolic Song


I.    About this Song

Summary / Story:
To celebrate abundant harvests (Frolic dance)
Each June after abundant harvest,
Young men will gather at the altar of Balaguan to accept initiation rite.
From current status, everyone is going into a new stage of growth.
They need to modestly accept the elders’ flogging and teaching; that is an education for tempering stamina.
By this method, each generation passes on the spirit of brave warrior.
Every newly grown-up follows warrior’s standard;
They compete in martial skills and fighting force, learn skills of hunting and fishing.
They also dance to celebrate growing up and hold singing competitions;
So as to stimulate the potential for creation and contemplation.
The whole process is sacred and majestic, lively and humorous.

II.    Manuscript

Handwritten manuscript (page 1) of “The Sacrifice to God: Coming-of-age Ceremony” (1986)	Handwritten manuscript (page 2) of “The Sacrifice to God: Coming-of-age Ceremony” (1986)

      


To view the story of Li Tai-Hsiang, please go to Li Tai-Hsiang, the Native Musician of Taiwan.
Text and images are provided by The Native Musician of Taiwan－Tai-Hsiang Li Digital Archive, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan