Prayer Ceremony in a Hainan Village Temple 海南村庙祈祷仪式

I was brought to a neighbouring village to watch a prayer ceremony at a Hainanese temple. It was a small village but it combined with another two villages to celebrate the event. As it was a weekday morning, there were not many worshippers.

The event would last 4 days including two days of Hainanese opera.

At the entrance of the village were banners acknowledging the contributors and donors.

There were three taoist priests performing the prayer rituals and religious rites. It was a terribly hot day, yet the men were dressed in thick ceremonial robes.

As I was going through the photos, I just realised I was the only woman present. Many of the women were busy cooking and taking care of their kids in their homes.

Names of devotees were hand-written on all the talismans. 

Some villagers watching the ceremony from a shady shelter.

Chatting with my nephew's wife, she informed me that the temple celebrations at a town temple would be more interesting as there will be devotees performing fire walking and stepping on knife blades.


我被带到邻村参观海南乡村的寺庙祈祷仪式。这个小村庄与其他两个小村一起举办庆祝活动。因为是一个周日早上，所以没有很多信徒。这次活动将持续4天，包括两天的海南街戏。

举行敬香和祈祷仪式时，道士装神穿腮跳神舞。在较大的城镇可以看到过火山、上刀梯、一些富有神秘色彩的民俗活动，让人大开眼界。