June 22 brought this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Double Fifth Festival, as it falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar.
Apart from those delicious “rice dumplings” wrapped in lotus leaves, the dragon boat parade is another feature that makes the festival exciting. Yet you might not be familiar with, or have heard of, the famous Dragon Parade during the festival in Hong Kong’s Dumbbell Island (Cheung Chau).
Fishermen in the SAI-WAN CARE VILLAGE of Dumbbell Island still observe a 200-year-old tradition—the Dragon Parade (or Dragon Craft Parade)—one of the biggest cultural events of the local community annually.
What sets the tradition apart from other dragon boat events is that it is not a race or competition; indeed, it is the fishing village’s ritual of worship and invocations.
Every year at Double Fifth, three large Dragon Crafts (would appear on the sea, each over 82 feet long and paddled by a team of 50 strongly built men, carrying the statue of “Pak Tai” (a Chinese deity traditionally regarded by the locals as the patron of the island of Cheung-Chau) during the festival, to parade the typhoon shelter area and visit each and every temple on the island. The ritual lasts three days, expressing islanders’ reverence for the deities and invocation for the local community.
Epoch Times reporter interviewed Kan-sing CHAN, a 73-year-old offspring of Dumbbell Island’s original fishermen, and his consort Yung-tai LAW.
Chan shared with us his passion for the island’s three major cultural celebrations—Birthday of Tin-Hau (goddess of the sea), Cheung-Chau Da-Jiu Festival (Bun Festival), and Dragon Boat or Double Fifth Festival—all three are intimately related to the local faith and traditions, reverence of heavenly deities.
Chan pointed out that there is a distinct difference between the usual dragon boat and the island’s traditional “Dragon Craft,” which is the “carrier” or “water horse” of the deity. Transporting the deity is its most important function.
“Dragon Craft is the carrier of Pak-Tai. The boat comes to take Pak-Tai for an annual ride to inspect and cleanse the island, a tradition that has been passed down for generations. In our eyes, it (dragon craft) is the sacred “water horse” of the deity, the locals thus particularly treasure and respect the craft.” Chan said.
At the island’s west bay (Cheung-Chau SAI-WAN), there are three giant dragon crafts named Fuk-Yuen, Hap-Ji, and Sin-Hing, Chan told us. They belong to three separate fishermen associations in the village.
“The three dragon crafts are also a family,” Chan added. “Fuk-Yuen is the eldest male (the father), Hap-yee is the female (the mother) and Seam-hing is the little one (the son).”
“Did you notice the female dragon doesn’t have a beard? But the father and the son both have long beards!” Chan laughed. He talks about the Dragons with affection, like talking about his own family.
Yung-Tai LAW, also in his 70s, another offspring of the early fishermen, added that the three dragon crafts belong to the three fishermen’s associations established in the village around 100 years ago. Chan and Law are with the House of Fuk-Yuen, which is made up of a team of fishing boats operating in shallower waters close to the shore. House of Hap-Ji has bigger fishing boats that go off-shore to deeper waters and is responsible for side businesses such as ice supply, while House of Sin-Hing plays the buyer role, sun-dried products bought from the other houses and taking them to the market. The three houses represent different streams of fishing operations in the village; they are closely connected and complement each other in a cooperative manner. The Dragon Parade in the Double Fifth Festival brings the communities together. People of Cheung-Chau call the three dragon crafts “mum-dad-n-son,” vividly reflecting the intimate relationship between the three fishing teams or associations.
June 2021. （TM Chan/The Epoch Times)
Chan believes it is the blessings bestowed by Buddha that enabled him to grow up healthy and strong, enjoying a peaceful life.
“One doesn’t have to have any wants in his whole lifetime, in fact, as long as he can be honest to himself and observe his own conscientiousness.”
“I often say to my children that our Dragon Craft meant life to your father. Being able to take charge of its safekeeping and maintaining it has always been my pride and solace.”
The lack of a future successor came up a few times during our interview. Chan is increasingly concerned as his own age becomes advanced. The Dragon Craft means so much to him: “I started to learn paddling the Dragon Craft and the ceremonial rituals at 12 years old from my father. I loved the Dragon Craft all my life. It’s been 20 years since I took charge after my father left us. Yet my son has not shown any interest, so it looks really hard today to keep the traditions alive…”
Law praised Chan for his determination to carry on after reaching retirement age. “We have managed the Craft for 20 years already… We are both over 70 years old. He (Chan) said he will persevere till his last breath—as long as being alive. I appreciate him very much for that spirit.”
As fishermen on the island gradually move and settle on the land, members of the fishing associations are on the decrease. “We are getting old. The next generation might not be interested in managing the dragon crafts and organizing traditional ceremonial activities like us.” Both men feel concerned about the future.
“The dragon craft means so much to both of us.” Both men would shed tears to see anything happen to the boat they care so much for.
Their love of the craft is also the love of the village and the seashores, the home where they grew up, and also the faith and reverence for the gods of their generation. When the younger generation passionately competes in dragon boat races, do they know the true meaning of the “Dragon Parade”? Have they forgotten the original function of the dragon craft—a carrier of the deity?
May the stories told by the forefathers and the embodiment of their faith in their lifelong devotion to the safekeeping of the dragon crafts show the younger generations their perseverance in the hope that someone who can read and understand their hearts would take over the baton and carry on the traditions.
