Din Tao, a name derived from "tactical formation" in ancient China, literally means an armed force which was incorporated by civilian. During the reclamation of Taiwan throughout 16th to 19th century, There're frequent conflicts between Chinese immigrants. In order to defense themselves, they raised armed force, in the name of Din Tao, to guard their hamlet or village. Then gradually such Din Taos were transformed from conventional martial crews into traditional performance troupes. By far there're altogether 55 troupes associated with Qing An temple in Xigang Festival. Among them, 24 from XigangĦB9 from JialiĦB14 from CiguĦB3 from Anding and 5 from Tainan City. The members of troupe were simply volunteers recruited from each village.
The troupes which participate in Xigang Festival were assorted into following categories according to their own features ---
The procession in Xignag Festival Parade was assembled by palanquins from associated temples in XigangĦBJialiĦBCiguĦBAnding and Tainan City. Each temple would send their troupes to escort palanquins and make public performance in between. Though such troupes were just supporting roles in procession, but they're no doubt the most eye-catching crews in Xigang Festival. Almost all visitorsĦBjournalists and photographers came to Xigang Festival for such troupes. For more details about each troupe, you can access the following links to take a look.
