Shen Zhu or God Pig, sometimes known as Holy pig[1] (traditional Chinese: 神豬; simplified Chinese: 神猪; pinyin: shénzhū; Wade–Giles: shen-chu; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sîn-tu), are pigs that have been chronically fattened for use in Hakka religious and cultural ceremonies, such as the Yimin Festival[2] and the Lunar New Year celebration in Sanxia, northern Taiwan.[1] Pigs are fattened in a process similar to gavage to make them as large as possible in preparation for contests and awards at the festival. The heaviest pig is declared the winner and the owner may receive a prize. The winning pig and other pigs entered into the contest are ritually killed as a sacrifice to the City God or a local deity, one popular temple that continues this tradition is Changfu Temple which is dedicated to the deified Buddhist monk Master Qingshui. However, contrary to popular belief, the pig is not sacrificed to Master Qingshui, but to the mountain deities.
After being sacrificed, the hair of the winning pig is removed or the bristles shaved into patterns, and the skin is stretched across a metal frame. Further decorations are added, such as placing a pineapple in the pig's mouth. The stretched skin, along with the carcasses or stretched skins of the other fattened pigs, are then paraded on a float. Many Holy pigs end up weighing over 800 kilograms (1,800 lb), whereas a normal pig would weigh only 120 kilograms (260 lb).[3][4]
In urban areas with no access to farms housing such large animals, or places where objections based on cruelty to the pigs have been raised, the contests instead have become art projects for children to create decorated pig statues.[5]
^ ab"Holy Pig: Taiwan parade draws crowds and cruelty claims". BBC. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
^"Taiwan's polarising pig festival - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. September 10, 2020.
^Huang, M. (3 February 2017). "Controversial 'Holy Pig' festival kicks off in Sanxia". Taiwan News.
^"'Holy pig' festival draws thousands in Taiwan but protesters decry cruelty". The Guardian. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
^"Taiwan god pig sacrifice: Religious rite or cruelty? - International News - redOrbit". Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
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