Photographs of human skulls and bones laid out on a sunny rooftop in Lugang Township (鹿港), Changhua County, perplexed some netizens and frightened others as they were circulated on social media sites recently.
A Greater Taichung resident surnamed Lee (李) saw the skulls and bones sitting in plastic crates on the roof of a house when he visited Lugang last week. Intrigued by the sight, he photographed the bones and posted the pictures online, generating a tidal wave of commentary.
“This is just awesome. Human skulls are sunbathing on the roof,” one netizen wrote, while others said it was “unbelievable” that skeletal remains were on public display on a street.
Photo retaken by Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
Lee later found out that the crates belonged to bone collector (撿骨師) Huang Ming-hsien (黃名顯), who lives across the street.
Exhuming ancestral remains to clean, dry and rebury the skulls and bones is a tradition known as khioh-kut (撿骨) in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
Huang said the custom enables the spirits of the deceased to rest in peace by helping the “fallen leaves return to the roots” (落葉歸根).
“In the past, the remains had to be dried out under the sun in the courtyard of the place where the deceased used to live. However, this is now done at a site chosen by the bone collector,” he said.
“Some collectors perform the ritual at graveyards, or in open fields. I do it on the roof of a relative’s house,” Huang added.
“Foreign tourists often come to take photographs of the bones,” he said, adding that his family had a billboard reading “Bone Aftercare” in English made to explain the practice to visitors.
“Tour guides also bring Japanese visitors here to have a look. We are quite used to the curiosity of outsiders,” he added.
Huang, 45, is part of the fourth generation of his family to make a career out of collecting bones.
Huang learned the trade by accompanying his father to work when he was young.
“I was a bit scared in the beginning, but I gradually built up courage until I was able to do it by myself,” he said.
“Bone collecting is an important service and its practitioners are helping others. As long as we remain morally righteous, maintain a good character and don’t do anything unethical, then we have nothing to fear from ghosts and evil spirits,” Huang said.
“Bones are just human skeletons. Everyone has a set, so what is there to be scared of?” he said.
Local residents say they are accustomed to the sight.
“It is just like drying clothing in the sun, no need to be alarmed,” a neighbor surnamed Chen (陳) said.
Some netizens agree, saying that as long as the practice does not jeopardize drivers’ or pedestrians’ safety, people should respect it.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS