Puzih Temple, 08.12.08 朴子配天宮

" Wandering in a temple while wearing headphones and holding a pair of microphones is not the easiest way to be discrete. So most of the time, when I want to record sounds in such situation, I just sit somewhere and wait until people around forget me. Because of this waiting and an attentive listening, one would be more concentrated and will notice numerous sounds and related behaviours. Here in this temple, the most surprising thing was the overall acoustic. The sounds of the street in front of the temple were absent, completly turned down. And the feeling in this temple was strange, like if we were in a wider room. Even in the open-air parts, where there is no roof, I had the feeling of being indoor. Because of the fragile and old decoration of this temple, a wide protection, a metal hangar has been build, housing the temple, stopping the outside sounds, and making this specific acoustic. I recorded then some workers reparing the roof of the temple. Their voices where coming from the top of this quiet place in a very surreal. These voices represent this particuliar period of time where the temple is becoming old, needing care and fixing. 

Other typical sounds include the incense lighter, doing a loud and short 'clac'. Sometimes it may be used by a visitor to light his cigarette, but no listener would made the difference... Another sound is oftenly met in the temples of Taiwan, the divinations blocks "poe". Their falling on the floor not only indicate the god's opinion on the believer's questions. It also informs the listeners about the size of the room by triggering its reverberation. These two last sounds are not endemic to this temple or the Chiayi region, but it fit to one's expectation about what should be heard in this kind of place. Finally I spent a little bit of time recording a mother and her child walking in the different rooms. Each time she would enter in another space, the sound of her wooden shoes would make a different echo. 

This time, in this temple, there was no particuliar activity, but I could imagine Ba Jia Jiang, Tangki and other ritual music there. These would be for a next recording session. But one thing would be very interesting : to come back as much as possible to this place, in the early morning, in the evening. To be present when all kind of believers are present. And to catch the daily life of this place. The tiny details that needs time to discover. A woman whispering, an old man repeating a god's name, some discussions, some jokes, and unexpected events... “ (Yannick Dauby)

手持麥克風耳戴監聽耳機，徘徊在廟宇裡，很難不被注意。對於這種情況，大多時候我選擇安靜地坐在某處直到週遭的人們忘記我的存在。等待的同時亦專注聆聽，更集中精神發現許許多多的聲音與相連結的行為。配天宮內部整體空間有非常特別的聲響效果，在廟裡，配天宮前方街道的聲音像被關掉一樣完全消失，就像待在一個偌大的房間裡。即使在沒有屋頂的室外，也感覺像在室內。因為配天宮正值整修期間，搭建一個鐵皮外殼的臨時空間，包覆了整座廟宇，導致這特殊的音響效果。我也錄下了工人修繕的聲音，在這個安靜的空間裡從頂上傳來的超現實音聲，而這也代表了這座廟的一段演進：老舊而需要修復。

另外還有一些廟裡典型的聲音，像是點燃香火，會有打開瓦斯爐的喀擦聲；有時可能只是訪客為了點根香菸打開點火爐，但沒有人能夠辨別其中聲音差異。另一個常在臺灣廟裡聽見的聲音就是擲筊了。但擲筊的結果不只能看見神明對信眾問題的指示，其聲音回響還正好能提示聽者廟宇空間的大小。這兩個聲音並不能反映嘉義廟宇的特色，但確實符合了一般人對廟裡聲音的期待。最後我花了點時間，錄一位媽媽帶著小孩在廟的不同殿裡走動的聲音，每次當她走進不同地方，她鞋子的木跟就會敲出不一樣的回音。

這段時間的配天宮並沒什麼特別的活動，但我可以想像八家將、乩童或其他儀式在這裡發生的聲音。然而，有件事會是有趣的，我們可以常常回到配天宮，在大清早或傍晚，任何時間，如此可以遇見各種不同的信眾，捕捉它一天之中會發生的所有聲音。還有許多微小的細節需要更多時間去發掘。女人的細語、老人重複默念神祇名號、一些討論、玩笑，及許多不可預期的事…。（中譯：許雁婷）

Divination blocks :