東石串蚵殼 24.12.08 Oyster in Dongshih

聽說08年的嘉義是特別寒冷。就在風聲颼颼中的一日，和前來支援錄音的阿草騎著腳踏車上蒜鰲自行車道，想試試一路上能有什麼聲音發生。不知道是走岔了路還怎地，我們進入東石鄉的一個小村落，那裡平靜的像遺世獨立的小世界，四處溢著蚵仔殼，有的堆成四四方方綑綁起來，有的散落屋前。疲憊的雙腿和腦袋正猶疑著前方的路時，經過一個搭築路肩的帳篷，赫然發現裡頭滿是蚵殼，一位滿頭灰白的老婆婆背對著我們；再近一些，AM廣播和蚵殼們的聲音進 入耳底。老婆婆一旁擺著黑色小收音機，正用塑膠繩子串著蚵殼。

東石是牡蠣之鄉，牡蠣第一次被剝開取出蚵仔後，經幾日曝曬，養殖業者會僱請工作人員（多為老年人）擇選較大、較完整的蚵殼，打洞、綁串在一起，之後便可再次放養。不難想像，這份工作工資頗低，只是老婆婆說，無聊嘛，打發時間賺錢囉。實際上，沿海地區許多婦女辛苦地靠這樣的手工勞力貼補家用，也成為稀鬆平常的故事了。恆春民謠「青蚵嫂」便是在這樣的背景下發展出來。

回到帳篷裡。老婆婆從一籠籠滿是鑽好洞的蚵殼中挑選可用的，丟到空籃裡，挑選完後甩動一整串的塑膠繩，拉出一條來，然後便開始將蚵殼串進繩子。這一連串動作發出的碰撞、摩擦聲，加上婆婆的工作餘興─聽廣播，寧靜中自成一格的小天地裡，構成了東石經典的工作之聲。（許雁婷）

（小提醒：別把注意力全放在廣播上囉！）

shells of oysters

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 :

Dongshih Fish Market, 09.12.08 東石魚市場

" I have visited Penghu many times in the last four years. But I never have been able to record a fish market : nowadays, the selling is organized electronically, and no interesting sound is produced. This is not the case here, in Dongshih, where is held every afternoon a traditional fish market. This happen under a wide reverberant space, where all voices are melting into a loud whisper. People come to see the fish and they discuss about the quality, the freshness and the prices of the sea foods lying on the floor. Sometimes a voice annouces something through loudspeakers. Sometimes some big plastic container are pushed and fall, producing a very loud drum sound : "Boum" ! The workers are sorting the fishes, orgazing them into categories, and when the throw them into buckets, it makes a discrete slapping sounds : "Slap" ! But what is the most surprising is when the sea products needs to be put on the floor. The fishes, shrimps and other animals are organized into patterns : lines of small piles, reminding me land art. At least two women are working for doing these patterns of fishes. One is throwing a bucket containg a few fishes, it bounces on the floor with a big "clac !" and glide on the wet concrete floor during several meters "Shhrrrr !", and the second lady catch it and suddenly reverse it, throwing its content on the floor with another short "clac". The operation is repeated many times until the floor of the whole building is covered with piles of fishes. 

Then a strident blast of whistle comes from an area. People gathered in this direction. A man holding a notebook wait above one of the piles of fish. When people become attentive, he starts. He's recitating monotonously in taiwanese. His words are decreasing numbers, corresponding to the decreasing price of the fish. When someone decide to buy it at the spoken price, he will give the man his personal name stamp. The guy use it on his notebook, write the price, tear the page, and give it to the customer. Then he restart his vocal process on the next pile of fish. All the potential customers are silent, attentive to the prices. Therefore the man who organize the selling doesn't need to speak very loudly. And if one moves off a little bit, he won't be able to hear correctly the prices. So it is a quite intimate selling, something I've never witnessed in Taiwan ! The sound ambience and different sonic events of this fish market are a very strong experience. For sure customers, fishermen and sellers would be able to recognize it when it'll disappear, replacing the voices of the people by digits on screen... “ (Yannick Dauby)

過去四年我去過澎湖很多次，但從沒能錄下魚市場的聲音。現在，大多數魚市場都已電子化操作，沒什麼有趣的聲音好錄。東石魚市場卻不是這麼回事。每天下午的傳統漁市，在一個有著很大回響的空間裡進行，所有的聲音融合成極大的鳴響。人們邊看著陳列在地板上的魚，邊討論魚的品質、新鮮度和價格。有時候是擴音器的放送，有時塑膠籃子被放下倒出漁獲，發出擊鼓一樣的「碰」一聲。工作人員在將於分類，把魚丟進籃子裡時，也會發出魚碰撞的啪啪聲。但最驚訝的是，當他們把魚分堆擺放在地板上，魚、蝦、和其他各種海底生物排列組合的圖樣，漁獲成堆擺出的線條簡直像地景藝術。至少有兩個人在從事這項工作。一個丟擲籃子給另一個，此時籃子先是碰撞地板發出喀喀聲，經過濕漉的水泥地「咻」的一聲移動數尺，然後另一個人接住籃子隨即倒出漁獲，又是另一個碰撞地板的喀喀聲。這樣的動作持續到地板全都擺滿了魚。

一聲長哨，所有人往同一方向聚集。一個拿著一本簿子的男人站在第一落魚堆前，大夥聚精會神，他便開始了。他訕訕地以臺語呢唸著。口中的數字遞減，也就代表魚的價格遞減。一旦有人決定以某個價格購買這堆魚，就會喊停，拿出印鑑給這個男人。男人在簿子上用印、填寫價格，撕下存根聯給買者，移動到下一堆魚繼續重複。所有顧客、買家都靜默不出聲，全心注意著價格，因此喊價者也不用喊得大聲，倒是只要稍不留神或移動腳步，便可能錯過一個好的成交價。

東石魚市場的喊價拍賣方式，使魚販和顧客間的關係變得密切，我在臺灣從沒見過。這裡的聲音環境和豐富多樣的聲音物件，是非常強烈的經驗。當然，未來當這樣的聲音被無聊的機械數位取代時，漁夫、顧客、賣家都還必將認得這些聲音…。(中譯：許雁婷)

Seller :


Baskets :