Alizu (Ancestral Spirit)

Alizu is not one particular deity but the Siraya people's collective name for their ancestral spirits — spirits who watch over the community's births, aging, sickness, and death, and who also move the workings of nature. Dutch rule and the wave of sinicization under the Qing dealt heavy blows to Siraya tradition; language, surnames, and ways of life were changed bit by bit. Yet pot worship held on stubbornly and became the clearest marker of Siraya identity. One of the best-known beliefs handed down through the generations is "Xiang water healing": the pot water blessed by Alizu is believed to cure every illness. In the kuwa, the "General Pillar" stands for Alizu's authority and power. Today, Danei, Jiali, Dongshan, and other places in Tainan still keep complete kuwa and Night Ceremony traditions, so the life of this Austronesian ancestral faith carries on in the qian qu songs sung through the night.

Alizu is honored in a way entirely different from Han Chinese temples, keeping the original ritual character of the Austronesian peoples: the place of worship is the kuwa rather than a temple, and the sacred symbol is a water-filled pot rather than a statue. Worshippers offer betel nut, rice wine, and tobacco, and the rites are led by the "ang-i," the female priestesses. The ang-i hold great standing among the Siraya — they can communicate with the ancestral spirits, heal the sick, and divine good and ill fortune. At the core of the ritual is the Xiang water, the pot water blessed by Alizu, believed to heal and ward off evil; and in matters large and small, people also come to the kuwa to ask Alizu for guidance. The rites are led jointly by elders and the ang-i.

The most important Siraya rite is the "Night Ceremony," and each village holds it on a different date: Toushe in Danei on the 14th–15th days of the tenth lunar month, Jibeishua in Dongshan on the 5th day of the ninth lunar month, and Beitouyang in Jiali on the 28th–29th days of the third lunar month. The ceremony begins at night and lasts until dawn. The ang-i lead the people in singing the qian qu; dressed in white, everyone joins hands in a great circle and welcomes the ancestral spirits with ancient melodies. Pigs are also offered during the ceremony. The "Siraya Night Ceremony of Jibeishua, Dongshan" was registered as a National Important Folk Custom in 2013. In recent years the Siraya have worked hard to revive their culture, and the Night Ceremony has become an important window onto Taiwan's plains Indigenous cultures.