The Joys of Journeys to a Familial Past: Topophilia and the Experience of Hakka Pilgrimage in Northern Taiwan

This paper explores the emotional facets of Hakka pilgrimage practices at a temple to the bodhisattva Guanyin 觀音 situated on the outskirts of the town Daxi 大溪in northern Taiwan. Its analytical framework draws on Tuan Yi-fu’s concept of “topophilia” (defined as “the affective bond between people and place or setting”) to hypothesize that sacred sites like the Guanyin Temple lie at the heart of what I tentatively term a “cultural nexus of feelings” featuring the moving experience of journeying on pilgrimage accompanied by family members along paths trodden by one’s ancestors that inspire memories of individual lives and family histories. Thus, worshippers at the Guanyin Temple experience feelings of well-being due to its serving as a ritual and affective venue for coping with life’s challenges, while also joining with family members to enjoy time together and recall memories from their childhood or stories told by their forebears.