At a funeral in rural Taiwan, musicians wearing pleated mini-skirts and go-go boots march around a coffin to the beat of the 1980s hit I Hate Myself for Loving You.
The performance in a Changhua County farming community is a modern mash-up of ancient Chinese funeral rites and folk traditions, with saxophones, rock music and daring outfits.
Da Zhong women’s group is part of a long tradition of funeral marching bands performing in mostly rural areas of Taiwan for families wanting to give their loved ones an upbeat send-off.
The band was composed mainly of men when it started 50 years ago and has evolved into an all-women ensemble.
“I constantly try to innovate, come up with new ideas, and adapt to modern times,” said band manager Hsu Ya-tzu, 46, whose mother-in-law founded the group.
“I want to break away from rigid traditional mindsets to keep this profession relevant.”
AFP journalists joined Da Zhong as they performed their choreographed routines in handmade white-and-sky-blue uniforms at three funerals over two days.
Starting before dawn, the women marched in formation playing their saxophones and a drum as the leader twirled her baton and blew a whistle.
The music was loud enough to wake the nearby living as they led the coffin and mourners to a cemetery or crematorium where traditional funeral rites were performed.
“It felt like a celebration, almost like a joyous occasion rather than a funeral,” mourner Hsiao Lin Hui-hsiang, 74, told AFP as his family cremated an elderly relative.
“Since she lived past 90, it was considered a happy farewell.”
Funeral director Chang Chen-tsai said marching band performances were supposed to “liven up the atmosphere” of funerals and were usually reserved for the old.
“It should be lively, it cannot be too quiet,” said Chang, 64, who has been organising funerals for 40 years.
Lipstick, white boots
It was still dark out when Hsu pulled up in her van at a meeting point to collect other band members for an early morning gig.
The women aged from 22 to 46 applied lipstick and pulled on white boots before grabbing their instruments and walking to the covered courtyard venue where mourners gathered near the coffin.
Hsu’s mother-in-law, Hung Sa-hua, recalls being one of the only women in the funeral marching band profession when she started her own group in 1975.
As the male performers got old and retired, she replaced them with women, which customers preferred, the 72-year-old said.
For Hung, the band was an opportunity to make some extra money after she married her husband and to get out of the family home.
“If I never went out and always stayed at home, I wouldn’t have known what was happening in society,” Hung said.
