2024/07/26 05:30
◎張沛元
Horses scrambling up a steep slope emerged none the worse on May 4 after changes were made to a shrine festival in response to accusations of animal cruelty last year.
在去年被控虐待動物而對神社祭典做修改後,(今年)5月4日馬匹平安地爭搶上陡坡。
Traditionally, horseback riders in the Ageuma Shinji (Horse jumping festival) at Tado Taisha shrine get their animals to leap over an earthen wall about 2 meters high after reaching the top of the slope.
傳統上,在多度大社的上馬神事(跳馬節)中,馬背上的騎士會在馬匹奔抵陡坡頂端時,使牠跳過高約2公尺的土牆。
The Shinto ritual, said to date back about 700 years, is held to divine crop harvests based on whether the horses ridden by young residents in feudal attire can clear the final obstacle.
舉行這項據說可追溯到約700年前的神道教儀式,目的在於根據身著封建時代服飾的年輕居民騎乘的馬匹,能否通過最終障礙,來預測作物收成。
However, the festival came under fire after a horse broke a front leg and was put down last year.
然而,去年有1匹馬摔斷前腿而被安樂死,該祭典因此遭到批評。