The Ear-Shooting Festival is a coming of age ritual for the Bunun people, one of Taiwan’s indigenous groups. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is taking place again in rural Nantou County.
It looks like chaos, but the rules are simple. There are ten pigs in the ring. Teams of six or seven men try and catch one. The aim? To be the first to tie it upside down on a pole. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Some people even get pinned under a pig and can’t move.
But the hog-catching race is not the only thing happening on this special day. There’s also a tug-of-war contest. The contestants all wear plain, yellow rain boots. Those boots supposedly have better traction and help prevent injuries.
Then there’s also a wrestling match and an archery competition. It is an important festival, and a time for Bunun men to show their muscles and prowess.