Spectral Codex
左鎮穆家太祖壇

Zuozhen Mu Family Taizu Temple

Locations
Zuozhen Mu Family Taizu Temple (左鎮穆家太祖壇)
Date Captured
Camera
DC-S5M2
Lens
LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6
Aperture
ƒ / 5.6
Shutter Speed
1/200 sec
Focal Length
30.0 mm
ISO
100
Exposure Value
12.6 EV
Original Size
3600 × 2400
One of many private shrines in the back country of Tainan. The characters over the entrance read Joint Altar Taizu (合壇太祖), a hallmark of a syncretic Han-Indigenous fusion.

A private shrine where the Mu (穆) family venerates Taizu (太祖), the ancestral deity of the Taivoan Indigenous people. The family is said to have migrated over the course of two centuries from Kaohsiung through Guanmiao to Zuozhen, carrying the practice with them. It was among the household and communal altars documented in the run-up to a 2021 gathering at the nearby Beiji Temple (北極殿), which invited Plains Indigenous deities from over 90 shrines from around the district.

Inside Zuozhen Mu Family Taizu Temple (左鎮穆家太祖壇)
Date Captured
Camera
DC-S5M2
Lens
LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6
Aperture
ƒ / 3.5
Shutter Speed
1/125 sec
Focal Length
20.0 mm
ISO
100
Exposure Value
10.6 EV
Original Size
3600 × 2400
A peek inside the family shrine.
Offering Plate at Zuozhen Mu Family Taizu Temple (左鎮穆家太祖壇)
Date Captured
Camera
Galaxy S23
Lens
Samsung Galaxy S23 Rear Wide Camera
Aperture
ƒ / 1.8
Shutter Speed
1/120 sec
Focal Length
5.4 mm
ISO
32
Exposure Value
8.6 EV
Original Size
3000 × 2000
An offering of betel nut and cigarettes.

Themes

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Author

Profile photo of Alexander Synaptic, founder of Spectral Codex
Alexander Synaptic
Curator, Spectral Codex

I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.