"Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud pumping pop music. Their job: to appease the wandering spirits. As the temple facade in the background changed colour from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children. "This is hard work but I need to make a living," said 18-year-old En En, out of breath after stripping for the crowd during the recent religious festival. En En had just earned Tw$3000 ($100) for her act, which began on stage, but ended as she mingled with the audience, letting men touch her for tips. Folk religion in Taiwan is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly, and one of its most remarkable manifestations is the practice of hiring showgirls to perform at festivals, weddings, and even funerals."* Ana Kasparian and Steve Oh discuss why and how funeral stripping became a custom in rural Taiwan. *Read more from Amber Wang/AFP: www.google.com
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