Ritual
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Ancestral Offerings
Ritual #1
A villager lights incense in front of Tai Si Wong, Hells Policeman, as part of the once a decade Tang Clan Jiao in the New Territories. Clan members return to the village from overseas to honour their ancestral roots. The Tang clan originated in Jiangxi province and came to Hong Kong in 11th century. Their ancestors are classed as indigenous affording them special privileges.
Canning Sari, Pura Tirta Empul
Ritual #2
On an island where religion is deeply interwoven into everyday life, a visit to the Pura Tirta Empul temple offers an even deeper insight into the rituals of Hindhu worship common on the island.
Pura Tirta Empul is a 10th century temple built around a volcanic spring. The temple has several bathing pools where the Balinese partake in purification rituals. Each pool has 10 springs and worshippers wade into the pool, praying, making offerings and finally bathing in each spring in turn.6280BVasiaindonesiabalibalineseubudreligiontempleofferingwaterprayerpraypuratirtaempulspringholybathbathebathingflowercanangsari
Fireball
Ritual #3
The villagers watch as Taai Si Wong, Hells Policeman,is quickly consumed by the flames in the once a decade Tang Clan Jiao in the New Territories. Clan members return to the village from overseas to honour their ancestral roots. The Tang clan originated in Jiangxi province and came to Hong Kong in 11th century. Their ancestors are classed as indigenous affording them special privileges.
Villain Hitting, Causeway Bay
Ritual #4
March 5 was the festival of Jingzhe, or the day of “Insects Awakening”. Effectively, it’s the first day of Spring in the lunar calendar, signaling that the weather is getting warmer, and hence the insects are awakening. It’s also the main day for a strange Hong Kong folk festival called villain hitting. The main location for this ritual is under a flyover in the main shopping district.
Locals gather to take part in a type of folk sorcery used to curse one’s enemies. The client writes the name of the ‘villain’ on a sheet of paper (which is usually adorned with illustrations of human bodies). This paper is then beaten with a shoe by the villain hitter (usually an old lady). The beaten paper is then placed inside a paper tiger and burnt. Steeped in numerous superstitious rituals, demand for villain hitting remains strong.
Several people I spoke to had queued for 5 hours to visit one of the leading villain hitters. They had been coming to the same woman for 3 or 4 years and felt she brought them good luck. They commented that nowadays there was no need to name a villain but that people would write their own name on the paper to dispel bad luck. Average cost (per person blessed or cursed) was HK$75 to HK$100.
Ancestral Worship, Man Mo Temple
Ritual #5
A man lights incense at the Man Mo Temple set deep within the high rises of Sheung Wan and Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. Ancestral and deity worship is deeply rooted in Hong Kong Chinese culture, a place where East meets West and the race to modernity is pitched against traditional and cultural belief systems.
The Long Road Home
Ritual #6
In March, nine villages around Sheung Shui in the Northern New Territories come together to celebrate the festival of Kwan Yin. The festival involves a procession from each village to the Kwan Yin Temple. We spent the day at the village of Tsiu Keng San Wai through which many of the other villages parade with dragon dances and effigies of Kwan Yin. Unfortunately, for the first time in the living memory of most of the villagers, heavy rain affected the proceedings. As it is the Year of the Water Dragon (once every 60 years), hopefully the weather will be better next year.
