In Singapore and Malaysia, the inversion of Chinese Underworld traditions has meant that Underworld demons are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities in statue form, channelled through their spirit mediums, tang-ki. The Chinese Underworld and its sub-hells are populated by a bureaucracy drawn from the Buddhist, Taoist and vernacular pantheons. Under the watchful eye of Hell's 'enforcers', the lower echelons of demon soldiers impose post-mortal punishments on the souls of the recently deceased for moral transgressions committed during their prior incarnations. Voices from the Underworld offers an ethnography of contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions, where night-time cemetery rituals assist the souls of the dead, exorcised spirits are imprisoned in Guinness bottles, and malicious foetus ghosts are enlisted to strengthen a temple's spirit army. Understanding the religious divergences between Singapore and Malaysia through an analysis of socio-political and historical events, Fabian Graham challenges common assumptions on the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious beliefs and practices. Graham's innovative approach to alterity allows the reader to listen to first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities. Through its alternative methodological and narrative stance, the book intervenes in debates on the interrelation between sociocultural and spiritual worlds, and promotes the de-stigmatisation of spirit possession and discarnate phenomena in the future study of mystical and religious traditions.
Autorentext
Fabian Graham is a Research Fellow in the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore
Inhalt
Introduction Part I: Setting the scene1 The modern Underworld tradition 2 Analysis: a baseline of comparison3 The historical development of Underworld cosmology Part II: The Underworld tradition in Singapore4 Yu Feng Nan Fu Xuanshan Miao: setting a baseline of comparison5 A new Underworld God of Wealth, and, foetus assistance rituals in Singapore 6 Lunar Seventh Month: the centrality of graveyards in the Underworld tradition Part III: The Underworld tradition in Malaysia 7 Malaysia and the party spirit: guanxi and the creation of 'intentional' communities 8 Seventh Month rituals in southern Malaysia: salvation rituals and 'Ah Pek' parties 9 Seventh Month rituals in central Malaysia: coffin rituals and the releasing of exorcised spirits Part IV: Tracing the origins of the modern Underworld tradition 10 Anxi Chenghuangmiao and cultural flows of local mythology 11 Penang: the earliest recollections of Tua Di Ya Pek embodied 12 Conclusions and analysisIndex