Ghost Month

Nationality: Taiwanese/Singaporean
Age: 21
Occupation: Student

Description: A month dedicated to ghosts as they come to the land of the living and wander the streets. The ghosts would stay starting from the first day of the seventh month of the Lunar Calendar. During this time, people would leave food and other object offerings to the hungry ghosts.

Background: As the informant lived in Taiwan, the ghosts month traditions are commonly seen every year.

Transcript:

BL: So there is a month we do in Taiwan, it’s hard to miss. It’s called the month of ghosts or something like that. It’s the month when ghosts come out, so people have to leave stuff outside their house to give the ghosts. So you see stuff like food or clothes and stuff. Sometimes people would also put baby shoes outside. It kind of has a creepy vibe when it’s the middle of the night and there is all this stuff outside people’s doors.

Me: When is the month?

BL: It follows the Lunar calendar so it starts at around the first day of the seventh month. People also put incense and stuff like that too.

My thoughts:

The first thing I thought of were other holidays that celebrate the dead. Halloween and Dias de los Muertos come to mind. As the dead, such as ancestors and dead family members, are very prevalent throughout many Asian traditions, it isn’t shocking to see that Taiwan has an entire month dedicated to appeasing the ghosts. Personally, I hope that ghosts exist as it shows that we will have an afterlife. Though the food and offerings obviously don’t go to the ghosts, I think it is the thought that counts. It’s a tradition that makes people remember those who have passed away.

Yusheng

Nationality: Malaysian and Taiwanese/Singaporean
Age: 22 and 21
Occupation: Student

Description: It is the tossing of fish salad done during the New Years. People would circle around with chopsticks in hand. Then they would throw the salad as high as they are able, the higher meaning better fortune for the next year and having your wishes come true. The fish is the most important part due to the pun of the Chinese word for fish sounding like the word for abundance.

Background: It is something commonly done within her household. I was able to observe this ritual when we did it with a group of friends.

Procedure:

The salad is prepared with sauces, assorted vegetables and most importantly fish. The dish will then be presented on a table where people would gather. Each participant will be equipped with a pair of chopsticks. When the ritual begins, each participant will toss the contents as high as they can while saying their wishes. The duration of the ritual varies. At the end, the salad is consumed like a normal meal.

My thoughts:

In terms of cuisine, the salad is delicious. While the tossing does tend to make a mess, the sense of community and energy it brings is well worth it. There are many elements of this tradition that I believe are very neat. One thing is the origin of the tradition. It is mainly practiced by people who are ethnically Chinese living in Singapore or Malaysian. Most of the wordplay originated from the Chinese language, the fish signifying abundance is well known to any one who is Chinese. This tradition creates a branching and unique identity that separates itself from the traditions of the mainland and Taiwan. Food is commonly seen as something that brings people together; sharing food is often a bonding experience especially with home made cuisine. The community aspect is especially true for those in Malaysia, where ethnically Chinese people are part of the minority.

Don’t Turn Around at Night

Nationality: Taiwanese/Singaporean
Age: 21
Occupation: Student

Description: There is a saying that you should not turn around when you are walking at night, if you do, it becomes easier for ghosts to attack you.

Background: The informant is told this by her parents.

Transcript:

BL: When you walk at night, you can’t turn your neck around. Because there are two lights on your shoulders and they scare the ghosts away. If you turn your neck around, the light disappears and then you would be unprotected. So the ghosts will come and get you. I honestly don’t believe it but I hear about it a lot.

Me: Where did you hear it from?

BL: My parents. I think it’s from Singapore. Singapore superstitions are weird.

My thoughts:

It’s scary enough to turn around at night without any superstitions but this thing multiplies upon that fear. Looking at many other folklore, ghosts are always most active at night. This is likely due to the fact that vision is limited and anyone can become very vulnerable or see things like ghosts that may or may not be real. Also, this tale might be a way for people to avoid trouble such as becoming a witness to illegal activity. Of course, I wouldn’t believe in something like this, but it will be hard to not think about it.

Biden’s Body Double

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student

Description: Some people believe that the 2020 president, Joe Biden, is actually played by actor Jim Carrey while the previous president, Donald Trump, remains in power.

Background: The informant hears about crazy conspiracies constantly from their mother, who legitimately believes all of it.

Transcript:

TS: My mom thinks Biden is a body double played by Jim Carey who’s actually in a Hollywood set, being broadcast by the satanist hollywood elites to make people think he’s actually president, when really Trump is still in control. Maybe the Jim Carey stuff is iffy, but the general vibe is he’s a body double/clone or something.

Me: Is there a reason for there to be a body double and not just have trump win the election instead?

TS: No, so (she believes) Trump is a good guy and the elites are the bad guys. They’re scrambling cuz “oh no trumps still in power we got to make it seem like he isn’t”. So they have “fake Biden” to try and trick people. I think that’s the thought process? It’s wild because all the conspiracy stuff makes no sense or contradicts itself. My mom will be upset about stuff the Biden admin is doing, but it’s like “He’s not the real president tho why are u upset?”. It’s also like “If the illuminati cabal is so strong how did they even let Trump in in the first place?” Apparently that was because “so many people voted for Trump that he broke the algorithm to rig the vote”, which is LAUGHABLE as someone who deals with code stuff. She says the same thing happened in 2020, but this time like they’ve just been able to lie about it (unlike in 2016?). I could go on and on about this garbage, it’s funny but it’s also sad cuz my mom believes it and is terrified by it

My thoughts:

This is one of the most recent and relevant pieces that I have encountered. Conspiracy Theories stem from people’s distrust of the government since they do hide an enormous amount of information from us. This is a piece of Folklore that is currently having an effect on our nation’s political climate and the well being of other people. Because of these beliefs, the rights and life of people is placed into question. This of course, is also often discussed in regards to censorship. Should misinformation be allowed a place to exist? It’s interesting to hear a second hand account of these theories as it shows us the logic that people are willing to jump through in order to deny being wrong. In the end, I think these theories stem from a combination of Denial and a fragile ego. People making justifications in order to remain in a reality that they are correct. People who believe it also tend to be those who are either emotionally vulnerable or just very easily accept certain dogmatic beliefs.

Passing Ashes After Cremation

Nationality: American/Chinese/Japanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student

Description: After a family member is cremated, the family would pass the remains across the family chopstick to chopstick.

Background: The informant observed this in his family during funerals.

Transcript:

ML: Another thing I’ve noticed more is that we can’t pass food from chopstick to chopstick. Ao whenever we’re eating, and we share, she puts it on my plate. Because passing stuff from chopstick to chopstick is reserved for family remains after a cremation. I think my dad is the same way too. I think in Japan when someone dies, they’re cremated and their ashes and stuff are put into a urn and the family members pass the pieces to each other into the urn. Yeah, so then whenever I’m about to grab something out of her chopstick, my mom gives me a dirty look.

My thoughts:

This entry would be considered both a ritual tradition as well as a taboo. It is more accurate to say that it is a taboo that resulted from common practice. Rituals for the dead is not uncommon in any culture, but it is often in Asian traditions that I tend to find taboos that come from such traditions. One easy example would be the taboo of stabbing one’s chopsticks on a bowl of rice, as that is usually reserved for an offering for the dead. The association itself is plenty direct most of the time, as it’s easy to see why one would want to separate actions for the dead from ones of the living as the dead do not belong there and not many want to think about death when living their daily life. Another function of those specific rituals are also to provide some sort of closure for relatives, allowing people to finally move on after the passing of a loved one.

Annotations: 

The expression of the old East Asian funeral art: Author: Dae-Youl Kim – 

https://www-dbpia-co-kr.libproxy1.usc.edu/journal/publicationDetail?publicationId=PLCT00000694