Alternative Sinology: Voices from the Underworld

Chinese Hell Deity Worship in Contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

Alternative Sinology: Voices from the Underworld
Fabian Graham
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NZ$ 77.99
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NZ$ 74.09
Paperback
h234 x 156mm - 280pg
19 Apr 2022 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781526163721
Out Of Stock
Publication abandoned or delayed indefinitely
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. 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, Graham challenges common assumptions on the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious practices.

Voices from the Underworld: Chinese Hell Deity Worship in Contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

' Voices from the Underworld adds significantly to our understanding of this problem with a fascinating study of a completely new variant: the recent rise of Underworld deity temples among Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. [. . . ] The ethnography in these sections is notable for its richness of description as well as its documentation of a new development in Chinese vernacular religion. Most remarkable of all are the author' s direct interviews with possessing Underworld deities, during which they discuss topics from their preferences in alcohol to the administrative structure of the Underworld and the nature of the soul. ' Robert P. Weller, Journal of Contemporary Religion ' Voices from the Underworld is an engaging ethnography that is suitable for undergraduate classroom teaching to students of religious studies and anthropology. The fine details captured in the well-structured and narrated field notes reflect the meticulous job that Graham has done, in two historically related yet culturally diversified sites of study. This book is a good resource for understanding contemporary religious trends in Singapore and Malaysia, and a useful reference for comparative religious studies in Asia. ' Review of Religion and Chinese Society ' Graham makes a convincing case that hell deity worship has grown in scale and taken new forms in the period that he seeks to document. Through ethnographic research that is both intensive and extensive, he demonstrates that veneration of the Underworld gods and the Ten Courts of Hell is an important part of contemporary vernacular religious practice. The book is filled with detailed reports on his ethnographic interviews and observations that testify to the inventiveness and imagination of the practitioners of Chinese popular religion, and the Underworld merits a book-length study of this sort. ' China Review International -- .
Fabian Graham is a Research Fellow in the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore
Status: Publication Abandoned or Delayed Indefinitely
ISBN-13: 9781526163721
Published: 19 Apr 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Format: Paperback
Height: 234mm
Width: 156mm
Pages: 280

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