Fabian Graham
Search for other papers by Fabian Graham in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
Seventh Month rituals in southern Malaysia
Salvation rituals and Ah Pek parties
in Voices from the Underworld
Chapter DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526140586.00019
Online Publication Date:
11 Feb 2020
Abstract only
Log-in for full text

Moving south to Johor State during Ghost Month, Chapter 8 focuses on the comparative importance of City God temples in Malaysia and the active role played by Anxi Chenghuangmiao in promoting the contemporary tradition. The first ethnography follows an elaborate salvation ritual at Muar City God temple, with particular attention paid to the influence of Mahayana Buddhism and Thai vernacular religion. The latter manifests in the use of Thai luk thep dolls appropriated to accommodate the souls of malicious foetus ghosts enlisted into the temple’s Underworld spirit army. As the Malaysian malicious foetus ghost is a reinvention both of vulnerable foetus spirits in Singapore and of foetus ghosts appropriated into Taiwan’s vernacular tradition from Japan, transnational cultural flows and the socio-political catalysts affecting them are introduced. Returning to community creation, the second ethnography focuses on an event titled ‘Anxi City God’s cultural exchange’. Bringing together ten pairs of Tua Di Ya Pek, one pair channelled from each Underworld court, discussions with them reveal perceptions of post-mortal cosmology in conflict with that of their Singaporean counterparts. The analysis therefore compares societal catalysts triggered by Singapore and Malaysia’s competing post-1965 political agendas to account for the divergences between the two Underworld traditions’ cosmological interpretations.
  • Collapse
  • Expand
  • Top

Voices from the Underworld

Chinese Hell deity worship in contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

eISBN:
9781526140586
Publisher:
Manchester University Press
Cover Voices from the Underworld
Subjects:
Sociology
Keywords:
Chinese Underworld traditions; Singapore; Malaysia; Hell deities; Taoist and Buddhist cosmologies; spirit possession; non-physical phenomena
Page Count:
292
Publisher:
Manchester University Press

Series: Alternative Sinology

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 15 15 5
Full Text Views 0 0 0
PDF Downloads 0 0 0

Related Content

Cover Making work more equal

Making work more equal

A new labour market segmentation approach

Editors:
Damian Grimshaw
,
Colette Fagan
,
Gail Hebson
, and
Isabel Tavora

Book

Publication History:

Online Publication Date:
01 Sep 2017
Subjects:
  1. Sociology

This book presents new theories and international empirical evidence on the state of work and employment around the world. Changes in production systems, economic conditions and regulatory conditions are posing new questions about the growing use by employers of precarious forms of work, the contradictory approaches of governments towards employment and social policy, and the ability of trade unions to improve the distribution of decent employment conditions. Designed as a tribute to the highly influential contributions of Jill Rubery, the book proposes a ‘new labour market segmentation approach’ for the investigation of issues of job quality, employment inequalities, and precarious work. This approach is distinctive in seeking to place the changing international patterns and experiences of labour market inequalities in the wider context of shifting gender relations, regulatory regimes and production structures.
Cover Go home?

Go home?

The politics of immigration controversies

Authors:
Hannah Jones
,
Yasmin Gunaratnam
,
Gargi Bhattacharyya
,
William Davies
,
Sukhwant Dhaliwal
,
Emma Jackson
, and
Roiyah Saltus

Book

Publication History:

Online Publication Date:
31 Mar 2017
Subjects:
  1. Sociology

In July 2013, the UK government arranged for a van to drive through parts of London carrying the message ‘In the UK illegally? GO HOME or face arrest.’ The vans were short-lived, but they were part of an ongoing trend in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate control and toughness around immigration. This book explores the effects of such performances of toughness: on policy, on public debate, on pro-migrant and anti-racist activism, and on the everyday lives of people in Britain. This book both presents research findings, and provides insights into the practice of conducting research on such a charged and sensitive topic.

Blending original research, theoretical analysis, and methodological reflections, the book addresses questions such as:

  • Who gets to decide who ‘belongs’?
  • How do anti-migrant sentiments relate to changing forms of racism?
  • Are new divisions, and new solidarities, emerging in the light of current immigration politics?


Written in a clear and engaging style, the book sets an agenda for a model of collaborative research between researchers, activists, and people on the ground.
Cover Federalism and democratisation in Russia

Federalism and democratisation in Russia

Author:
Cameron Ross

Book

Publication History:

Online Publication Date:
06 Oct 2010
Subjects:
  1. Sociology

Building on earlier work, this text combines theoretical perspectives with empirical work, to provide a comparative analysis of the electoral systems, party systems and governmental systems in the ethnic republics and regions of Russia. It also assesses the impact of these different institutional arrangements on democratization and federalism, moving the focus of research from the national level to the vitally important processes of institution building and democratization at the local level and to the study of federalism in Russia.