SAFEGUARDING ONE'S FORTUNES: THE IMPORTANCE OF TUN FU
DAN WATERS
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Introduction
What do Hong Kong's New Territories' residents do when civil engineering work is to be carried out which will spoil the feng shui of their village? How do they alleviate misfortunes and protect themselves from shaat hei (evil influences) and the wrath of spirits? The short answer is they hold a tun fu ceremony.1 With the Chinese character, fu, meaning amulet or charm, the term tun fu (sometimes romanised as tan fu) denotes a group of talismans.2
This paper sets out to examine a particular, large, tun fu ceremony at Pat Heung and what purpose it served. Comparisons are made with other tun fu ceremonies. How do rites differ? How do women feel about being excluded from participating roles? Do villagers really believe in tun fu? Will such practices continue in the future? The Chinese characters in this paper have been romanised generally using the Cantonese pronunciation, which is the dialect understood by 95 per cent of Hong Kong's population and the dialect used when performing tun fu ceremonies in the Territory. When dollars are quoted, unless otherwise specified, they are Hong Kong dollars.
There is a general dearth of information about tun fu including details of observations of actual ceremonies. In addition, it is surprising how little Chinese urban folk know about New Territories' customs. The Author has asked many, including some persons who are considered authorities on local, Chinese customs and culture. Most, including some urban feng shui masters even, had never heard of tun fu. To make sure they understood the question they were shown the two relevant Chinese characters (see 'Transliteration'). Bearing in mind that the Territory is a compact place, and even though there is little mention of such activities by the media, this still struck the Author as surprising. In fact the feng shui masters' loss of face, on being unable to answer such question, resulted in some hesitation and their replying generally about unrelated aspects of feng shui.