A HONG KONG SPIRIT-MEDIUM TEMPLE
25
Once possessed, the kei tung is addressed by tan sang and petitioners alike with appellations appropriate to the deity deemed present. Each worshipper is called to approach the kei tung individually, giving details of his/her particular request. To some, the kei tung will simply offer advice; to others, especially the ill, he will give a sacred amulet consisting of a character painted in red on a slip of yellow paper. Depending on the specific nature of the illness, the amulet is given by itself or accompanied by a handful of medicinal herbs. The petitioner then thanks the deity and leaves the altar to deposit a few dollars in a red box near the temple entrance.
After the last petition has been heard, the kei tung places his head on the table. The tan sang wipes his brow with a towel dipped in sacred water, and in several moments, the medium regains his normal consciousness. The worshippers return home, and the kei tung, with the tan sang, proceed to the temple office for relaxation.
Readers familiar with Elliott's volume will no doubt find that the ritual conducted at Tai Wong Ye Temple is decidedly more low-key than those held by the spirit mediums of Singapore. Seldom lasting over 20 minutes, the Kwun Tong ceremony rarely incorporates acts of self-mutilation or feats of superhuman strength. Mutilation, when it does occur, is ordinarily limited to major feast days, but even then, seldom involves more than the chewing of broken glass15 and the ingestion of burning joss sticks. In brief, the Tai Wong Ye mediums present less of a spectacle than one would perhaps expect from religious practitioners who engage in what one anthropologist has labelled as "Ecstatic religion".16
We suggest that the low-key approach adopted toward ritual by Tai Wong Ye Temple is not accidental, but indicative of the role that the temple plays in the local community. Unlike the Singapore temples studied by Elliott, the Kwun Tong one does not cater to a general, undifferentiated population, some of whom may be attracted by the feats of its mediums. Tai Wong Ye's appeal is selective, and that selectivity, we suggest, is a major factor in the temple's current success.
The Basis of the Temple's Success
Even a casual observer visiting the temple on several occasions may conclude that it is an enterprise exclusively supported and
A HONG KONG SPIRIT-MEDIUM TEMPLE
25
Once possessed the kei tung is addressed by tan sang and peti- tioners alike with appelations appropriate to the deity deemed present. Each worshipper is called to approach the kei tung in- dividually giving details of his/her particular request. To some the kei tung will simply offer advice; to others, especially the ill, he will give a sacred amulet consisting of a character painted in red on a slip of yellow paper. Depending on the specific nature of the illness the amulet is given by itself or accompanied by a handful of medicinal herbs. The petitioner then thanks the deity and leaves the altar to deposit a few dollars in a red box near the temple en-
trance.
After the last petition has been heard the kei tung places his head on the table. The tan sang wipe his brow with a towel dipped in sacred water, and in several moments the medium regains his normal consciousness. The worshippers return home, and the kei tung with the tan sang proceed to the temple office for relaxation.
Readers familiar with Elliott's volume will no doubt find that the ritual conducted at Tai Wong Ye Temple is decidedly more low- key than those held by the spirit mediums of Singapore. Seldom lasting over 20 minutes the Kwun Tong ceremony rarely incorpora- tes acts of self-mutilation or feats of superhuman strength. Mutila- tion when it does occur is ordinarily limited to major feast days but, even then, seldom involves more than the chewing of broken glass15 and the ingestion of burning joss sticks. In brief, the Tai Wong Ye mediums present less of a spectacle than one would perhaps expect from religious practitioners who engage in what one anthropologist has labelled as "Ecstatic religion".16
We suggest that the low-key approach adopted toward ritual by Tai Wong Ye Temple is not accidental, but indicative of the role that the temple plays in the local community. Unlike the Singapore temples studied by Elliott the Kwun Tong one does not cater to a general, undifferentiated population some of whom may be attracted by the feats of its mediums. Tai Wong Ye's appeal is selective, and that selectivity, we suggest, is a major factor in the temple's current success.
The Basis of the Temple's Success
Even a casual observer visiting the temple on several occasions may conclude that it is an enterprise exclusively supported and
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