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ties. Fear may well be a motivating force to build small shrines for abandoned bones, but except for one case of a major cult arising out of it (Anle po, pp. 254-256) the author has not substantiated his thesis. I feel that ghost-worship is only a minor and exceptional case of deity-formation.
Finally, Chapter VII: “Structure and Function of Community Cults" (pp. 270-291), treats some of the sociological aspects of the community cults: especially leadership. But first the author discusses the primary functions of the cult, which he formulates as follows:
"First to rid the community of evil and to assure the well being of the community members; second to act as an instrument of social control so as to unite the worshippers of various different families, and to elicit from them a certain conformity of behavior." (p. 270).
I wonder whether the author should not have reversed the order; instead of emphasizing the negative functions, the more positive ones are more significant:
First, the community cult is a symbol and an effective expression of group cohesion. Social control and conformity are rather secondary effects. Primarily the cult is an organism for group celebration — secondly, the cult is a means to protect the community: by obtaining divine favours from the various community gods and by exorcising all kinds of evils of 'supernatural' origin.
Among those evils, the ‘hungry ghosts' (rather the 'lonely' ghosts) are one group, but they are not the "main evil" confronting the community (p. 271). Among the greatest misfortunes used to be and still are fire hazards and water catastrophes (like typhoons, storms, floods): these are caused by fire and water spirits, and are often exorcised in the early days of a chiao festival.
On p. 272 ff., Baity speaks about the spatial aspects of the community cult. It is regrettable that he did not discuss this matter right at the start, since this is one of the essential aspects of the community cult. The main temple of an area, housing the protective deity of the community, is called a tsung miao by the author (p. 272). This is at least ambiguous: a tsung miao is rather the mother temple of a cult which has spread to other areas developing a number of split-temples or fen-miao.
CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED
173
ties. Fear may well be a motivating force to build small shrines for abandoned bones, but except for one case of a major cult arising out of it (Anle po, pp. 254-256) the author has not substantiated his thesis. I feel that ghost-worship is only a minor and exceptional case of deity-formation.
Finally, Chapter VII: “Structure and Function of Community Cults" (pp. 270-291), treats some of the sociological aspects of the community cults: especially leadership. But first the author dis- cusses the primary functions of the cult, which he formulates as follows:
"First to rid the community of evil and to assure the well being of the community members; second to act as an instrument of social control so as to unite the worshippers of various different families, and to elicit from them a certain conformity of beha- vior." (p. 270).
I wonder whether the author should not have reversed the order; instead of emphasizing the negative functions, the more positive ones are more significant :
First, the community cult is a symbol and an effective expression of group cohesion. Social control and conformity are rather secondary effects. Primarily the cult is an organism for group celebration — secondly, the cult is a means to protect the com- munity: by obtaining divine favours from the various community gods and by exorcising all kinds of evils of 'supernatural' origin.
Among those evils, the ‘hungry ghosts* (rather the 'lonely' ghosts) are one group, but they are not the "main evil" confronting the community (p. 271). Among the greatest misfortunes used to be and still are fire hazards and water catastrophes (like typhoons, storms, floods): these are caused by fire and water spirits, and are often exorcised in the early days of a chiao festival.
On p. 272 ff., Baity speaks about the spatial aspects of the community cult. It is regrettable that he did not discuss this matter right at the start, since this is one of the essential aspects of the community cult. The main temple of an area, housing the protective deity of the community, is called a tsung miao by the author (p. 272). This is at least ambiguous: a tsung miao is rather the mother temple of a cult which has spread to other areas developing a num- ber of split-temples or fen-miao.
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