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(mouth) from the character get di (fortune) should not be completely joined, so that the "mouth" is an "open" one. In this way, the troupe members are freed from the curse of "not being able to open the mouths", which implies that the actors could not sing or speak, that the troupe would become unemployed, and that the members would have to suffer from starvation. In case the stage is a "new" one, the hoi bet ritual has to be carried out by the actor who is to play the Deity of Fortune.
From these taboos and religious practices, one might easily deduce that Cantonese operatic employees are highly superstitious. However, without understanding the function behind these practices, such a judgement would be nothing more than a subjective evaluation.
In his Exorcising the Trouble Makers: Magic, Science and Culture (1983), the anthropologist Francis L.K. Hsu has pointed out that religion and superstition are indispensable in every culture, including those praised as “civilized” and others criticised as “primitive”, and that it is not always easy to draw a distinction between science and religion. According to Hsu, a community which believes in science would dress-up their religious beliefs and superstitious practices in the form of science, and similarly, a community which inclines towards religion and superstition would interpret its empirical and scientific experience in the form of religion (Hsu 1983:129).
Traditionally, Cantonese operatic troupes are often hired to perform for festivals, birthdays of both ghosts and deities, and an elaborated Taoist ritual known as da ziu k (rite of purification). In fact, before permanent theatres became an additional context of Cantonese operatic performances in the late 19th century, for most Cantonese operatic troupe members, ritual performance had been their major source of employment. Even in modern Hong Kong, every year over two-thirds of the total productions are staged in a ritual context.
In the late Qing Dynasty and even up to the early 20th century, ritual performances were held in temporary theatres built with palm leaf mats, bamboo and wood poles. Modern ritual theatres replace mats with tin sheet. When a troupe is hired to perform a series of ritual plays, the temporary theatre becomes not only their performing venue but also their living quarters.
177
(mouth) from the character get di (fortune) should not be completely joined, so that the "mouth" is an "open" one. In this way, the troupe members are freed from the curse of "not being able to open the mouths", which implies that the actors could not sing or speak. that the troupe would become unemployed, and that the members would have to suffer from starvation. In case the stage is a "new" one, the hoi bet ritual has to be carried out by the actor who is to play the Deity of Fortune.
From these taboos and religious practices, one might easily deduce that Cantonese operatic employees are highly superstitious. However. without understanding the function behind these practices, such a judgement would be nothing more than a subjective evaluation.
In his Exorcising the Trouble Makers: Magic, Science and Culture (1983), the anthropologist Francis L.K. Hsu has pointed out that religion and superstition are indispensable in every culture, including those praised as “civilized” and others criticised as “primitive”, and that it is not always easy to draw a distinction between science and religion. According to Hsu, a community which believes in science would dress-up their religious beliefs and superstitious practices in the form of science, and similarly, a community which inclines towards religion and superstition would interpret its empirical and scientific experience in the form of religion (Hsu 1983:129).
Traditionally, Cantonese operatic troupes are often hired to perform for festivals, brithdays of both ghosts and deities, and an elaborated Taoist ritual known as da ziu k (rite of purification). In fact, before permanent theatres became an additional context of Cantonese operatic performances in the late 19th century, for most Cantonese operatic treape members, ritual performance had been their major source of employment. Even in modern Hong Kong, every year over two-thirds of the total productions are staged in a ritual context.
In the late Qing Dynasty and even up to the early 20th century, ritual performances were held in temporary theatres built with palm leaf mats, bamboo and wood poles. Modern ritual theatres replace mats with tin sheet. When a troupe is hired to perform a series of ritual plays, the temporary theatre becomes not only their performing venue but also their living quarters.
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