Tuesday, October 04, 2022

Three Cemeteries

On Chung Yeung Festival, the day the Han Chinese traditionally hike to escape from  pandemic, and to remember our ancestors, I went to three cemeteries.  


At a cursory glance, they look quite similar.  Rows and rows of regular and not-so-regular tombstones.  Upon closer inspection, however, there are significant differences.  



At the Chinese cemetery, these is a lot of food, offered to the dead, and then eaten.  There is also a lot of fire - burning of incense, Chinese candles, and lots of stuff - clothing, food, money, … - all made of paper, for the benefit of the dead in the underworld. 


At the Catholic century, no food or burning.  But plenty of flowers.  And prayers.  There are plenty of foreigners, many of them priests.  Several of my teachers from the days when I was at the Salesian Aberdeen Technical School are buried there.  Many are Chinese, others are from Italy, … 



The Muslim cemetery seems to have the strictest of rules.  No sacrificial offerings of any kind (joss-sticks, paper money, fruits, etc.).  No bowing or kneeling.  For women (Muslim or not): must wear Hijab (head covering); NO hot pants, NO mini-skirts, NO low-neckline, …  Most of the names seem to be Chinese, with many surnames that are common among the Muslim minorities.  There are also quite a number of names in foreign languages.  Quite a number of words in Arabic-looking scripts.  There is plenty of water for washing. 



The Muslim cemetery is right next to the Catholic cemetery.  



Hong Kong is truly quite multi-cultural, with the different cultures living side-by-side fairly amiably. 


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