Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
The belief towards the spirit medium is one of the oldest beliefs in Chinese folk religion. With the waves of Chinese emigration in the 19th century, some religious beliefs and customs from the ancestral homes, including spirit mediumship, had transferred to the new settlement region. Hence, this re...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
2021
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/3/Melvin%20Foo.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/ |
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| Summary: | The belief towards the spirit medium is one of the oldest beliefs in Chinese folk religion. With the waves of Chinese emigration in the 19th century, some religious beliefs and customs from the ancestral homes, including spirit mediumship, had transferred to the new settlement region. Hence, this research focuses on Turner’s concept of liminality in the local context, social interactions and transition of social roles. Furthermore, these meaningful interactions form an attachment to the Chinese deities. Participant observation, interviews, secondary data collection and other qualitative approaches have been employed to further understand the practice of spirit medium within the area of Kuantan. Indeed, a spirit medium may or may not convey messages to the audience or the deities from ritual performances. However, the ritual had revealed an ‘indispensable and official’ status among mediums and worshippers. Although some expectations of this practice have faded due to modernity, it is still popular among the Chinese, especially in bonding the Chinese together as one community. |
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