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: Foo, Melvin Bok Yee
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/3/Melvin%20Foo.pdf
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spelling my-unimas-ir.364352023-06-12T07:54:55Z Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang 2021-10-13 Foo, Melvin Bok Yee H Social Sciences (General) 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. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2021-10 Thesis http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/3/Melvin%20Foo.pdf text en validuser masters Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
collection UNIMAS Institutional Repository
language English
topic H Social Sciences (General)
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
Foo, Melvin Bok Yee
Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
description 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.
format Thesis
qualification_level Master's degree
author Foo, Melvin Bok Yee
author_facet Foo, Melvin Bok Yee
author_sort Foo, Melvin Bok Yee
title Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
title_short Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
title_full Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
title_fullStr Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
title_full_unstemmed Believe It or Not: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang
title_sort believe it or not: the practice of spirit mediumship among the chinese in kuantan, pahang
granting_institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
granting_department Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
publishDate 2021
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36435/3/Melvin%20Foo.pdf
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