Ancestor Shrine

So, I made one. Made one what, you say? Well, in this post I alluded to making an ancestor shrine (also known as a butsudan, or kamidana, however these terms are what the Japanese use to refer to the shrines; I'm not sure of the Chinese terminology). I actually made it a while back for Chinese New Year earlier in February. I brought my mom down with me to Chinatown to spot out all the things that we would need: statues of Fu Lu Shou, paper money, and incense. After going to every store in Chinatown, we managed to find everything we needed for the shrine and for dinner. The porcelain statues of Fu Lu Shou are incredibly expensive, but we managed to get a decently priced set. Anyway, we went home and I found some old pictures of my deceased relatives and put them in a frame. Here's a photo of what it looks like:

The photo on the left is of my bak-gung who was the first to come to Canada. The photos on the left are of his wife, my gung-gung and my other bok-bok. The cups are offerings of water, and the red wrappers are lucky candy to ring in the New Year. There was also offerings of oranges and pomelo on the mantle. Before placing the incense on the shrine, you light it, hold it between your hands which are pressed palm-to-palm and bow three times. The ancestors were offered their dinner before everyone else, and special settings were laid out for them. Next, paper money was burned so that the ancestors will be prosperous in the afterlife. Because they were fed and taken care of, it is expected that their spirits will watch over us.

The experience was pretty special to me because I live very far away from most of my family. As a child, I spent every single summer for a number of years in Toronto with my cousins (I have a modest 15), aunts, uncles and grandparents. My cousins are like my brothers and sisters, my aunts and uncles like secondary parents, and grandparents are always very special. Being older, things change and it's hard to get out there to see them; everyone is older and has a busy life, but we try to see each other nonetheless. Putting together this shrine made me feel more connected to my family back in Toronto, knowing that my por-por is doing the same ritual for the same reasons as us. Not only did this make me feel a little bit more connected to my Chinese roots, it also made me realize how important it is for many people to do these things. How important it is for people to have the statues, the pictures, the incense and the offerings. How material expression can change over time or context, yet still play the same basic role. It's not because these things are nice things to have, it's because they have meaning and can evoke a sense of social or spiritual connectiveness to a group (like kin). And even though I cannot visit my grandfather's, or great-grandparents' graves, we have our way to always remember and pay respects to those who take care of us.