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| Dear John by M.O.V.E Theatre |
Post the devastation of Typhoon Soudlor the Taipei street clean up
happened rapidly and efficiently, although there are now strange ‘gaps’ where once
certain trees stood or branches used to be. Following on the theme of ‘now you
see me now you don’t’, my research and reflection on all things ‘ghostly’
continues…
Here is Taiwan, and throughout much of Asia, ‘hauntings’, it seems, are an inevitable part of existence. That shadowy world where all that is unresolved from life, its histories, stories, and conflicts dwell…Taking that further, all we won’t and don’t deal with, be it people, politics, place…or the past (make that skeletons various). For the superstitious, ‘they’ are merely waiting to reach out and grab us if we are caught out unawares, and 'they' must be appeased…but perhaps ‘they’ have us in their grip in ways we can only begin to imagine…but more on Ghost’s later…
Here is Taiwan, and throughout much of Asia, ‘hauntings’, it seems, are an inevitable part of existence. That shadowy world where all that is unresolved from life, its histories, stories, and conflicts dwell…Taking that further, all we won’t and don’t deal with, be it people, politics, place…or the past (make that skeletons various). For the superstitious, ‘they’ are merely waiting to reach out and grab us if we are caught out unawares, and 'they' must be appeased…but perhaps ‘they’ have us in their grip in ways we can only begin to imagine…but more on Ghost’s later…
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| The clean up! |
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| Yen-Yi Lee |
This will be the culmination of my residency project that I have been researching and developing around stories, mythologies and more broadly the theme of Ghosts, exploring the concept of absence/presence and ‘haunted’ histories. I am also excited to be making a short radio documentary for ABC Radio who have commissioned sound artist Hsu Yen-ting (Asialink resident Fremantle Arts Centre) and myself to make a short feature currently titled: Hungry Ghost Month in Taiwan: Taiwanese Ghosts and modern day hauntings for their Earshot program. I will be posting more about the making of this soon.Recent weeks have been very much about research and exploring practice and methodology in addition to experiencing the diverse development processes of others. I have run 3 workshops under the title PhysicalNarratives:Exploring contemporary dance/theatre creation & practice. This has proved a great introduction enabling me to share with local performers, performance makers and directors, and we will continue working together exploring and developing The Ghost Project over the coming weeks. (see side page for more workshop pix)
I enjoyed sitting in with local Taiwanese Contemporary dance theatre company Horse who were running a sound based movement workshop here at TAV with sound designer/composer Yannick Dauby. I also went out to Taiwan University of Arts to see an open Rehearsal of M.O.V.E Theatre’s Dear John, a remount of a work that will be coming to the OZ Asia Festival later this year. This interdisciplinary work is an inventive, subtle, and entrancing encounter of the senses. Inspired by the music of composer John Cage and utilising new (and ‘old’) technologies the team generate sound, light and movement in this interactive performance installation. The audience freely move and engage with the various elements of this playful sound lab that seamlessly incorporates original live mainly percussive instrumentation, abstract movement and shadow play amongst its inventive features. A magical experience and one of the most interesting and stimulating performances I have attended to date here in Taipei.
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| TAV & THV Resident Artists X-Change |
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| eteam Artist talk |
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| Xingtian Temple |
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| Lin An Tai House |
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| Beitou Hot Spring (and me) |
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| Taipa, Macau - Casino world, a city of contrasts |
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| Town Square, Old Macau |
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| Ruins of St. Paul, Macau |
And meanwhile Hungry Ghost Month has begun…..
With roots in Buddhism, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a time of honouring
ancestors and appeasing the ’hungry’ ghosts or malevolent spirits (also called ‘Good
Brethren’) that wander in the world of the living when the ‘Gates of Hell’ are
opened once a year. Religion and belief in Taiwan is a mix of Buddhism, Taoism
and Chinese folklore, and the Taiwanese are considered a particularly
superstitious people. "87% of office workers said to believe in Ghosts." (China Post) Significantly this honouring of the ‘hungry ‘ ghost it is based
on a widespread belief throughout Asia that a person’s spirit continues to
exist after the death of the physical body, and that they are capable of
affecting the lives of the living for either ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
So what’s a Hungry ghost?
The hungry ghosts are ancestors not given a proper funeral or burial, or who
have no family to maintain ancestor veneration/worship ie: make offerings to
them on a regular basis. They may have died a violent or ‘unhappy’ death. Suicide,
accident or drowning…interestingly, they may also be ‘unmarried women’, who are
viewed as particularly ‘troublesome spirits’ who tend to exist in this limbo
land as they are unattached and unable to be looked after by family. If a ghost
is ‘unhappy’ in the afterlife it is believed that they have the ability to
influence the lives of the living by bringing them bad luck.
These Gates of Hell are opened once a year during the Hungry
Ghost Month and all the lost and hungry ghosts of hell are free to roam the
living world. To appease these lost souls and to prevent them from causing the
living harm or injury (or dragging them back into the underworld), people put
food out for the ghosts to enjoy. Elaborate ceremonies and rituals are also
performed to please the ghosts. They are often called ‘hungry’ ghosts as they
cannot swallow. Ghosts are said to be recognised by their dishevelled hair,
hem-less garments, lack of a shadow or footprint, a red glow,
short-sightedness, fiery lips and mouth. (Not hard to miss!)
This year
‘Ghost Month’ in Taiwan will run from August 14 to September 12 with key
activities around 27 – 30 August. Here’s a extensive list of some of the many taboos
I have discovered around Ghost Month.
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| Offering table & burning of paper money outside local boutique |
10 or more things to avoid in Ghost Month
1. Start a relationship, get engaged or married. (all will end badly!)
2. Do not celebrate a birthday, a funeral or have a baby or undergo any form of surgery. (hmmm could be challenging)
3. Do not start a business, move or buy a house or car, travel and yes…this has an actual downturn effect on the local economy.
4. Do not swim…ghosts live/hide out in water.
5. Do not leave wet clothes hanging outside overnight. (Ghosts are known to hop inside of the clothes)
6. Do not sleep with dishevelled (messy) hair (as you may be mistaken as one of them)
7. Avoid saying the word ‘ghost’…do not say out loud where you live, sing or whistle, or play a tin whistle or stay out after dark …(all could attract unwanted attention)
8. Don’t wear red (it attracts ghosts) or black (ghost’s will think you are one of them and they are attracted to these colours)
9. Don’t step on or pick up offerings, or anything you see on the ground…especially money (they may have put it there to catch you) and keep away from walls and also trees as ghosts ‘stick’ to them.
10. Don’t spit, stare at a fire, or open an umbrella at night! And don’t turn around when someone taps you on the shoulder.
Do:
* Burn ritual joss paper money ‘hell bank notes’ and ‘goods’ (usually paper mache copies of cars, houses etc.) to ‘please’ the ghosts. Burning is how items are sent to the spirit world.
* Hold a feast on the 14th day of the 7 lunar month and light lanterns to show the ghosts the way back to Hades/hell/the 'other' place.
* Give a special and often colourful live performance (opera etc) and keep a front row of seats empty so the ghosts have somewhere to sit.
* Maintain place settings at your dinner table for those who might want to come and eat with you.
Now on Ghost Brides, Ghost weddings…and more, you will need to read my next posting….
Undertaking a residency is a rich and wonderful experience on so many levels…but it wouldn’t be worth it if it didn’t have its various challenges too…
When I finish this letter I will go
back in the studio and wonder yet again:
What on earth am I doing?
Fortunately one step leads to another, but
they are not like words in a
sentence making sense.
(Geoffrey
De Groen - painter)
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| TAV Workshop participant |
