We finally met our next door neighbour today. No, not the guy behind us (although it took us almost 2 years to meet him!), but the lady in the house beside the what-looks-to-be-vacant lot.
Her name is Wang Tai Tai, and we got to meet her as she was hauling her worshipping stuff back into her house tonight. Since yesterday night, there's been an abundance of fireworks, firecrackers, gongs and music. It turns out that today is September 9 in the Lunar Calendar, which happens to be some god's birthday. She told me his name, but of course, it didn't sink in.
I'm guessing he's a pretty important god to people here. Wang Tai Tai said he's a protector - protecting health and crops. Every house in our little village had a folding table set out in front, with glowing red lanterns and several types of food, usually fruits, as offerings. Many houses also had the metal pot flaming with burning paper money.
There's a parade of people, mostly men, going throughout the village. Three or four men a carrying a mini sedan chair on long poles with an idol on the chair. They approach each house individually, sing/chant something, and then the god supposedly starts moving. To me, it looks like a bunch of guys swinging the sedan chair, but I think the belief is that if the god starts moving, then he's pleased and is blessing the family. The parade marched onwards towards the big temple in our village, but we decided not to follow in case we were mistaken for being believers of the religion.
Wang Tai Tai was incredibly friendly and wanted to know if we'd seen anything like this in our country. We told her no, and that we were Christians. She nodded and smiled and when I tried to explain that we had one very powerful God in heaven, she continued to nod and say "yes, yes," politely.
She invited us in, but it was already late and we were really exhausted. I hope we get another chance to talk with her.
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