Among other gods

Over the past few decades, the West has promoted the idea that the only truly impartial worldview is secularism, the absence of religion In fact, secularism is now seen as the dominant and only viable perspective in the world, which--in typical Western myopia--ignores about 3.17 billion people in the East who are adherents to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and folk religions (according to Adherents.com). We in the West have little understanding of the role religion plays in the daily lives and worldviews of nearly half of the world's population.

Two weeks ago, I was able to witness an annual event in our apartment community which vividly demonstrated the divide. Our community is located on the outskirts of Xiamen in an area made up of country folk. The story we've been given is that this apartment complex was built on the ruins of a village and housing was given to many of the people to replace the homes they lost. So, the atmosphere of this complex is much more rural than most. There is an open market outside of the front gate, people are generally louder, and religious holidays are observed traditionally (which includes firecrackers--something which is illegal in most of the city).

Last year, I was teaching on this holiday, but Sandy told me all about it and how the smoke from the firecrackers lifted above the 18 story buildings in our complex. So, when I heard the commotion on this particular Saturday morning, I had an idea of what was going on and quickly grabbed my camera and headed downstairs to see the event. What I found in the community square, was a large crowd all engaged in various forms of worship to five idols each in its own litter, and there looked to be two major idols and three minor ones. I tried to figure out who exactly these idols were, but was unsuccessful, making me think they are just a part of local tradition.

One idol and his three consorts

The major idol

  

The adherents were presenting food gifts, burning incense sticks, and burning paper money in honor of these idols. The whole scene was rather chaotic with each individual intent on completing their own observances with little regard to the needs of others. 

Burning paper money

Then, the real show began. While I was milling around, I had noticed people carrying roles of firecrackers which they then unrolled on the lane in front of the square. Now, these are not your typical US firecrackers; these firecrackers are about 3" long and 1/2" thick, packing a bit more of a punch than the ones I am familiar with. It was also not lost on me that there was a small fire truck present and a few fire fighters and that the lane was marked off with hazard tape. All in all, I would guess there were several thousand firecrackers in the road.

Rolls of firecrackers

Then, they lit them. (The video quality isn't the best. I'm still learning how to use my camera. And, don't worry, I had ear plugs in.)

And then it was over and they quickly carried the idols off. As soon as the fire cleared, they cleaned the land and cleared the square. A couple hours later, the only evidence of the ceremony was the burned trees, some ash in the square, and a few remnants of firecrackers.

My biggest takeaway from this whole event was how little I truly understand these people and what motivates them. Yes, I can intellectually wrap my mind around what happened, but I just can't conceive of what it must be like to view life from their perspective. I have a lot to learn.