Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-2009
Abstract
Since 2002, when Chinese New Year became a national holiday in Indonesia, spirit medium parades on the fifteen day of the New Year (called Cap Go Meh) have been growing in size in certain West Kalimantan towns, especially Singkawang. This parade in particular has become a major tourist draw-card. Referring to local history, Chinese popular religion and Hakka culture, this article applies a performance analysis methodology to dissect this contemporary phenomenon from religious, historical and inter-ethnic perspectives. It shows how the parades have become enmeshed in current inter-ethnic politics in West Kalimantan, as well as revealing the way that adaptations by the spirit-mediums involved demonstrate their spiritual commitment to their Indonesian homeland.
Keywords
Indonesia, Chinese New Year, social customs, rituals, parades, ethnic relations
Discipline
Asian Studies | Race and Ethnicity | Religion
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies
Volume
3
First Page
106
Last Page
142
ISSN
1834-609X
Publisher
Australian National University
Citation
CHAN, Margaret.(2009). Chinese New Year in West Kalimantan: Ritual Theatre and Political Circus. Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, 3, 106-142.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/708
Copyright Owner and License
Margaret CHAN
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://chl.anu.edu.au/publications/csds/csds2009/05_CSDS_2009_CHAN.pdf
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Religion Commons