Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Taphophile Tragics: Qingming

This weekend Mt. View Cemetery hosted Qingming, a traditional Chinese festival where families honor their dead and tend their graves.  Many families were at the cemetery cleaning the grave sites and leaving offerings to the ancestors.
I saw family groups lay out food, light incense, and perform ritual bows and prayers.  While I would have liked to photograph these ceremonies, it would have been too intrusive.  Instead, I offer these as witness to the families' devotions.  For more cemetery wanderings, visit Taphophile Tragics, hosted by Julie at Sydney Eye.
Posted by Oakland Daily Photo at 1:14 AM
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18 comments:

  1. FranciscaApril 3, 2012 at 7:50 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. FranciscaApril 3, 2012 at 7:55 AM

    Well... you beat me to it! I spent 12 hours today following a family to nine separate grave sites for the Qingming tomb sweeping... and I had no qualms merrily clicking away (they are friends and did not care). That will be my post next week, if all things go to plan. But I can tell you now, the tombs look NOTHING like these in your post. :-) (nb. there is no U in Qingming and it is pronounced Chingming.)

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  3. UnknownApril 3, 2012 at 8:38 AM

    Great addition to the Taphophile meme! I've seen signs of past visits, and during a tour we saw a family picnicking near a loved one's grave, but I didn't know about the Qingming festival.

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  4. UnknownApril 3, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    This is just great, what beautiful shots!

    One of my readers, NixBlog, has identified the Mandrake on one of the murals, a plant used in witchcraft. He thinks I might have posted a coven yesterday! :-)

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  5. VioletSkyApril 3, 2012 at 9:17 AM

    Ah, this explains all the food and flowers left at many of the Chinese gravesites I found yesterday when I went out exploring. Thank you!

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  6. DebApril 3, 2012 at 1:18 PM

    Gone but certainly not forgotten as far as these families are concerned. It must be a comfort to them to visit memorials at the same time as other families visit theirs.

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  7. ArtandArchitecture-SF.comApril 3, 2012 at 2:19 PM

    Absolutely fascinating. I am sure it was something to behold. Such a wonderful concept of leaving more than simple flowers. I appreciate your respect in not intruding in the ceremonies, but would have loved to have seen some of the pageant.

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  8. Regina KApril 3, 2012 at 3:59 PM

    Oh I am glad to hear of this group theme photo and interesting to hear about this tradition. Also thank you for the comment on taking the photo before asking. It is just that the security guard was right there.

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  9. BuckApril 3, 2012 at 6:59 PM

    This is a beautiful photo of a beautiful tradition. I never knew about this one.

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  10. SondraApril 3, 2012 at 7:42 PM

    In my family cemetery every year there is a graveyard decorating day. Every grave receives new flowers and the living bring food and have a picnic! I wonder what the oranges are for on the edge of the tombstone?

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  11. Bob CroweApril 3, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    I love the symbolism and poignancy of East Asian peoples who leave food and drink on graves. Now that I think of it, the ancient Egyptians had the same idea. The custom is at its most heart-wrenching, though, in gizu, memorials to deceased Japanese children.

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  12. alexApril 3, 2012 at 8:59 PM

    great capture. reminds me of home.

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  13. DyannaApril 3, 2012 at 9:11 PM

    Thanks for posting this. Great photos. I was interested to learn about this tradition, which also reminds me of Day of the Dead ceremonies.

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  14. JulieApril 4, 2012 at 5:17 AM

    I was at our main cemetery in Sydney, Rookwood, on Sunday, and experienced the same thing. There were rows and rows of picnic tables laid out with such a tempting array of food. The chinese section is the only one with its permanent set of picnic tables arrayed around the extremity of the Chinese area. I did not go among them either. Your photos today, Carolyn, have such amazing colour. They bring joy to a cemetery I feel sure, this gift offerigs.

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  15. HalcyonApril 4, 2012 at 7:24 AM

    I enjoy seeing other cultures' traditions regarding death. This looks really interesting.

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  16. CaTApril 4, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    with photos..
    you see that every now and then. somehow i think its weird to put a picture. which one should you choose? the latest? or when the person looked at his best.. or... ?

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  17. 黄清华 Wong Ching WahApril 5, 2012 at 11:51 PM

    It is our tradition !

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  18. MildredApril 6, 2012 at 4:52 AM

    It is always very interesting to learn about other cultures!
    Thanks for sharing;o)

    ***
    Happy day****

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