Ritual Labour and Maintenance of Tradition in a Village Temple: An Occupational Folklore Approach to Chinese Religion

This paper is a study of ritual and profession at a temple in a demolished village in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, South China. The study focuses on two ritual service providers (RSPs) who 1) offer services within fortune-telling, divination and feng shui (geomancy) and 2) serve as intermediaries between worshippers and the deities from Daoism and folk religion who are enshrined in the temple. We take an occupational folklore approach to ask how these RSPs’ work, lives and religious practices have been affected by the massive social, economic, political and spatial changes that China has undergone over the past five decades. Bearing in mind the various roles accorded to money, the economy and the market in studies of Chinese religion, we use semi-structured interviews and participant observation to understand the RSPs’ own perceptions of and practices within their profession. We conclude that the RSPs’ professional status is important for continuity of ritual culture and religious life.