For years James Au refrained from taking part in a Chinese ancestor veneration ritual held in graveyards during annual Ching Ming festivals because he felt it conflicted with his Christian beliefs.
"I considered myself a Christian, and we don’t bow down to idols. I thought it was religious to have to bow, so I stayed away from it," Au said, referring to the custom of bowing three times before the headstone and making offerings.
Au’s take on the matter changed about a decade ago when he was invited to take part in See Dai Doo Society activities, during which he learned more about Chinese culture and its symbolism and came to realize that the graveside ritual — known as "bai san" in Hawaii — is simply "about paying respects to my ancestors. It’s not like I’m praying to them."
Au, a history teacher at Wahiawa Middle School, is now one of the cultural society’s head coordinators for the Ching Ming celebration, held April 6 this year at Manoa Chinese Cemetery. The springtime festival, which runs from April 5 to May 6, serves as a time for Chinese families to spruce up the grave sites and picnic in the presence of ancestors.
The observances in the cemetery involve much bowing and presenting to the spirits an array of rich food, incense, liquor, tea and flowers. Gold and silver paper symbolizing money are burned as gifts. Often, firecrackers are ignited to ward off evil spirits and cap the celebration.
Au, 45, said he has reconciled Chinese beliefs in filial piety and ancestor worship with somewhat similar Christian practices that involve honoring one’s mother and father. The way he sees it now, by bowing before ancestral graves, one acknowledges they "paved the road for what I have today and for what I will have in my future."
Wesley Fong, vice president of See Dai Doo Society, said its 1,000-plus members share a sense of pride in their roots. All are descendants of immigrants from the See and Dai districts of the city of Zhongshan (within China’s Guangdong province). Fong estimates that about 70 percent of people in Hawaii claiming Chinese descent have ties to Zhongshan, the sister city of Honolulu, and follow Cantonese traditions. There are about 50 other active Chinese societies in the state, he said.
The societies were established in Hawaii during the early 1900s because at that time few immigrants spoke English and found comfort in socializing with people from the same village or clan.
Over the past century, some families have passed down language and cultural traditions. Overall, though, ties to Chinese heritage have faded.
As a typical third-generation Chinese, Fong doesn’t speak Chinese and isn’t a follower of Taoism; he was raised as a Catholic.
"My father used to call me a banana," (a term that can be derisive, referring to being white or Americanized inside and Chinese only in appearance), he said.
"It’s up to this present generation to encourage the next generation to carry on the traditions" and keep their heritage alive by joining cultural societies, Fong said.
Throughout the year, Fong said, See Dai Doo Society offers many family activities for members of all ages. In addition, the society organizes an annual trip to China in May to visit ancestral villages.
Among several schoolchildren at the recent observation at Manoa Chinese Cemetery was Jade Tamanaha, who has participated in eight Ching Ming celebrations.
The granddaughter of Marsha Au-Maxwell, a past president of the society, Jade said she most enjoys the food, especially manapua and whole roasted pig.
Because she has attended an after-school program at Mun Lun Chinese School for about three years, she understands some Chinese words she hears during the ceremony and recognizes the symbols on the headstones. Bowing at ancestors’ graves, Jade said, signifies that "we believe in them and we love them."
