A New Perspective on Rituals
This was my second intervention, a continuation of my initial attempt at documenting traditional rituals. I was inspired by Audrey Linkman’s book, Photography and Death, which discusses photographs of the deceased. What was once seen as inappropriate or macabre is now recognized for its beneficial role in bereavement therapy. The book highlights the beauty and significance of these images, which were once dismissed as unsettling or grotesque. This made me realize that the act of recording goes far beyond simply capturing a moment—the process and the subject of the recording are what truly hold value.
For most families, it wouldn’t occur to them to record a ritual like a memorial or a funeral. From a practical point of view, it might seem unnecessary to preserve these moments. On top of that, from a superstitious angle, filming a ritual during the Ghost Festival—even if it’s for a deceased family member—could be considered taboo. Older generations might feel it’s disrespectful to the spirits and could even attract attention from evil ghosts.
Before going ahead with this intervention, I started to talk to my family about my idea of filming the entire ritual during the Ghost Festival. I carefully explained my reasoning: since the ritual wasn’t taking place at the cemetery, the usual superstitions about location didn’t really apply. Plus, I argued that my late grandfather would likely not mind us documenting this moment. Eventually, My family agreed to let me film and even participate in front of the camera.
So, on a rainy afternoon, my grandmother, my mother, my brother, and I all went together to the courtyard of our old house to burn paper offerings and pay our respects.
Ritual Process
My grandmother usually buys the offerings ahead of time—paper money, spirit currency, and candles, which are also called funeral supplies.
We find a spot with soil, preferably against a wall, in our community for the ritual. Since we’ll be using flames and don’t want to be disturbed, we pick a quiet spot where few people pass by.
First, we light the candles—three incense sticks in the middle and two red candles on the sides. Lighting them is like opening a gateway to the spirit world, allowing us to connect with my late grandfather.
Next, we use cornstarch to draw a circle on the ground in front of the candles. We’ll burn the paper money within this circle so that the deceased can receive it in the spirit world. We do this every year, so by now, my grandfather must be pretty wealthy.
It’s really about expressing our love and blessings. Sometimes, we also say a few words to ask for his protection over the family. It’s all about keeping a spiritual connection.
Now, it’s time to start burning the paper money, sending it to my grandfather. Here, I’m laughing and amazed at how similar the spirit currency looks to U.S. dollars—take about international currency! Hope my grandfather can make good use of his foreign exchange.
As the paper burns, my grandmother likes to chat about neighborhood gossip and share family stories.
As we talk, there’s a moment of sadness when she mentions a dream she had about my grandfather. She said she saw him in a dream just a few days ago, but couldn’t see his face clearly. She remembers he was wearing a nice suit, appeared for a moment, and then was gone. That’s probably a sign that he’s received all the money.
Here, my mom is teaching me how to keep the fire burning strong while burning the paper money, and I’m trying to do it just right.
Everyone except my grandma holds three incense sticks, and bows three times, which is our way of Expressing Our Thoughts.
We continue burning the paper, chatting until it’s all turned to ash and the fire has completely gone out. Only then do we clean up everything.
Family’s feedback and reaction
After the recording was finished, we asked everyone how they felt about this documented ritual. They shared that having me there with the camera, capturing even the small moments—like what we talked about during the ritual—made this year’s ceremony feel special. It gave us a different emotional experience. My brother mentioned that usually, burning the offerings is the same old routine, but today, holding the camera, our grandmother had more to say to our grandfather, and the whole process felt more thoughtful.