Macau: A Cultural Janus

4 The Rendezvous of a Virgin Trio

The Rendezvous of a Virgin Trio Religious Culture in Macau If cultur e i s understoo d a s th e ensembl e o f variou s 'approved ' values , beliefs, ethni c myths , memories , an d behaviouria l guidelines , religio n i s certainly on e dimensio n o f culture. In definin g religio n a s a cultural system , Clifford Geert z writes : It [culture] denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symboli c form s b y mean s o f whic h me n communicate , perpetuate, an d develo p thei r knowledg e abou t an d attitude s toward life . (Geertz , 1973 : 89) Geertz i s o f th e opinio n tha t huma n behaviou r an d experienc e ar e guide d by system s o f significan t symbols , an d cultur e i s th e ver y symboli c dimensions o f socia l action . Moreover , religiou s symbols , ethni c myths , and memorie s ar e crucia l fo r th e continuin g hol d o f nationa l cultures . I n this respect , Anthon y D . Smit h argue s tha t ethnicit y i s largel y mythi c an d symbolic i n character . Myth s an d symbol s ar e see n a s cultura l attribute s which inspir e an d sustai n collectiv e experience s o f a sens e o f dignity , solidarity, an d identit y fo r huma n populations ; henc e th e 'myth-symbol ' complex i s vita l i n socia l an d cultura l processe s (Smith , 1986 : 13-31) . Religious cultur e play s a n importan t rol e fo r th e tas k o f influenc e an d surveillance throug h th e spiritua l stres s o f th e ide a o f ultimacy . Religion , as Christia n Jochi m recapitulates , 'ha s bee n defined , fo r example , a s a "belief i n ultimat e reality" , a "stat e o f ultimat e concern" , a "mean s o f ultimate transformation" , an d a "se t o f symboli c form s an d act s tha t relates u s t o th e ultimat e condition s o f existence"'(Jochim , 1986 : 4) . I n this vein , religio n i s a spiritua l terrai n i n whic h th e ques t fo r th e meanin g 4 82 MACAU: A CULTURAL JANUS of lif e lies . I t als o represent s a secula r powe r designe d t o 'colonize ' an d civilize huma n population s throug h th e belie f systems . Although Maca u i s bestowe d wit h a sanctifie d nam e — 'Cit y o f th e Name o f God' , it is not a one-sided 'facade ' embracin g only Judeo-Christian religious practices . Rather , i t i s a n aren a wher e a whol e assortmen t o f multitudinous Chines e religiou s deitie s flourishes. 1 I t i s a two-face d sit e exemplifying a Janus scenario , whic h i s specifi c t o Macau' s socia l fabri c and cultura l matrice s du e t o Portugues e administration . Macau ha s miraculousl y survive d th e Chines e contemporar y stat e hostility toward s popula r religio n an d feuda l superstition s i n differen t historical periods , an d wa s unscathe d i n religiou s assaults . Formidabl e hostility t o religio n wa s firs t fe d b y intellectua l anti-traditionalis m tha t was associate d wit h th e May Fourt h Movemen t (1919 ) i n the 'new ' China , followed b y th e Nationalists ' Superstitio n Destructio n Movemen t (1928 1929 ). Afte r th e Communis t take-ove r i n 1949 , iconoclasti c nationalis m and Marxism-Leninis m becam e a stat e ideology . Durin g th e traumati c Cultural Revolutio n (1966-1976) , a ferocious anti-traditionalis t onslaugh t on religiou s belief s an d practice s wa s carrie d ou t wit h unprecedente d intensity. Thi s involve d th e destructio n o...