Coco and Koko Crunch

"Apa ni......why you cooked all grandma's favourite food?" i asked my mum. 

My mum since 5am battling pots and pans cooking all the dishes ( which can be found in our CNY eve table ) 3 - 4 days before Chinese New Year, then will do this process again when Hungry Ghost Festival is around the corner.

"kita ni mo celebrate Chu Sian" mum replied.

"Chu Sian?" my head is spinning to find what is the meaning of Chu Sian, that time there is no Google Translate and whatever dictionary able to help you. 

( Chu Sian  is a Hokkien term = prayers to the ancestors - we always do this in Qing Ming Festival, death anniversary of our loved ones )

Lets jump to Coco - a beautiful animated film by Pixar where we can see the plot is placed in Mexico and yes the Día de Muertos. Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. 

Día de Muertos. focus on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.

I found myself relating to Miguel. Pixar's latest film is so beautiful, telling instead ( preaching ) about a story about the importance of having a family - connecting and reconnecting to your ancestors ( lineage ),family history and yes reviewing back all your selfish individual desires.

Back in early 2000 - When i was in uni, i myself admitted that i cant connect myself to the Chinese Hokkien tradition, customs and rituals coz i cant find any significance, meaning and most importantly the REASON why we need to do it. The peranakans who cant speak any single Chinese will be dubbed as OCBC ( orang Cina bukan Cina )

All my siblings are English educated and no doubt, i myself are confused, questioned all the Chinese Taoist rituals and ceremonies. It took me years and years to get an explanation.  A book of dummies.

My argument is simple - We simply need to understand of what we are doing, if not - Dont do it. Forget it. But as usual, Asian families dont practice or take some time to explain. Its very dictatorial, its either MY WAY or MY WAY. Alot of people stop questioning and simply DO, which is WRONG!!!

now we have wikipedia and smart phones, we just need to find, click and read - yet people still lazy mcm nak mampus.

Qingming_Festival

the-hungry-ghost-festival.html

Hungry Ghost_Festival

Talking about prayers : We tend to pray or kneel look to the sky asking for miracles when shit going to happen or worst SHIT HAPPENED.

Normal right?

So back in Coco - we have a scene where all the dead lining up going through the customs, we can see officers scanning their faces - see if their family members put their photos in the altar table, then only they can go back and visit their loved ones.

My brain clicked and recalled that is why my mum cooked all our departed love ones favorite meal and why in any Chinese community hall, we can see faces of those departed ones.

and when Hector slowly dying in the land of the dead, he simply will vanish as the only one who remembers him ( his daughter MAMA COCO ) will forget him. That scene is so powerful and beautifully presented at the same time.

Hector

my late awesome dad!!

Pixar really knows how to trigger and push the buttons in us.

If we dont know our tradition and culture, soon everything will cease, dissipated to thin air just like i how viewed kebaya - now immortalized behind a glass cabinet in the museum.

me with my late grandma, yes i am cute ok!!

immortalized, frozen in time for posterity and yes DEAD - pemuziuman budaya 

Let me close this with line written by late Ismail Zain article entitled Siti Nurbaya. Siti Nurbaya tiada lagi..pupus bersama-sama gajah mastodon,burung kondor dan pelbagai dinasor, Dia anak kandung alam, bebas dari segala bahan penaik, keseluhuran Siti Nurbaya adalah ORIGINAL.Hanya memorinya sahaja yang tinggal dalam kelisanan atau orality.

Like how Metallica sang in Memory remains 

Ash to ash
Dust to dust
Fade to black...
But the memory remains, yeah

To this faded prima donna yeah, yeah, yeah, hey

In his brilliant article, Siti Nurbaya is a metaphor to tradition, culture and anything that can be associated with history. All of this should be re-lived, practiced not stored away like muzium artefact. 

TQ Coco.