Voices from the Underworld: Chinese Hell Deity Worship in Contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

(Hardback)

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Embracing an ontological approach to religious phenomena, this study traces the origins and development of Chinese Hell deity worship now prevalent in Singapore and Malaysia. Written for academics and the interested public, it challenges a priori assumptions vis-a-vis the diversity of present-day Chinese religious beliefs and ritual practices. -- .

Reviews

'Voices from the Underworld adds significantly to our understanding of this problem with a fascinating study of a completely new variant: the recent rise of Underworld deity temples among Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. [...] The ethnography in these sections is notable for its richness of description as well as its documentation of a new development in Chinese vernacular religion. Most remarkable of all are the authors direct interviews with possessing Underworld deities, during which they discuss topics from their preferences in alcohol to the administrative structure of the Underworld and the nature of the soul.'
Robert P. Weller, Journal of Contemporary Religion

Voices from the Underworld is an engaging ethnography that is suitable for undergraduate classroom teaching to students of religious studies and anthropology. The fine details captured in the well-structured and narrated field notes reflect the meticulous job that Graham has done, in two historically related yet culturally diversified sites of study. This book is a good resource for understanding contemporary religious trends in Singapore and Malaysia, and a useful reference for comparative religious studies in Asia.
Review of Religion and Chinese Society

'Graham makes a convincing case that hell deity worship has grown in scale and taken new forms in the period that he seeks to document. Through ethnographic research that is both intensive and extensive,
he demonstrates that veneration of the Underworld gods and the Ten Courts of Hell is an important part of contemporary vernacular religious practice. The book is filled with detailed reports on his ethnographic interviews and observations that testify to the inventiveness and imagination of the practitioners of Chinese
popular religion, and the Underworld merits a book-length study of this sort.'
China Review International

Author Bio

Fabian Graham is a Research Fellow in the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore