po pi

Just got back from ama's house, and I'm inspired to tell you about how things work over there during family lunches.

See, before we eat, we have to go over to the corner with our ancestors' pictures and pray for their blessing so that we can eat. Sort of like praying for their go-signal.

In front of our ancestors' pictures are food offerings, things from the meal about to be eaten, like fish and rice, along with candy and cake. My mom says that the ancestors eat the "spirit" of the food, and that nobody's supposed to mess around with their lunch. I somehow get the idea that if you eat any of the ancestor's food, it'll taste like air.

Anyway. So we pray in front of the ancestors. The praying is called "po-pi." Each of us holds two lit joss sticks (there's a particular way of holding them too) during po-pi. The fire on the sticks isn't even as big as a candle's; it's just a burning nub, but Ama (grandmother) has stopped giving us "kids" joss sticks now because she's afraid we'll hurt ourselves. Hahaha. I know, right.

She recites a sort-of memorized prayer (she's said it so much, she's memorized it) and we repeat after her. First we say the names of our ancestors, and as we say them, we look at their pictures on the wall. Then we say our petition. The meaning gets lost in translation, but anyway, here it is in English:

Po pi gua, gaw tua-han, gaw tak che, kuai kuai.

I pray I'll grow up wise, do good in school and be good.

It's the same prayer I've been saying since I was a kid! Seriously. I don't think I need Ama to lead us in the po-pi anymore, but I still want her there anyway because po-pi time just isn't po-pi time without her.

After the prayer, we get down on our knees. The girls hunch over, put their hands together, and move them in a circle going inwards (This is another one of those times I wish I were a better writer). The boys simply bow with their palms facing down. All of us do this twelve times. Then we get up, put our hands together again, and bow once. Then the eating can commence :)

Remember what I said about not eating the ancestors' food? Well, there is one exception: candy. Two big heaping bowls of candy! Before, Ama used to flip a coin or something to ask the ancestors' permission for getting the candy, but now I think she just says it's okay and all of us dig in.

I'm kinda disappointed though. Candy time just isn't candy time without the coin-flipping.