Page 184 - Chinese Woman Living and Working

WOMEN’S WORK AND RITUAL SPACE IN CHINA 171
finger only. At the pit they would chant a formulaic dialogue of question and response,
calling on the Maiden to descend into their basket. After some time, both feel that the
basket has become ‘heavy’. This is taken as a sign that the Maiden has descended into the
basket. They then bear the bamboo basket back to the living room. It is now regarded
symbolically as a sedan chair, used to carry statues of deities from temples or the bride to
her new home.
Having ‘descended’ into the basket, the Maiden is now called on to display her power.
A headband worn by women is placed around the rim of the basket, which is now inverted
over the tabletop on which bran is scattered. A chopstick or hairpin is inserted through
both basket and headband, with the pointed end hanging down loosely. The two girls hold
the basket with two fingers over the table and the pointer then moves ‘on its own’ over
the rice bran and is seen to sketch patterns or write characters in response to questions
put by the devotees. A third woman interprets the ‘sketching’ of the deity. It is not
necessary to be literate to interpret the ‘writing’ of the Maiden. Most of the questions put
to the deity concern personal matters, especially who will be their future husband,
whether their married life will be happy and their future children. When the deity is
deemed to be ‘tired’, she is taken back to the lavatory pit as before. 14
The Maiden of the Lavatory was only one of many female household deities venerated
by women in this area before 1949. On the fifteenth day of New Year, rituals were also
carried out to the Door Corner Maiden (menjiao), the Firewood Storage Maiden (chaicang)
and Wall Corner Maiden (bijiao). The Maidens were said to be everywhere in the
dwelling; however, the Lavatory Goddess was regarded as the most efficacious. She is
attributed with every kind of magical power, exceptional wisdom, a kind heart, and a
willingness to help others. Invoking the maidens brings protection of the family from
pestilence and disaster. The young female spirits are called Maidens (guniang) rather than
deities (shen) or Buddhas (pusas) to indicate the intimacy of their relationship with the
young practitioners. Some of those interviewed also spoke of how village youths would
come and disrupt their ceremony by throwing tiles and bricks into the pit, splashing manure
over their clothing. It was noted that the Lavatory Goddess would not make an
appearance while these hooligan antics were going on and the woman would be forced to
call down another deity instead (Chen 2001).
This little-known cult of the Lavatory Goddess shows how even very humble activities,
such as the removal of human waste, were infused with ritual significance in traditional
village settings. The cult reflected issues of extreme concern to these young girls and
allowed them to seek the blessings of a deified model of themselves. In a society that set
taboos on the discussion of male—female relations, there was nowhere for a young
woman to go to spill out her hopes and fears and seek consolation except amongst young
girls in the same predicament. The success of the ritual relied on the degree of solidarity
felt by the participants and expressed their common anxieties. Unlike the bridal lament,
which was enacted before the whole family, the cult to the Maiden of the Lavatory Pit was
performed by and for young women and involved their most intimate and personal
questions.