Submitted by: Submitted by ochacha
Views: 173
Words: 2659
Pages: 11
Category: Societal Issues
Date Submitted: 10/02/2013 08:21 PM
Since ancient times, religion has played a huge part in the human race. Till present day, religion has manifested itself to fulfil and satisfy the needs of man. There over 40 different types of religions of today excluding the different denominations but in essences, religions are classified into two main categories: eastern and western.
With the flourishing of science and the idea of the big bang theory, what role does religion of the 21st century play? Scholars have disputed the definition of religion and tried to find reason why humans rely on it. There had been explanations that religion has taken on various roles to give reason for the unexplainable situations; for whatever we do not understand, we seek answers from a higher being. Religion also provides emotional and psychological support to humans but with every religion there are its rites, rituals and practices.
Shamanism or mediumship has had a long history in both eastern and western cultures (Steward, 2001). There are a few different types of mediumship, namely mental, trance and physical. Mediumship is a process where a human acts as a vessel, channel or medium by spirits for communication with people in the earth realm (First Spiritual Temple, 2001). The objectives of communications vary. In western cultures, people tend to seek mediums to speak with a loved one who had passed on. In Eastern cultures, mediums are usually sought after for guidance from deities (Kiong, 2002 - 2004).
In this paper, my focus would be on Chinese mediums in Singapore or commonly known as tangki. For many centuries, the people in China have worshipped artifacts of nature; the sun, moon, stars, trees and popular beliefs then depended on tangkis who could communicate with ghosts or spirits on behalf of men (Chew, 2009). The mediums claim authority from the founder of Daoism, Laozi, to forgive faults and sins, to heal and to exorcise any evil spirits. This activity together with sacrificial rituals which was rampant...