Chinese pin hopes for good luck on `peh cun'

Chinese pin hopes for good luck on `peh cun'

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Banten

It was close to midnight on Tuesday. Hundreds of Buddhists of all
ages were massed at the Vihara Nimmala, part of the large
Buddhist Temple, Boen San Bio, on Jl. Pasar Baru.

They had all flocked to the Vihara with the same wish:
prosperity and happiness after taking part in a Chinese
traditional ceremony called peh cun.

The peak of the ceremony is the ceremonial bathing of the
figurehead prows of two dragon canoes to commemorate the death of
Chu Yuan, a statesman from Chu who lived between 343 BC and 339
BC. Chu Yuan is remembered as a patriotic leader well loved by
the people.

Sukyatno Nugroho, a spokesman for the Vihara Nimmala, said
that peh cun was celebrated at 10 p.m., on the fifth day of the
fifth month of the Chinese lunar year.

"The peh cun ceremony used to take place on the banks of the
Cisadane river (which runs through Tangerang), but we moved it
here into the temple complex after the canoes were broken. We
only managed to save their prows," he said.

The two dragon figureheads were placed on a verandah in the
garden at the rear of the Temple. The grand Vihara Nimmala has
gained entry to the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) for its
unique designs.

The ceremony was led by a number of locu (Buddhist priests).
After an elaborate prayer, and as the clock stroke 10 p.m., five
priests began bathing the dragons' heads with water suffused with
perfume and flower petals. Over 600 handkerchiefs and small
towels were prepared.

Members of the congregation anxiously waited for the priests
to throw the handkerchiefs and towels used to dry the dragons'
heads at them. They believe these will bring them luck.

After the priests had finished bathing the figureheads, the
congregation members rushed forward to collect the remaining
water in plastic bags that the organizing committee had prepared.
This holy water is also believed to bring luck.

"My wish is for a husband and security," said Rita
Puspitasari, 19, an attendant who managed to get hold of some
water and a towel.

Shinta, 23, who works in a Pasar Paru dispensary, had similar
wishes: good health, security and the man of her dream.

Tjin Tjoeng Tjen, 52, a mother of three children from West
Jakarta, is among those who attend the ceremony every year hoping
for good luck.

"We belief in the many spiritual benefits of this ceremony,"
she said.

Chinese traditional meals were served during the ceremony. The
most peculiar are kwicang and bacang, which are both served in
big cones and consist mainly of rice and meat. Fruit is also
distributed.

"These were the foods that the Chinese dropped into the
river to distract the fish and stop them eating Chu Yuan's body,"
said Indadata, alias Lim Kiat Beng, one of the five priests.

According to Trisno Budijanto, chairman of the foundation
managing the temple, Cho Yuan was a poet, a statesman and a
great warrior. He was born in Chu, a kingdom in old China. When
he became a minister, he was slandered and was exiled by the king
to the northern side of the Han river for 30 years. And when he
was 50 years old, he was again exiled to the southern side of the
Yangtze river so that he could do nothing to help when the
kingdom fell into chaos.

Cho Yuan, however, did not stand idly by and watch the kingdom
being ruined. Instead, he committed suicide by jumping into the
Milo river near Tungting lake. News of his suicide shocked the
people.

Rowing dragon canoes, the people then took to the river in
their thousands to look for his body, but to no avail.

Peh cun is celebrated every year by people of Chinese descent
all around the world.