Name of Ritual

Flower bath

Description of Ritual/Practice

• Mourners will wash their faces with water that is infused with pomegranate flower 红花 and sometimes pomelo leaves 柚叶 to cleanse themselves of the bad luck when they leave the crematorium. This is also done after each visit to a wake. Such rituals are also performed outside of funerals, e.g. when visiting cemeteries as part of a religious ritual.

Who practices it? Who conducts the ritual?

Family Members and mourners.

Is it still practiced now?

In the past, Cantonese families will grow red flowers to use in the flower bath. People in mourning are not allowed to touch the plants as the bad luck from the association with death will wilt the plant. Most buy these flowers from the florist now, or they skip the flower bath by visiting a commercial place after attending a wake. This prevents them from bringing the bad luck or any unwanted spirits who were hanging around the wake home with them.

Other interesting notes

• One informant we interviewed shared that some Cantonese also practice the act of stepping over a coal stove as they enter the house. While this is something usually done for people moving into a new space, or for someone released from prison, the intention is the same: to rid one of bad luck and allow for a new start.
• Another informant also shared a memory of witnessing this in practice near Kampung San Theng but it was thought to be performed only if the deceased is a child.