Today, I had the opportunity to capture groundbreaking customs for the commencement of construction for the Kwu Tung North Multi Welfare Complex. With the start of Yulan/ Hungry Ghost festival this month, the traditional customs were rescheduled to align with the festival. Typically a practice carried out before ground breaking begins for permission from gods and deities of the earth and safety, many international and smaller firms no longer carry out the ritual (possibly due to cost and globalisation). Feng Shui masters often advise on which days are appropriate. En route to the site, the driver recalled various stories of construction failures and uncanny events as a result of not praying.
For the ritual, a temporary shelter would be set up with a table for incense and joss sticks, fruit, red chinese tea cups filled with spirits with chopsticks (symbolising an invitation for deities and spirits to dine), and roast meats (suckling pork, chicken and duck). Depending on the scale of the project and number of people joining the ritual, the amount of food prepared varies. Each individual involved in the project, typically on-site workers and lead architects/ management, takes incense and will kowtow three times towards the spiritual direction as advised by the Feng Shui master before placing the incense in the holder. Joss paper is also burnt as an offering to spirits. Following the ceremony, a chef is present to segment the roast meats and distribute them to participants to eat. The ritual of food transcends the physical world as an act of bringing life-forces together.
