KILLING A PIG pt 2

the pig and the goat, in all their dolled up prettiness.

This part deals with what happened after the pig was killed. Here, we are preparing the pig for sending up to heaven for Buddha by dressing it in red cloth.

Grandma teaches me how to make these little sesame balls, also part of the offering to Buddha

Grandma woke up at 3AM to prepare the offering to Buddha. I woke up at 4:30AM in the frigid cold, put on my parka and started to creep downstairs when my aunt said to me, "wash your face and brush your hair to worship buddha," so I did, with the icy tap water, and when I went downstairs this is what I saw. A table with bowls of food and incense holder, a pig, a goat, and a paper tower with paper silver nuggets. My grandma chanted, holding pages of folded 'scriptures' while other people hit instruments. I was handed some incense-three sticks

we walked around the offerings in a circle, holding the paper money offerings (silver nuggets, big tower thing) while chanting, then placed it all in a metal bowl and burned it, so that it would reach Buddha up in heaven

while we waiting for the 'money' to finish burning, we set off firecrackers and fireworks...to wake up the gods (?) or maybe our neighbors

the money burning, the goat and the pig

dawn was breaking. there was more light. i took a photo.

That night, there was a big dinner celebrating the pig killing. pig insides were cooked--liver and green peppers, instestines and celery, pig blood soup, etc--and served at the dinner. the pig meat was chopped up, some of it salted to make into the region's famous smoked ham, and some of it gifted to family and friends.