Of Red Pandas, Burials and Buffer Zones
For the past few weeks, my young son has been demanding to watch “Red Panda” or the 2022 Disney Pixar animated film called “Turning Red” about a young Asian-Canadian girl and her mother who take care of their family’s temple dedicated to their maternal ancestor whose totem is the red panda. One of the sub-plots of the children’s animation is that of a heartwarming, albeit Disnified, depiction of ancestral worship but its representation in mainstream popular culture means that it is becoming increasingly visible in representing cultural diversity in film. Many cultures all over the world use altars, temples and other sacred spaces, as well as events, performances and other intangible elements to honour the dead or to call on the ancestors for guidance. Ancestral worship is tied to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Jongmyo Shrine in Korea and and the Royal Court of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso. Regionally, you will see lit candles in the graveyards of largely Catholic cemeteries to hon...