Villain Hitting, or "Da Siu Yan(打小人)" in Cantonese is a folk sorcery originating from Guangdong area of China. Its purpose is to curse one’s enemies with incantations. This article discusses several reasons behind its increasing popular among people in Hong Kong.
Xiaonan Chen
Hong Kong
Surrounded by foreign tourists and the smell of incense under the Ngo Keng flyover between Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, a middle-aged woman was hitting a white paper violently with a shoe while murmuring incantations in a rhythm. In front of her was sitting a 20-something man, who wore black uniform and looked like a junior employee.
This scene is not unfamiliar to Hong Kong residents. It has become a symbol. This is known as "Villain Hitting", or "Da Siu Yan(打小人)" in Cantonese. It is a folk sorcery popular in the Guangdong area of China and Hong Kong. Its purpose is to curse one's enemies with incantations. Clients put the name, date of birth or photos of a specific villain on the villain paper, then a varieties of symbolic objects such as the shoe of clients or incense sticks are used to hit the paper. Under the flyover, the place passes over a three-way junction, making it the ideal "feng shui" spot for dispelling evil.
Wong gat lai, 48, one of the hitters of this area, has been performing this ritual for nearly 20 years. "I'm not a local. I'm from Guangdong province." she said, "Man rarely engaged in, but all my other families live on this, including my grandmother, mother, and aunties." Not far away from Wong's "shrine", there scatter other four women villain hitters, who are all older than Wong. They compose the whole market of this ritual, or business. "I take 50 HK dollars (6.45 US dollars) from a client, while some give me 100 HK dollars. Usually I have 10 to 20 clients a day." Wong said.
The complete process of a villain hitting lasts around 10-15 minutes and consists of at least eight parts, from writing a villain paper to sacrifice to a paper tiger with pork fat. The sequence of the ritual, however, is not unique. Each villain hitters performs her own practicing.
"They learned it all by themselves." Wong said. She believed that her practicing was different. "I inherited skills from my ancestries. Not like them, we worship 'Guan Yin Pu Sa'(the Goddness of Mercy in Chinese tradition). I don't take up space in middle of the road as they do, because Guan Yin won't allow us to do this." she said.
However, every hitter has the same belief as Wong does---their own practicing is the most distinctive and efficacious one. "Everyone learns it their own way." another hitter, whose surname is Leung, confirmed what Wong said. When asked whether it was a scam, Leung declined to comment with a smile. In a published article of a local newspaper, it was reported that Leung made a living collecting cardboard in the past. But now she was one of the most popular hitters in that area. Behind her "shrine", there was a board showing that she had got a "hitter" license from government and took interviews from a local TV station.
"As long as it is efficacious to those seeking comfort, it is attractive. Nobody cares about other problems." Leung said. The most popular day for villain hitting is Jingzhe(驚蟄), the 3rd of the 24 solar terms in traditional Chinese calendars. The name of Jingzhe means hibernating insects start to awake, so do villains. It is thus deemed as the best time to dispel enemies. "On that day, I keep hitting villains from 7 a.m. till night. I get almost 80 clients a day." Wong said.
Villain hitting is becoming more and more popular, while other traditional rituals like Tin Hau worship is declining. To clients, the comfort role of hitting a villain is much like worshiping a god or a goddess in a temple, but they get one-on-one instructions here. The private consulting builds up trust between the two parts. In the ten-minute meeting, they act like partners who have the same enemies. The ritual just strengthens the feeling.
Ms. Lee, 42, runs a restaurant herself and comes to hit general villains every year. "Doing business brings me a lot invisible competitors. They are all villains to me." Lee said. She has been coming here for 5 years since she started her restaurant. "Once I start, I can's stop, otherwise I feel quite uncomfortable." she said. Ms. Lee is a typical client of Wong. "Many are running business. They are introduced here by my frequent clients. " Wong said, "The number of tourists increases too."
The Hong Kong Tourism Board sets up a special page for the ritual to appeal tourists on its official website. It has already become a must-see place since the ritual is seldom seen in mainland of China or other countries. With its cultural meaning, Villain Hitting has been listed as a "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong" by the government. Tourism is one of the four pillars of Hong Kong's economy and it takes up 5% of its GDP in 2014.
Government support plays a big role in the thriving of the ritual. Villain Hitting is not regulated now. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, official institution supervising vendors and hawkers, said that the hitters did not need to apply for licenses, since they only engaged in traditional rituals even they were paid. According to the department, the hitters will be investigated only when they are involved in safety or hygiene problems, which is almost impossible.
In addition to government, Hong Kong people also need it. "There is more anger in the society. They need an outlet for their anger." a young client, whose surname is Ng, said. This is true. Combined with increasing inequality and extremely high housing price, the hectic pace of this city throws its people into great pressure. According to a report by Demographia, an American consulting firm, a family needs 17 years of salary to buy a flat in Hong Kong, which ranks No.1 for the most unaffordable housing among 378 cities worldwide.
The night has shut in. The area is still crowded, mostly with tourists and middle-aged women, but also with younger people. Wong is confident that the ritual will continue to thrive. "They get solace here. As long as they want to feel they are blessed, I'm here for them."
