i attended my great grandmother's funeral yesterday. she passed away last wednesday, at the age of 96. its quite amazing to see the whole extended family have dinner together. though i think many people didnt come. i saw relatives i've never seen before. my grandma is the only child alive. but the families of her other 3 brothers came too. my nephew would be the 5th generation.
we went through elaborate rituals, with the taoist priests chanting prayers. they sang in a hokkien dialect incomprehensible to me. i was quite amazed by the 'musicians'. one could beat the drum, sound the gong and sing at the same time. i didnt know my greatgrandma well but as the females went in to kneel down, i saw my grandma cry and tears came to my eyes too.
but funerals seem to have become more commercialised. we even had the choice of what prayer package we want. of cos, more prayers will be more expensive. and its quite sad that the whole family only comes together in occasions like this.

goodbye greatgrandma...