Girls with poles at funerals: why is it customary in China to say goodbye to the dead by ordering “dancing girls” (4 photos)

Look at the photo below, what do you think is happening in it? Bachelor party? Some kind of party or show for adults? But no! Here are pictures from a Taiwanese funeral, where they actually invite girls with poles for fiery dances.





And this may shock anyone, but in Taiwan, as in China, dancing girls at funerals are not so rare. Someone dances in the farewell hall, and someone sets up poles right on the roof of the funeral procession, which can truly shock an unprepared viewer.



And here a completely reasonable question arises: what is all this for? Why are such performances staged at funerals? Wouldn't this be disrespectful to the deceased?

As it turns out, in the Chinese tradition it won’t. And here you need to understand Chinese culture. It is believed that the more people attended a person's funeral, the better person he was in life. This means that his afterlife will be good too. But what to do if, according to relatives, there are “not enough people”? Of course, call the girls!

With their miniature outfits and fiery dances, they will attract attention to the procession, thereby gathering many onlookers. The condition of a “good afterlife” will be fulfilled.



In addition, in this way people try to distract relatives from grief. Therefore, this kind of “gift” can also be ordered by friends to cheer up the family a little.

If we talk about the roots of this tradition, then it is worth remembering the various mafia groups. So, the Chinese began to hire an orchestra or invite artists to funerals quite a long time ago, but dancing girls are a relative know-how that appeared in mafia circles. Gang leaders passed away with escorts like these, which over time was adopted by other people.

And mostly from small villages and distant provinces. Still, city residents condemn this, but on the periphery such commemorations can still serve as a kind of indication of status.



And even though most of the country treats such funerals as unnecessary show-offs, they are still held. And often - on the initiative of the departed.

For us, of course, this looks like complete savagery, but a different culture requires a different approach.