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251 Sixteen porters have been employed to carry the coffin showing that the mourning family enjoyed a good financial status. This is the area round the Inner Harbour.
 
252 The "Infinity Shrine" or "Infinity Presence" is a tablet decorated with flowers and embedded with a photo of the deceased.
 
253 Friends and relatives coming to pay their last respects to the deceased. Players in the ceremonial band are wearing white hats. This was taken at Rua de Almeida Ribeiro.
 
254 The coffin has been decorated and outlined with fresh flowers. On the tablet, is written "Wong Family in Ceremony" in flowers indicating the surname of the mourning family. At each corner of the coffin case stands a paper man. For a more luxurious ceremony, four real men were employed instead.
 
255 Sixteen porters carrying the coffin case. The embroidery curtain covering the coffin is a rented accessory.
 
256 The number of porters carrying the coffin case and the plain clothes worn indicate an average financial status for the mourning family. A wreath is placed on top of the coffin case which is covered with a piece of red satin showing that this might be a taoist ceremony.
 
257 The hearse indicates that this is a Catholic and not Buddhist mourning service.
 
258 Sixteen porters are carrying the coffin case decorated with flowers. It is passing the junction of Rua Cinco do Outubro and Rua de Almeida Ribeiro.
 
259 Sixteen porters carrying a coffin with children, the "Infinity Being", standing on top. The children are not members of the mourning family. Instead, they have been hired to play the roles of little fairies to lead the deceased to the ultimate world of happiness.
 
260 Eight porters carrying the "Dragon Tablet" on which is written the name of the deceased. The young man dressed in white and standing in the middle is probably a close family member. The porters are in uniform showing that the deceased came from a rich family.
 
261 Carts are employed in the funeral procession showing that this is not a Buddhist ceremony. The uniform of the cart pushers is not a Chinese costume. The white tent at the rear is the mourning tent which houses the mourning family. Members of rich families, especially the ladies who seldom left the house, refrained from appearing in the public by staying in the mourning tent.
 
262 To make a living, some women carry an "Infinity Shrine" for the mourning family. This woman carrying a baby on her back is one of the practitioners of the trade.
 
263 A "Funeral Tent" or temporary staircase. This is a unique funeral custom found only in Macau. A temporary staircase was built next to the building if the deceased lived on the upper floors of the building. The corpse was carried down using the temporary staircase. This photograph was taken in the vicinity of the Central Fountain.
 
264 An elegiac couplet presented to the deceased by his son-in-law.
 
265 Elegiac couplets from friends and relatives.
 
266 Friends and relatives at the funeral ceremony. The man dressed in white and with a white hat is the Mentor who gave instructions on the manner of the marriage or funeral.
 
267 Family members of the deceased all dressed in white, in the vicinity of Rua da Praia do Manduco.
 
268 Two roasted pigs are carried in a funeral procession. A theatre advertisement is in the background and the cinema is probably the Ching Ping Theatre.
 
269 A memorial tablet shows the name of a school, `Keng Wu Hok Hau". The deceased might be a director of or donator to the school. "Ting Choi Wong" is written on the sedan chair. It is a coffin shop.
 
270 Twelve paper animals, each representing a particular birth year of man in a cycle of twelve, are being carried in the funeral procession. Occasionally, they are divided into three sets of four and each set is placed on a desk and carried by women.
 
271 The Infinity shrine. It is a tablet into which is embedded a photo of the deceased and it has been decorated with flowers.
 
272 Eight porters carrying a sedan chair housing the Dragon Tablet on which is written the name of the deceased. This photo was taken in Rua de Almeida Ribeiro.
 
273 The "Infinity Shrine". The simple funeral procession with few attendants, the lack of decoration and the plain clothes of the coffin porters indicate the poor financial condition of the mourning family.
 
274 "Lung Hing Nunnery" is written on the memorial lantern. "Monks, Taoist Priests and Nuns" were the three religious groups usually hired by the rich mourning family to attend the funeral processions. There are nuns following the lantern. Friends or relatives of the deceased could employ one of these religious groups as a last tribute to the deceased.
 
275 Lanterns from friends and relatives, not family members. The children carrying the lanterns are hired for the job and are called the "Accompanying Children". Both boys and girls were eligible for carrying the lanterns or other ceremonial accessories. Pay was so meagre that adults would not take the job.
 
276 A photo taken in the vicinity of the Kwong Tung Hotel. The children are dressed in white, carry incense burners, are family members of the deceased.
 
277 Family members of the deceased all dressed in white. The one in the middle held by the arm by a woman in plain clothes is the dearest family member of the deceased, such as the wife. In the old days, the close family members would show their deepest grief and feebleness during the funeral ceremony.
 
278 The person at the front as well as the other two following are the Hall Attendants who helped to receive friends and relatives of the deceased at the funeral hall. They are all dressed in white while the man in plain jute costume is the son. In the old days, the close family members of the deceased had to show their deepest grief and feebleness during the funeral ceremony. They would stoop and weep all through the procession and would be held and dragged along by friends or relatives. The Indian on the left in uniform is hired from the government. The Pioneer is following.
 
279 This is the Pioneer leading the funeral procession.
 
280 A Buddhist funeral mass. A statue of the Goddess of Mercy is placed at the door and the lantern has a crane (outside the picture) on its top. They were meant to lead the dead to heaven.
 
281 These four paper figures (looking like the four Heavenly Generals) have been rented from a funeral house. They are about 4.5 metres tall and pulled by carts. After the ceremony, they had to be returned to the funeral house.
 
282 The Monkey King and Zhu Ba Jie, characters in "A Journey to the West", are played by real men who are sitting on stool. If it was a renowned family, the role player would ride on a real horse in the procession. This character playing was not a religious rite. It was just an arrangement to give the procession a louder air.
 
283 The Monkey King and Zhu Ba Jie, characters in "A Journey to the West", are played by real men who are sitting on stool. If it was a renowned family, the role player would ride on a real horse in the procession. This character playing was not a religious rite. It was just an arrangement to give the procession a louder air.
 
284 The Gospel Searcher, a character in "A Journey to the West", is played by a real man and is sitting on a stool.
 
285 A funeral cortege passing Avenida de Horta e Costa. Young people are carrying a large structure.
 
286 A Chinese band playing lutes and other Chinese musical instruments. Their costume shows that they are from Chaozhou. Incense burners are shouldered by the followers under the lead of the band. Leading at the front is the "Front Tablet" showing the name of the Band, a practice similar to the lion dance performance of today.
 
287 A Chinese funeral showing parents and friends present. The family of the dead are carrying a chair.
 
288 A "Flower Shrine" or flower tablet. The picture was taken in the vicinity of Avenida de Conselheiro Ferreira do Almeida. On the shrine, is written some memorial phrase such as In Memory of XXX.
 
289 Children playing the characters of ancient Chinese or legendary figures such as the Eight Fairies, the four Generals of the Heaven and the Goddess of the Sea.
 
290 Wreaths presented by friends and relatives. The surname of the deceased is Au. The wreaths are placed on spread wooden legs for support and display at the funeral house.
 
291 Tidily dressed Taoist priests, the children might have been their followers. From the shadow cast on the ground, it must be around midday.
 
292 Taoist priests. "Monks, Taoist Priests and Nuns" were the three religious groups usually employed by a rich mourning family to attend the funeral procession. Sometimes, friends and relatives hired one of these religious groups as their last tribute to the deceased. There would probably be nuns following the lanterns.
 
293 Funeral procession with two men on the leading. The two incense bags had smelling substances. The children who are holding the umbrellas were called the "Chan-Ka-Long".
 
294 "Shan Gou" is one who disperses money of the underworld as he follows the funeral procession to the cemetery to dig the hole, weed and clean the stone tablets. This picture was taken near the Health Centre in Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida.
 
295 A Western band.
 
296 A Western band playing near the present site of the Seng Heng Bank. On the left is the current position of the Grand Hotel.
 
297 A Western band not related to religion. In the middle of the front section of the funeral procession is the "Mourning Tent".
 
298 The coffin is being shipped out of Macau. It is probable that the family cannot afford to bury the deceased in Macau or that the deceased was not a local resident.
 
299 The coffin is being shipped out of Macau. It is probable that the family cannot afford to bury the deceased in Macau or that the deceased was not a local resident.
 
300 A cemetery outside the Border Gate. It is where the "Free Zone" is now located. Graves were all relocated.
 

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