In the Darkness of the Gods: A Visual Autoethnography of Mystery and Illumination in a South China Village Temple

This visual autoethnographic and interview-based folklore study asks how darkness and light relate to social, cultural, and religious meaning at a village temple in South China. The relationship between darkness and light is important in religious traditions in China and elsewhere. Over the course of a year, the researchers observed how a village temple in Dongguan, Guangdong Province underwent renovations that changed it from a dark space (in line with traditional Chinese village temple style) to a brighter, more colourful space. The autoethnography concerns how the temple’s shadows and light conditions affected one researcher’s personal connections with the temple’s main god Hou Wang and other deities. Autoethnographic photographs and reflections combine with interview data with ritual service providers (RSPs) to negotiate conflicting and possibly changing perceptions of the role of darkness in Chinese religion (combining elements of Daoism, Buddhism, and folk religion).