Culture

THE SEALED SKELETONSby Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesSome fifty years ago my grandmother decided to develop a large property in Macau, which her late husband had acquired many years before, part of a former huge estate stretching from the Leal Senado almost to the Clube de Macau. […]

THE FLOORWALKERby Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesChina has some ancient customs which may appear odd to foreigners, but which they should respect. One unusual custom is to place an upside-down broom at the entrance of your house to put off an unwanted guest: its significance is that

THE CORPSE AT CACILHAS BEACH Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’Assumpção Edited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotes Cacilhas Beach and Praia Grande Beach – where my father’s and my maternal grandmother’s houses were situated – are no longer in existence today, obliterated by land reclaimed from the sea. Originally, however, these beaches were

THE FUNERAL AT ST PAUL’SBernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesThe ruins of St Paul’s church in Macau are great tourist attraction today. It is not generally known that the church had been built mainly by Japanese Catholic refugees fleeing persecution in Japan and that 25 of them were

THE SHROUDby Bernardino de Senna Fernandes d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesThe following is a well-known tale, probably told for generations among the Portuguese in Macau and Hongkong.In the olden days a doctor’s certificate of death could not be completely relied upon; to ensure that no one was buried alive, the cadaver, wrapped