Cursing Ladies

When I was much younger, I used to try to figure out how many stars there are in the sky. After much thought and detailed calculating , my indisputable conclusion to that answer was "lots."  Even now, many years later, I remain comfortable with that answer. Here on planet Earth, much closer to my own home address, I am in the process of grappling with another question: How many local customs are there in the world? While I have not completed my work on this, more and more I am getting the feeling that my answer is going to be similar to the one about stars in the sky. Coincidence or more excellent research by me? I am content to let readers of this blog decide.

Recently, my wife and I had occasion to visit Hong Kong, one of the great cities of the world and now celebrating its 20th anniversary being turned back to the People's Republic of China by the British.  One fascinating tidbit we learned is that Hong Kong is home to what are called "cursing ladies." Are these women who scream profanities all the time? Not quite. What they do, for a fee, is place curses on any one a client wishes. Annoying boss? Oh yes. A lover who jilted you? You bet. A corrupted politician? The line forms on the right. How long the curse lasts depends upon how high of a fee one is willing to pay.

The number of ladies who do this sort of thing is fading. Nevertheless, their service continues to fill a niche. While I do not know how successful they are in this placing of curses, my guess is hiring a person to place on a curse on another has got to bring the client some level of satisfaction. While I did not hire only of these professionals, I must say I find their profession to be fascinating. In the act of communication, successfully putting forth a message no doubt is satisfying. As a way to be funny, I am tempted to compare cursing ladies to public relations specialists. After all, research is supposed to be part of their work. But I will not do that. PR fills an even bigger niche.