Food for the starving spirits

Peggy Loh, STREETS, August 31, 2009

<< The sight of small paper flags and joss sticks are common at junctions and by the roads. Photo by Peggy Loh

The Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival is the time when the dead are released from hell to be fed and entertained by the living on earth. PEGGY LOH shares a few friendly tips on how to avoid offending these ‘guests’

For the next few weeks, you will be seeing rows of small Chinese paper flags alongside joss sticks at many junctions and by the roads.

These are the offerings made to appease the "wandering souls" during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival, which falls on the seventh month of the lunar calendar every year.

While the Qing Ming Festival is for families to make offerings and pray to their ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival is when the entire community "feed" and "entertain" the "hungry ghosts".

It is believed that the "Gates of Hell" are opened to release these pitiful souls to roam the earth for one month. During that month, the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts and Chinese opera and music peformances are held to satiate the appetites of these ghosts.

The festival stems from a combination of Buddhist and Taoist beliefs and is celebrated by the Chinese adherents.

The 15th day of the seventh month is the most important date. The Cantonese community holds prayers on its eve, while the Teochew and Hokkien perform the rituals on the actual night.

<< Hell Bank notes, which are the currency of the netherworld, are burnt as offerings. Photo by Peggy Loh

In Malaysia, the festival is a colourful celebration with communal gatherings and generous offerings of food. The shows staged for the benefit of the spirits in many neighbourhoods and temples are also enjoyed by the people.

Naturally, there is always a slightly sinister aspect to the story when ghosts are involved. Prayers and food are offered outdoors to the spirits, particularly those who have no kinfolk to "take care" of them. It is said that if these lost and lonely souls were not properly appeased, they would become malevolent and cause harm to the living.

And be warned: If you hear a voice behind you calling out your name at night, don't turn to look because it could be a ghost trying to lure you!

The seventh month is a time when the Chinese will not do some things they would on ordinary months, such as swimming in the sea or jungle-trekking.

<< Giant joss sticks are used in the more generous offerings. Photo by Peggy Loh

They will take extra care not to offend the denizens from the netherworld, and events and activities like travel, marriage, picnics, house moving and even surgery are postponed.

It is also believed that the dead will visit their living relatives during the month. The angry ghosts will return to seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives, so many offerings are made to appease them.

To ward off bad luck, the famished ghosts are given sumptuous meals that sometimes include whole roast pigs. Stacks of "Hell Bank notes, paper coins, paper gold ingots and many gifts in paper form, are burnt.

During Qing Ming, affluent families would burn paper attire, paper cars with chauffeurs, paper mansions with servants and even lingerie, mobile phones, plasma TVs and DVD players complete with discs, for their ancestors. These offerings are burnt to "reach" the deceased and let them live comfortably in the netherworld.

During the Hungry Ghost Festival, paper attire is burnt for the souls without kin.

Entertainment for the spirits begins a week before the festival. These have evolved over the years from traditional Chinese opera, and puppet shows to pop and dance music performances and karaoke sessions.

Modern music shows, known as koh toi (Cantonese) or ge tai (Mandarin), feature local singers who would play in various venues in the city or town.

These ge tai artistes are recognised as specialised performers in the Chinese community, and the popular ones often have to rush from one venue to another every night during this "festive season" to entertain their audience from both worlds.

<< Piles of ‘money’ and ‘gold ingots’ are burnt and ‘transferred’ into hell. Photo by Peggy Loh

However, the opening night of the festival is reserved for the spirits. People refrain from attending the show on that night, and those who are "spiritually weak" are warned against watching the shows lest they be open to attacks by the ghosts.

If you do attend any of these performances, you will notice that the front row seats are always vacant. The people sit on the rows behind, or stand when the seats are filled up.

Here's another friendly tip: do not rest your behind, no matter how weary your legs, on the VIP seats as they are already occupied -- by unseen guests!

At the end of the month, the sated ghosts return to hell. The gates are shut until next year, when they re-open to release the once-again ravenous spirits into this world for their "break".

 

 

 

 

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