ConfessionS Of A SleePlesS MinD

鬼门开。。。

Wanted to type this post in Chinese but it would take too much effort and time with Chinese Star. It is officially the 7th month on the Lunar Calendar, the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival. Albeit an inappropriate comparison, you can see it as Chinese Halloween. At the stroke of midnight when 31th of the sixth month and 1st of the seventh month cross path, the gates of hell opens and our good brothers from beneath are given a holiday on this mortal world. A grand procession and a giant burning ceremony takes place. The good brothers will linger among us for the entire 7th month before they return down under. In contrast to all the fun, partying and playing dress up of Halloween, the Hungry Ghost Festival is all about respect. To ensure harmony in existence, mortals have to pay respects to our good brothers. All this involves a little bit of "bribing". Buying their hearts to prevent them from creating havoc. People also take the chance to pay respects to loved ones who had passed away. This would mean burning of incense, which symbolises money and wealth that could be used in the underworld/afterlife. Some people also offered food. I guess materialism is in the very core of Chinese culture, even after we die.

As time progresses, the nature of Hungry Ghost has evolved. The fundamentals are basically the same but the "tools" and "hardware" have changed tremendously. For the 80+% of us leaving in HDB flats, these pictures would be a familiar sight.

Metal containers for incense burning
















Metal containers are placed at common areas so as to avoid people burning directly on grass on concrete floor. I was helping my Ah Ma pay respects. The smoke from burning can be choking and suffocating. I really pity those who live on the 2nd floor.

Resident on the 2nd Floor

The windows were intially open. But after 2 mins of intense fuming, the windows were shut tight.

The essential "tools" needed for paying respect are red candles (must be red), incense (stick), and hell notes (incense paper). Food is also offered sometimes.

Incense (stick) and Red candles/ Traditional Incense Paper

Incense paper is supposed to represent olden hell notes that good brothers can spend when they return down under. I learnt to fold them into this round, "lotus" layer kind of "pattern" from my Ah Ma. It makes separating the notes and burning easier. When burning for loved ones, remember to include your loved ones name on a piece of red paper. This is to ensure your loved one gets the "package" and prevent other good brothers from looting. Burning for loved ones and good brothers in general is held separately.

With modernity come new inventions.

The modern Hell Bank Notes that come in denominations of google zillions

(ie. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,...)

At present, you can burn whatever you fancy. You name it, they have it. They are paper aeroplanes, credit cards, cars, TV, houses (mansions)... You can even burn a paper maid. Also, during this period, there would be performances staged to entertain the good brothers. Traditionally, these are Chinese Wayang shows but have now evolved into Getai shows featuring skimpily dressed girls singing and dancing to the beat of Mandarin/Cantonese/Hokkien remixes and "less well-known" singers singing Hokkien favourites.


Daily Necessities















This is something that looked interesting. Diagrams of clothes, shoes, socks and all daily necessities are drawn on these paper. They are like the all-in-one that would cater to all daily "living" needs.

Although I don't believe in the afterlife, a part of me is still very Pantan and would rather be safe than sorry. So I already asked for the good brothers for understanding and forgiveness after taking pictures of their offerings. I seek forgiveness for any offence committed.

Lunar 7th month code of conduct
Do not return home after 12 midnight.
Do not step on burnt incense- If you do, apologise straight away.
Do not say anything if you smell the scent of frangipani.
Do not say you do not believe in such things, or else...

Behave and Beware. Good Luck...

眼不见为净。 宁可信其有。

For more interesting facts on Hungry Ghost, you can visit Chinatownboy's blog.

posted by KERMIT @ 12:19 AM