Over the last 2-3 weeks in many places there's been a smell of burning in the air and, as happened to me the other day whilst waiting at a bus stop, pieces of ash drifted down and landed on me. Fortunately this was not due to the dreaded haze caused by burning areas of forest in Indonesia for palm oil plantations. This ash was more local and looking around I could see a man standing at a metal bin feeding the fire inside the bin with pieces of paper
Also lining part of the grassy area leading to the HDB block was a row of candles
and tucked in a corner was a collection of plates filled with food and a can painted red with incense sticks
close by this was a small shrine with more food offerings and candles on the table
All these symbols reminded me it is Hungry Ghost Festival time ( locally called Zhong Yuan Jie) again. During the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar (this year 22nd August -19th September) the gates of hell are thrown open and the hungry ghosts are let out to look for food and water. On the 15th day it is believed that Di Guan, one of the 3 heavenly rulers descends to earth to keep a register of the good and evil deeds of people.At the end of 30 days later the last ghost is hauled home and the gates are firmly shut again.
Although originally a Taoist festival, nowadays the Chinese community whether they be Taoist, Buddhist or another religion will throughout the month organise home prayers, temple services and street events to commemorate and serve the dead ancestors and appease wandering spirits
On the evening of the 15th day I joined a special Hungry Ghost tour. I met the guide outside the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown and we watched as monks and nuns gathered and chanted by a huge mound of rice (this would later be distributed to the needy in Singapore)
Continuing to chant the monks exited the temple and walked the whole way around the temple perimeter, passing by long tables filled with offerings of fruit, sweets and plates of food
...lots of plates of food! Our guide explained that the term Hungry Ghost is used as the spirits at this time are trapped between the living and spiritual realms and are unable to eat or drink, which results in them being constantly hungry
We followed the monks back inside the temple and had a look around. Large painted panels had been placed on display, each panel depicted a gruesome scene from one of the 10 Courts of Hell. In ancient Chinese times it was believed that once dead the person is taken to each of these courts where they are judged on their past good and bad deeds and then punished if any crime has been committed
Under many of the figures there were more collections of offerings. (I hadn't realised that I wasn't meant to be taking photos as normally you can in this temple) but I stopped as soon as requested to
By the time we came outside again it was dark, the lanterns had been lit, each had a 'ticket' with the name of the person, family or company that had sponsored that lantern
Our guide then took us to a local shop that sells incense, joss sticks and a wide variety of paper offerings. As well as offering prayers and hosting banquets to appease any wandering spirits, the Chinese make offerings of joss sticks, paper money and paper gifts
Paper offerings including clothes, cars, watches, phones, jewellery as well as large bundles of "hell money" will be burnt by relatives to appease their dead family members-taking care of their material needs even in the after life!
It seems like everything can be provided for your dead ancestors including bottles of beer and even a new set of dentures
The shop keeper was busy preparing pre ordered bags of paper offerings
I particularly liked the ' money' from the Hell Bank Corporation, there must be some seriously wealthy individuals in the after life
Our tour moved on and after a short coach ride arrived in the Geylang area of Singapore close to the Sheng Hong Temple. The road leading to the temple had fairy lights strewn down it's length
Our timing was perfect because as soon as we got to the temple the night's star attraction was being taken from the temple to the huge tent erected in the car park.
Two incense bowls filled with the ash from the previous years worth of joss sticks burnings were to be auctioned off later that evening
Inside the tent there was a large gathering (about 3,000 people) enjoying a Chinese banquet and bidding for some of the early lots. We watched as a gold chain and pendant was being auctioned. Whilst we stood there two more guests were escorted into the tent and to their tables, both government ministers. Our guide told us that the lady guest was Halima Yacob who is the hot favourite to become Singapore's new president later this month. (Update-she has now been elected, Singapore's first female president)
Our time was short and unfortunately we were unable to stay for the excitement of the auction of the two incense burners, we were told that the successful bidder gets to keep the burner for 12 months and then must return it to the temple to be used again. In 2013 a record amount was bit for one of the burners; $488,888 (about £274,000)!
We left the excitable and happy gathering and on the way back to the coach had a quick look inside the temple
This temple's deities include the City God; Qing Xi Xian You Bo Zhu
and has a Taisui Hall containing the effigies of 60 Taisui Generals (stars near to Jupiter that are personified as deities, they are important in Chinese astrology. Feng Shui and Taoism
A small stage had been set up in one area of the temple with a hand puppet show taking place to entertain the gods
On the way out of the temple we passed by statues of the 12 animals that are the symbols of the Chinese zodiac
with this years animal, the rooster, wearing a red rosette
Nearby a young man was burning his paper offerings for his ancestors
As we left the temple more cars were arriving, the best parking spots were reserved for the high end cars, including Porsches and Ferraris, which would be bringing in wealthy business men eager to bid for the incense burners.
Back on the coach we headed for our final stop of the night, it was now nearly 10pm and some people were flagging but we all soon were wide awake and absolutely fascinated by what was about to be the most bizarre part of the night.
We stopped somewhere in Ang Moh Kio outside another enormous tent, also especially erected for this year's Hungry Ghost Festival. Inside at one end there was a large stage with flashing lights and loud music playing and rows and rows of chairs- large audience was clearly expected here as well.
We stopped somewhere in Ang Moh Kio outside another enormous tent, also especially erected for this year's Hungry Ghost Festival. Inside at one end there was a large stage with flashing lights and loud music playing and rows and rows of chairs- large audience was clearly expected here as well.
As well as appeasing the hungry ghosts with prayers, food, money and offerings they need to be entertained as well. Throughout the festival Getai (staged shows) are held, these shows were commonly of Chinese operas but apparently nowadays it is more likely to be a lively techno music show.
We were told that we would be welcome at these shows but to remember not to sit in the empty seats on the front row, as this is received for the 'special guests'!
At the other end of the tent an altar area had been set up
The altar had been set up for the gods of the underworld
there was a large table with bags of rice as offerings,I presumed much the same as the huge mound of rice that had been at the Budha Tooth Relic Temple
there was also a large table with baskets of gifts that would be distributed to the devotees during the festival
At the back of the tent on the right side was a small arch way and looking through it there was a scene
with what looked like horses
and some more important looking 'people'. I'm afraid it was getting late and I was struggling to understand let alone retain all the information that was being passed on!
On the opposite corner there was another opening into a dark chamber and as we walked through things got seriously weird!
I am no fan of horror movies or Halloween shows but the spooky interior was so strange that even I did not feel scared. There were plastic skeletons, fake cobwebs, a real Chinese coffin and a giant toy rooster!
There were strange glow in the dark patterns on the floor
and panels on the wall, again depicting the 10 Courts of Hell
In the centre of this secret chamber were 2 'mediums', both of whom were drinking alcohol to help them communicate with the spirit world, we were told this drink was 58% proof and they would consume several bottles throughout the evening without suffering any ill effects!.
People were bringing their bowl of offerings and candles to the mediums
One of the mediums spotted our group and invited us to join him in a drink, it seemed rude to refuse! Thankfully we were all presented with the tiniest shot glasses I've ever seen but even so the shot of whatever the drink was, was extremely strong and we all politely refused a top up and swiftly made our exit.
It really was a fascinating and at times fantastically bizarre evening, we saw a side of Singapore life that not many expats get to see. It also served as a reminder that no matter how modern Singapore may seem, most of the time, it's definitely rooted and still influenced by ancient beliefs and customs.
