^A two-storey papier-mache effigy of Dai Shi
All activities on the Ghost Festival celebration relate to one thing, pleasing the ghosts. One of the celebration rituals is to invite the ghosts from the Hell among which Dai Shi (literally, Big Guy) holds that highest status.
^Sheng Po, or literally, the Deity Gown.
The Big Guy
Some folklore has it that Dai Shi is the constable of the
inferno guarding the ghosts while others tell that he is the incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the Buddhist deity to save the sufferers. Either way, no one at the rituals will take time shilly-shallying in bribing the bigwigs of the spiritual world to keep oneself out of the hellish way on earth. That is exactly why Dai Shi makes a guest appearance on the celebration, taking burnt and food offerings.
< Another effigy, this time a ghostly horse.
^A heavily decorated pailou
Probably the ghosts have retained some human nature of curiosity. The decorated pailou at the celebration site, as we saw yesterday, actually serve to entice the ghosts. The higher the pennants are built, the more the ghosts will be attracted; so it it believed.
^A scene of the Sheng Gong opera
Sheng Gong Opera
To make sure that the spiritual celebrities are completely pampered, the celebration features the Chinese opera specific to the occasion. This kind of opera has a special name to it, Sheng Gong opera or literally, Deity Service opera, which befits the purpose of it. The evidence is in the front rows of seats in the makeshift bamboo-built opera house which are reserved for the ghosts.
The playlist is restricted to the traditionally fixed selections. And there are rituals preceding and following the opera performances to show courtesy to the spiritual audience and the deity taking charge of the stage.
At access, the ghost community can have the eating binge at the worshippers' corner where jog sticks and meat are aplenty.
Bidding for Charity and Peace Rice
The religious origin of the Ghost Festival entails that it has a charity aspect. Unlike Christianity and its diversified denominations which dominate the religious scene in the West, the oriental religions generally concerns more about sanctification by one's own acts than by a priest.
^Sussing out the value of the bidding items
For this reason, the celebration includes bidding for the offerings by way of which the proceeds will be used for, apart from the next Ghost Festival, meeting the needs of the poor.
The charitable aspect of the celebration is also noticed in the giveaway of rice, or Peace Rice as it is known as such. It is a good deed. However, as the Ghost Festival is held in the sultry sub-tropical summer days of Hong Kong, there have been news galore about people fainting in the queue for the rice. Unfortunately, they are mostly elderly persons. That makes me rather circumspect of the motive behind the giveaway. After all, this is a part of the Ghost Festival and the least thing lacking of in the Hell is bed space.
^Spectators of the Sheng Gong opera
(Photos by courtesy of and copyrighted to Christopher Guy)
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