The Wolfman - Trailer No. 2

The Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival

Hungry Ghost Festival

No swimming or late outing as the Gates of Hell are opened on the Chinese lunar seventh month.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is the most important festival or celebration of the year beside the Chinese New Year. The Chinese believed that during the seventh month, the Gates of Hell are opened. Ghost are free to wander in search for food.

Who are hungry ghost?

It is important to understand the reason why there is a festival for the hungry ghost. It is believed that when the Gates of Hell are opened, all ghosts or spirit are given the opportunity for a one month vacation to return to Earth.
In this hungry ghost festival, it is solely for the wandering spirits or "hoe heah ti" or good brothers.
The spirit that has no home to return. Of course without a doubt, the ancestors spirit knows their way around. They will return to their descendants homes and hereby the food feast will be laid for their consumption.

Hungry Ghost Festival in Pulau Tikus Market, Penang

Well, according to my late father, (my father has lots of tales to tell me), looking after ones parent or ancestor is our duty.
So I dutifully return home to Sungai Bakap to help my aunts and uncles in their preparation to pray during the hungry ghost festival.
According to my aunt Ah Nur Kor Kor, feast for ancestors during the hungry ghost month is usually a "quiet do".
But it is a very different story for the hungry or wandering spirit or most called ghost.
In the case of ghost where no one offers food, they turn hungry. The hungry ghost feast and festival is usually or collectively prepared by the community business man. It will be held in the market place or association hall.
See how much food were prepared for the Hungry Ghost Feast by Sungai Bakap Kee Kongsi (Clan House) in August this year.



If you are want to see this Chinese Halloween during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, best place is in most Chinatown wet markets in Malaysian and Singapore towns.
Big huge effigy of Phor Thor Kong or King of Hell sitting majestically at the main table. From morning till late night, food offering were placed for the BIG KING. Forthe hungry ghost, they get their share after the King of Hell is fed. Same time, he ensured the hungry ghost won't misbehaved during the time they are on earth.

King of Ghost with his Followers: Posession occurs to a Disciple.

This is Penang King Of Ghost Summoners. He is chanting and his disciples gets the KUMANTHONG (DEAD BABY SPIRITs)to Posesse his disciples. He mainly does Black Magic. His whole life was learning Guman Thong.

Arjan Piak Guman Tong Consecration Ceremony Part 1

I had the greatest opportunity to “cover” Arjan Piak consecrating his Roon 2 Guman Tong Roops. This extremely humbling process has totally changed my impression on the humble Guman Tong amulet or bucha (statue).
One cannot imagine the amount of effort that an Arjan puts in when consecrating the amulets until they been through this process.
Information about Arjan Piak’s Guman Tong Roon 2. Like the 1st batch his 2nd batch raw materials include
• Cemetary soil from 7 different provinces
• River water from 7 different rivers
• Soil from 7 different forest
• Pong Plai Guman from 7 different bodies and cemetaries
• Pong Plai Guman from LP Chom Wat Natanok
• Pong Plai Guman from LP Saweng Wat Sawang Pod
• Other “potent” ingredients that act as a good medium for spirits to dwell in
After his very successful 1st batch Guman Tong made last year, Arjan decided to do a new batch this year and again making them in limited quantity of 108 pieces. All Guman Tongs have been painstakingly hand crafted by him and a Luang Pi from Wat Sawang Pod.
Procedures include, consecrating ceremonies for 15 days in total. 1st 7 days in 7 different cemeteries, 7 days at his Samnak (shirne) and the last day in the temple.
I was delighted to hear that Arjan has granted permission for me to cover his 1st day of consecration. Even after a full day of activities and showing me around his province area, Arjan was still full of energy. We headed towards Nakon Sawan at about 6pm and arrive at our destination 2.5 hours later at an old temple near LP Doem’s temple.
After catch up with some monks at the temple he prepared the materials needed for the ceremony. Arjan was joined by Luang Pi to co chant the Guman Tongs.

After gathering all that they needed we headed out to the cemetery grounds and sat in front of a crematorium where Arjan set up his apparatus.
It was pitch black and all I could see was matter lighted up by the candles. It was definitely an eerie feeling as the owls howled and dogs barked for no reason. The reason why I say I appreciate the effort so much more after attending the ceremony is because the mosquitoes were attacking us every second of the ceremony. Being Singaporean I was not prepared for these “rural threats”. None the less I braved through the 2.5 hour event and managed to get some good footage.
After the ceremony we went back to the monks kuti (quarters) and rested for 30 min before heading out again to pay homage to Buddha. This process lasted another 1 hour. It was about 5am by this time and I was dead shagged. We caught 3 hours sleep before waking up to get ready to head back down town. This was also the time where the temple monks come back from collecting alms and start eating their only meal of the day. Arjan Piak again caught up with them and we bidded farewell.
Just imagine Arjan has to go through this for another 6 days. The amount of time spent travelling, chanting, consecrating, hand crafting, collecting materials etc. etc. is seriously hard work. I now treasure my little Guman Tong Roop 1st batch by Arjan Piak so much more and definitely see Arjan Piak is a much much different light.
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Guman Thong Concecration Ceremony

Saint Death Cult Draws On Pre-Christian Roots

The growing cult of "Saint Death" among "unaffiliated" persons finds many of its characteristics date to Pre-Christian times in the Americas

By Martin Barillas

"Santa Muerte" – Saint Death or Holy Death– is the focus of a deathly Mexican cult that has gained a so-far undetermined number of adherents on both sides of the illusory barrier that divides the United States from Mexico.
It made news in the US in early March when its putative leader led a demonstration in Mexico City protesting against the Mexican government’s current reconsideration of his group’s status as an officially registered "church."