Precautions During Hungry Ghost Month – Part 3

Precautions During Hungry Ghost Month – Part 3

I think I better finish the 3^rd installment and the final series about Hungry Ghost Month. As stated previously, these are precautions to follow during that month where wandering or restless spirits are most active. These spirits or ghosts are released from Hell and can spend the whole month roaming the realm of Earth.

The remaining list of precautions and tips are as follows:

Do not step on the Ashes from Offerings

10) do not celebrate birthday at night (guess it is ok in daytime)

11) for Chinese operas, do not sit on the front seats (as they are catered for the “brothers & sisters”)

12) do not get married during that month (I guess ‘they’ might “kacau” – translation, disturb)

13) avoid talking about ghosts (might offend them)

14) do not disturb the food offerings, joss sticks or candles

I would like to recount a tale from Ganesh who claim that he does not believe in ghosts. This incident happened during the Hungry Ghost Month. Ganesh was feeling absolutely bored as most of his friends are not allowed to go drinking and chit-chatting especially during the nights. Ganesh visited Ah Meng at his house, which Ah Meng was forced by his parents to stay at home. Ganesh and Ah Meng were smoking at the little patch of land (garden-lah) and it was about 2am at night.

The night was cool and so quiet when they heard dogs barking furiously but gradually stopped. Then Daisy, a dog owned by Ah Meng’s family, started barking yelping furiously and the hairs on neck were virtually standing. They tried their best to calm Daisy and looked where the dog was looking and noticed that a “mist or fog” was travelling on the neighbor drive and it seemed to be travelling on a path. After the mist finally passed by, Ganesh noticed that Daisy eventually stopped barking. However the dogs from the opposite side of Ah Meng’s house started barking.

Precautions during Hungry Ghost Month – part 2

Precautions during Hungry Ghost Month – part 2

This is the 2^nd part of “Precautions during Hungry Ghost Month” which many Chinese considered at the most terrifying month of the year. Countless people who follow their religion believe that the gates of Hell are release on the 7^th month of the Chinese lunar calendar and wandering or hungry spirits can wander in this earth for a whole month.

Offerings of food for Hungry Ghost Month

Millions of people of which had encountered spooky and unbelievable incidents from deceased relatives but also the restless spirits of people who had untimely deaths. The precautions are tips for people to follow and prevent them from such unworldly incidents. The other precautions for that month are :

5) do not visit the sick in hospital, attend a funeral, move house or to start a business.

6) do not go camping (especially tress with large long and overhanging leaves) as they            contain yin energies. This energy signifies darkness, stillness as opposed to brightness and laughter which is the yang energy.

7) do not simply open the main door all night (negative energy!)

8) do not wear black or red clothes (not even red underwear)

9) do not travel outstation or go swimming (and meet up with the water ghost, air hantu in Bahasa or sui qwai in Chinese). These waters ghosts are situated at the seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps or even ditches. They lived underneath the water and they could have died from drowning or simply missing.

Anyway, I better stop at Precaution no. 9 (which I will continue as Part 3 later) as I have another spooky tale about an incident of a water ghost in the month during the Hungry Ghost month.

Aden Yoo, a teenager lives a small town of Gemencheh at Negeri Sembilan which is located about 30 km from the much larger town of Tampin. It must be a weekend when Aden and his friends decided to go to a pond nearby for fishing during the Hungry Ghost month without telling their parents about their activities.

Precautions during Hungry Ghost Month

Precautions during Hungry Ghost Month

Hungry Ghost Month is arguably the most frightening month for the Chinese as they believe that as Hell Gate is open the lost souls or ‘hungry’ spirits are allowed to return to the human world.

Phor Thor Kong (in Hokkien dialect) or Hungry Ghost Month which falls on the 7^th month of the Chinese lunar calendar is used to pay homage to Tai Su Yeah (King of Hell) and the underworld. Millions over the ages have encountered spooky and weird experiences during Hungry Ghost Month not only with deceased ancestors but also with demons and spirits from prematurely or justly death and seeking revenge. The precautiouns is to help prevent such spooky occurrences during that month.

Paper Money offering during Hungry Ghost Festival

1)      Don’t pee on trees as it might offend the spirits which resides there (I don’t understand, why would anyone would one to pee on top of a tree)

2)     People should not wander late at night (no more clubbing – at least for that month!)

3)     Avoid swimming (as people have dragged underwater)

4)      Do not carry an umbrella into your house (which might be carried by spirits)

I would like to stop at Precautions at no. 4 and continue later, as I have a tale about carrying an umbrella to a home.

The Ong family lived in Kota Tinggi in a residential house in the state of Johore. One day after raining heavily, Helen drove their son, 7 year old Timmy, to their car. When they reached their house, Helen had to carry Timmy and their grocery in their umbrella. Helen was busy drying Timmy and she left her umbrella in the dining room. One of her neighbor (kepo ‘aunty’) came to their house and she making a fuss about the umbrella in the house. She claimed that one shouldn’t that it is forbidden to bring an umbrella home as it may carry it with a ghost especially during Hungry Ghost month.