“Ullambana” Festival
“Ullambana” Festival by Bukit Timah Seu Teck Sean Tong @ Tangling Halt. by Sugen Raniah The Ullambana Festival is observed and celebrated by the Buddhists during the Seventh Lunar Month. The Sanskrit term, ‘Ullambana’, refers to the compassion for all beings suffering in the realms of misery. The observance of this festival is based on a discourse by the Buddha – where Maudgalyayana, a disciple of the Buddha, discovers that his mother, Lady Niladhi, had been reborn into the […]
“Chao-du” @ Bukit Brown
Preamble : Hungry Ghost Festival Saturday, 26th July was the eve of what is popularly known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, and less well known by its traditional name of Zhongyuan Jie, which in essence is also about honouring ancestors. It takes place at the start of the Chinese 7th lunar month, and it is when the gates of hell open and the spirits of dead are free to wander among the living for a month. To appease […]
The Dancing Lanterns
The Dancing Lanterns by the Youths of Bukit Timah Seu Teck Sean Tong Sugen Ramiah Apart from satisfying the hunger of the wandering spirits and entertaining them with boisterous live stage performances of the Getai, the seventh lunar month is also meant for the living. Business owners, wet market and hawker center associates, during this period to pray for peace, smooth sailing and thriving ventures. The members of the Tanglin Halt Wet Market invited the Bukit Timah Seu Teck […]
I.Salvation for Lost Souls with Xuan Jiang Dian
by Sugen Ramiah It was the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, and I have been busy documenting rituals and customary practices of the Hungry Ghost Festival. Every temple or ‘sintua’ (a group of devotees with no temple and who gather in a place which host the deity statues and censers) has its own designated date, to perform cleansing rituals for the wandering souls. Released into the human realm, these are souls who have no one to remember […]
“Hungry Ghost Month” – Reflections
Every year on the 1st day of the 7th month lunar calender, the Chinese believe the gates of hell are opened, and the spirits are released to the earthly realm. Liew Kai Khiun shares his reflections of the rituals conducted at Bukit Brown Cemetery for the wandering souls. Remembering the Forgotten and Forsaken I had the opportunity to participate in one of the rituals for the lunar 7th Month festival at Bukit Brown Cemetery. Known as the “Hungry Ghost […]
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