Whenever foreign visitors come to Penang, what astonish them most is the makeshift altars and stage with performers singing to the deities and gods in the altars. It seems like Penangites are an entertaining bunch, and visitors delight themselves by capturing the performances in video cameras to view again back at home.

The makeshift stages in Penang for performances are usually tied to religious events. Penang, being a religious lot, has a lot of celebrations each year that will require the set-up of tents with altars for various deities. The most common celebrations will be the birthday of the local earth deity, Tua Pek Kong, the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.  Except for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, most all other festivals will have performance troupes singing during the night.

Past Tradition

In the past, the performances are usually done by Chinese Opera troupes dressed in their best regalia and painted faces. There will be rows of chairs placed in front of the stage, and strangely enough the first row is often vacated especially during the Hungry Ghost Festival. It is said that the first row is reserved for the 'good brothers' or rather, wandering spirits, to sit and watch the show.

The Chinese Opera performances are done mostly because it is said that the deities and the 'good brothers' are from that era, and they enjoy watching these performances, the major theatrical performance in olden days China before the start of the modern singers era.

Present Preference

As the years go by, there are lesser and lesser people learning how to perform Chinese Opera. As a result, the Chinese Opera troupe is scarce and offers performances at a more expensive fee. Eventually, the residents and organizing committee of the festivals and celebrations need to look for alternatives.

The alternative available is the growing group of singers, performing modern day pop songs that top the charts in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The performances are by scantily dressed females, and there are male singers too.

For the elderly, this is a form of disrespect to the deities and gods, however, the new generation now may have forgotten the main purposes of the performances. To them, the performances are no longer meant for the entertainment of the deities. Instead, it has become a gateway for the young performers to hold their concerts on stage, singers who may not have the privilege to be noticed by any recording companies to display their talents and earn some additional income during the few days of singing.

However, not all are unknown singers. Some of Malaysia's local singers too, may take this opportunity to perform on such dates, as long as the price is right. But then again, such a practice is getting lesser, as the new group of singers and performers not wanting to take up such tasks and instead concentrate on their career based on arrangements by the recording and production houses, usually excluding such assignments.

For the Deities

What do the deities want? There are a lot of different views, mostly based on the personal opinions. Some go as far as to say that the times have changed, that even the ghosts and deities of the underworld are interested in scantily dressed females. However, is this what the deities want?

Interviews with the various masters will agree that deities and gods do not have a preference for such modern performances. However, the masters do not speak about it, and according to the mediums, the deities will just ignore the performances. Times have changed, and it will be difficult to demand for the traditional Chinese Opera if the people are not able to afford it, or if there is a scarcity of talents.

Pre- and Post- Performance Prayers

For those who still have Chinese Opera troupes performing to the deities, special prayers must be done in front of the altar to seek the blessings of the deities for the performance, especially for the Hungry Ghost Festival. During this time, the troupe leader will bring his team of actors and actresses to pray to the Da Shi Ye, seeking permission to perform and for the protection of the operatic troupe against mischievous spirits from any form of pranks or harm. There is a doll that represents the troupe, to be placed at the altar for the prayers until the end of the performance.

Meanwhile, for those performance troupes with modern singers, prayers are performed with the singers offering joss sticks and joss papers before the altar to ask for a smooth performance too. It is said that performance during the Hungry Ghost Festival can be infused with unexpected events caused by mischievous wandering spirits.

The Penang state government is sponsoring some of these events with the hope to preserve the original culture, and for a peaceful year ahead.

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The Penang state government has taken an initiative to introduce the cultures of Penang to the international front, and one of the largest festival in Penang that received such attention is the Hungry Ghost Festival. In year 2010, the state government had began sponsoring a venue for this event as part of the state's effort to boost the cultural interest and tourist attraction.

What is the significance of this celebration? In the past, this Chinese lunar 7^th month is a time when parents forbid their children from swimming or going out late at night, out of fear for the hungry ghosts who may be seeking for a replacement. This is, after all, a time when the Gates of Hell are opened, and the ghosts are free to roam around. However, who are the hungry ghosts?

Along the streets, one will see the burning of paper effigies and the offering of foods to those we call the “good brothers”. The hungry ghosts are perceived as “brothers” and they are usually wandering spirits with no relatives offering them anything to ease their pain and hunger during the normal tomb sweeping days that occurs each year. There is probably not even a place for them to rest, being that some of them may have died in accidents along the roads and failed rituals were not able to bring them to rest in peace under the care of their descendants.

On the other hand, ancestors too will be home to their descendants for a food feast specially prepared for them. In most cases, the descendants will go to one of the makeshift altars housing the Ghost King and participate in the ritual to appease the souls of the late ancestors by putting the names of these ancestors up on a piece of yellow paper stuck on the wall. There may be offerings of foods, clothes and hell notes for their use, and the offerings depend very much on which religion group the altar belongs to.

The Makeshift Altar

It looks more like a tent for a party. The party is full of foods set on a buffet line, and the main cast for this party is the Ghost King, the Da Shi Ye. The Da Shi Ye has a wrathful look, with fangs and fiery eyes, and sits majestically in the middle of the altar, a gigantic statue made of paper too. The Ghost King, also called the King of Hell, is said to originate from the Avalokitesvara, or the Bodhisattva Goddess of Mercy, who took the wrathful physique to make the mischievous and naughty ghosts humble and scared.

There are taboos pertaining to the offering of foods to the Da Shi Ye. The table which is set right in front of the huge statue should all belong to the Da Shi Ye, and parents would advise children to stay away from it. One story said that a mother once had to temporarily put her baby on the table because her hands were full. The moment she returned, the baby had died. The spirit medium who became the middleman in the conversation stated that the Da Shi Ye had thought that the baby was a food offering to him, hence he had eaten the child. It was not known whether the baby was then returned to the mother or not.

Performance

During the festival, a makeshift stage is often constructed facing the altar directly. There will be performances, such as Chinese opera or modern singers, who performs not for the public but actually for the 'brothers'. In many instance, seats are placed in front of the stage with the first rows reserved without any visible audience. In many cases, those who reportedly has the third eye said that the front row seats were full of 'brothers' sitting there to enjoy the show.

Offerings

The end of the duration for the makeshift altar is usually marked by the ceremony of burning paper effigies, including the statue of the Da Shi Ye as a mark to send him back to hell. Prior to that, there will be a lot of offerings depicted by the burning of paper effigies, hell notes, clothes and other items made of paper, blessed by the chief monk or master who chairs the ceremonies in the makeshift altar.

These are offerings to the wandering ghosts. During the burning of these paper effigies, some strange phenomenon may happen, especially the formation of strong, wild fires that seems to resemble hands snatching the items in a fiery manner, even if there is no strong winds during that time. It may rain too, and the explanation to this is the concentration of “Yin” aura around the area with too many hungry souls around.

Each altar has a different master and a different ritual. Visitors may watch, but not to make comments to avoid offending the Da Shi Ye.

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