Pasir Ris Yew Keng (May 17th), Grand Dinner (May 18th), and Pu Du (普度) Rituals for Ancestors, Babies & Wandering Spirits (May 19th)
Pasir Ris Yew Keng (May 17th)
I woke up early and headed to the tentage at Pasis Ris Drive 6 Blk 426 open field where I was warmly welcomed by the spirit medium and head of the tua, Alvin. I was also greeted by Vernon, a gentleman who had helped several of us find space on a bus 7 months earlier at the nine Emperor God Festival sending off by Long Nan Dian. Singapore is a small place, and during the yew keng (Note: for definition of yew keng, see: http://4fabian.multiply.com/photos/album/24/24 ), I also met the photographers Stephen David and members from the outstanding Dysfunctional team, all of whom have excellent photo sites on multiply.com.
This was the Tua’s second yew keng, the first being in 2003 when the tua was only five years old. The first yew keng was very small-scale with two mediums and one pair of lion dancers, and visited only 4 temples. At this time the temple was not established and they were striving hard to survive. So their Tua Ya Pek told them to go on their first yew keng to ask for blessings from the Jade Emperor, from the chief of the Underworld Dong Yue Da Di (for information on Dong Yue Da di see: http://s15.zetaboards.com/ZhangGongFaZhuGong/topic/478572/1/), and also from the god of the locality at Loyang Tua Pek Gong. This year’s event was therefore to give thanks and to repay back the blessings that the deities had bestowed on them eight years before.
Participating in the yew keng were a troupe of Shaolin monks who performed dragon dances as well giving a kung fu performance at Loyang Tua Pek Gong, two lions and a drum and symbol troupe accompanied by two giant puppets of Tua Ya Pek and Di Ya Pek. However, the two puppets were different from their Taiwanese counterparts in as much as they danced flippantly in a similar fashion to the dancing San Tai Zi, while in Taiwan, Generals Fan and Xie are more solemn and dignified, and majestically stroll through fire-cracker smoke acknowledging each other, but not the audience. The drum troupe itself is of a type more often seen in funeral wakes, but now more temples are using them. One section of their drumming is intended to invoke the eight immortals, the Ba Xian, to come and bless the space where the rituals are held. There were also drummers from the temple who accompanied the palanquin bearing Ji Gong. Apart from that, there was a single bus load of followers, and the spirit medium. The only piercing was of two helpers who shared the Generals of the Five Directions, one carrying three, and the other with the remaining two. The friendliness of the medium and his devotees, and the devotion of the followers themselves more than compensated for the lack of sensationalism. Alvin suggested that this was a very humble yew keng in an apologetic fashion, but I answered him that it was special as it was free from religious tourists, and only included his devotees, friends and admirers which made it all the more sincere.
The first location that we visited was the Jade Emperor temple (photos 'Outside Jade Emperor Temple' to 'Leaving Jade emperor Temple') in Havelock Road which is famous for two things; being very old, and for being one of the two Jade Emperor temples that mediums go to for endorsement. The spirit medium himself remained outside of the temple sheltered under an umbrella from the heat of the sun while his helpers took in his credentials to be stamped. I believe this is because he was trancing an Underworld deity, and Underworld deities do not go into the Jade Emperor's temple. The objects stamped included a certificate, a talisman and a selection of flags, each representing a deity. Also, small ritual objects including Tua Ya Pek’s deity chops were circled through the incense smoke in the main censer.
The second location was Bukit Purmei - Tang Gah Beo, a temple which houses Dong Yue Da Di, Chief of the Underworld, and is considered the headquarters for Underworld deities in Singapore. So after seeking blessings from the Jade Emperor in Heaven, the tua sought blessings from the Underworld chief. All of the flags and stamps went through the same ritual process as in the Jade emperor temple. In both temples, bua bue were thrown to ascertain that the deities approved.
The yew keng then visited the City God temple at Toa Payoh – Suan Lin Chen Huang Miao, the reason for visiting this temple is that both their Tua Ya Pek and this City God came from the same province in China, Anxi Province. This temple was also on the previous yew keng route. The fourth stop on the route was Paya Lebar – Jiu Cai Ba Cheng Huang Miao. However, both the Tua Ya Pek and City God from Jiu Cai Ba Cheng Huang Miao are from a different province, and this temple had been chosen by the tua as an extra temple to the procession route.
The penultimate stop was at a supporters private shrine, and it was contextually interesting as the traditional shrine was set up very close to a Subways sandwiches outlet which provided a stark contrast between the traditional Chinese culture and American consumerist society.
The final stop was at Loyang Tua Pek Gong. In common with three of the four temples previously visited, Loyang Tua Pek Gong was included in their original yew keng, and was visited to repay back the blessings that the deity had bestowed upon their tua eight years before. The original purpose in choosing this temple is that in every district there is an Earth God (a Tudi Gong or a Tua Pek Gong) who is the official in charge of an entire area, and being located in Pasir Ris, their tua falls under the jurisdiction of this particular Tua Pek Gong, and therefore his blessings were sought and received. The visit here was therefore to offer thanks and to pay respects to the deity, and as this was the location chosen for the Shaolin kung fu performance, I assume also to provide entertainment for him.
An incredibly sincere, well-educated and knowledgeable Taoist priest accompanied the yew keng into each temple to perform rituals and to chant. The purpose of the chanting is that Tua Ya Pek engages the Taoist priest as a spokesman to inform the resident deities of the temple “that his temple came eight years ago to ask for blessings to let his (Tua Ya Pek’s) temple stabilise and grow, and now eight years later, you can see our growth, you can see the troops that we can finally pay to come and show our respect (to you the resident deity here) and to give gratitude back to you”.
The yew keng finished back at Pasis Ris Drive 6 Blk 426 around 10 PM. The last few hundred meters to the tentage were walked, and it was both an honour and a pleasure to be allowed to walk with them. Upon return, the gentleman who had been skewered had their skewers removed, Alvin came out of trance, and everyone enjoyed some rice porridge. I spoke to Alvin right after he came out of trance and though tired, his mood was energetic and uplifting. As a very pleasing end to the evening, they requested that I take a group photograph which I did. The atmosphere was more like a family celebration by this time as was reflected by the jubilation at the end of an exhausting day. I offered to pay for a place at the grand dinner on the following day, but Alvin’s sister Angela who was in charge of organization refused, instead offering me a free place which was incredibly kind of her. In return, I promised to have some photos ready for them by the next day. There is joy in both giving and receiving.
The Grand dinner May 18th
The day after the Pasir Ris yew keng, they held a very friendly grand dinner which I was lucky enough to attend. The food of course was fantastic, but conversation largely drowned out by the auction, meaning that if one wasn't bidding (i.e., me), the food could be enjoyed to the full. The best dish from my perspective was the fish in soy sauce with green onion which I washed down with an ice cold shandy. A scrummy meal all round – given the opportunity, I could have carried on eating plates of the smoked duck, fried prawns and bowls of chicken soup all night ...
Of key interest was the auctioning of the fa cai gu – urn of prosperity. As a material object, it is an ordinary urn, but as a ritual object, it takes on a powerful significance. The urn has been sanctified by the temple’s Tua Ya Pek, and has been used to pray to the temple’s Tua Ya Pek by devotees, so it is considered a miniature of the big urn in the original temple. It contains two flags representing the flags that Tua Ya Pek carries (these are not new but recycled every year), feathers and three incense sticks. It is made especially for the auction using the incense ashes from the temple, and is a replica of the original in the temple. If you win the bid, it represents that you are inviting this particular Tua Ya Pek to your house as a guest for one year, and you are therefore praying directly to him at home. It also represents prosperity, as when you invite the deity back to your house, the deity will bring you good luck financially, and prosperity in all its other guises. In the past the fa cai gu from this tua has sold between for Singapore $15 and 19,000 which is considered low for Singapore. Some famous temples have auctioned a fa cai gu for several hundreds of thousands, even though the fa cai gu has to be returned to the temple at the end of one year. It can only be kept by a family or business if they win the auction three years consecutively.
Thursday May 19th – Pu Du Ritual
On the 19th the tua held a pu du ritual for ancestors, miscarried babies and aborted foetuses, and for wandering spirits. The cooperation between the Taoist priest and spirit medium was superb, and they had consulted prior to the event to make sure that every detail was prepared and enacted correctly.
I was impressed with the care that had been taken in providing for every element of the hungry spirit world. As can be seen in photos, starting from the entrance to the tentage closest to the road, there were offerings to the wandering spirits, then to ancestors, then to spirits of the disabled and then to miscarried or aborted babies and children. In the photo 'Offerings for Wandering Spirits and Ancestors', the tables in the foreground are to the wandering spirits, and the tables behind for ancestors. The food for them was sumptuous (or in Fabian language "scrummy")
The explanation offered by the tua for offerings to the ancestors is that: "It is to fulfil one’s gratitude towards their ancestors by transferring their merits to the deceased so that their suffering in the Netherworld (地狱) can be reduced and head for reincarnation faster. By treating ancestors to a dinner banquet, it is one’s way of feeding them after death. 大爷伯 frequently teaches our devotees to be grateful to our parents as they painstakingly brought us up by providing us in all aspects hence, we must do the same when they grow old and thereafter as a remembrance. Providing food is a basic need thus, this is a great example of an act of filial piety" (from: http://pasiris.multiply.com/journal/item/60).
I think it is excellent that this tua takes the time to explain to it's followers the reasons, purpose and morality behind their actions and rituals. I have heard from people as diverse as taxi drivers to religious specialists that Taoism is losing ground to Christianity and Buddhism because people do not really understand the religion and no-one explains it. Older people often remark that when they were growing up, one didn't ask "why do we do this?" or "what does this mean?" and so on, and if they did, a common response may be "because that is the way it has always been done". I therefore particularly admire this tua as they encourage questions and offer answers to their followers. As an academic, I can only see the spreading of knowledge as a positive thing, and a deeper understanding of the rituals and morality of Taoism as positive for Taoism as a whole, especially so as we live in what has become to be known as the "information age". Anyway …
Similarly, an explanation is provided to followers why offerings are given to wandering spirits: "Frequently, many wandering spirits are the cause of unjustified deaths (冤死). When their families do not perform proper 普渡 rites, they would continue to wander in the Mortal World (人间) endlessly thus going without clothes, food and shelter for the longest time. Again, if a rite is done for them, their suffering will be reduced. The temple has handled many spiritual cases that arose from direct or indirect association with wandering spirits. Conducting 普渡 ritual is a way of appeasing them. 大爷伯encourages all devotees to help these wandering spirits, not only to lessen their misery and placate their spirits but to gain spiritual merits for oneself and their family members (from: http://pasiris.multiply.com/journal/item/60).
However, according to Chinese tradition, wandering spirits, commonly known as ‘hungry ghosts’ are only allowed to eat during the Lunar 7th month, referred to by some as ‘Ghost Month’. At other times, their throat constricts, and the food burns in their mouth and throat before it can be swallowed. How was it therefore that they could participate in this feast? Alvin explained this in detail:
The seventh month is the official holiday for the wandering spirits when they are allowed to eat, and they can also be invited to eat on the anniversary of their deaths. In the case of the rituals that were performed during the yew keng, they invited the Jade Emperor to witness the rituals that they performed. During the inviting of the Jade Emperor, the Taoist priest laid out exactly what the temple would be doing during the entire event, including feeding the wandering spirits. The Jade Emperor had therefore given his permission and blessing before the event could be held. “We are not helping them to jailbreak, okay? We are bringing them out to give them food as a charity to them, and after that we will have to ensure that we send them back.” In the process, the temple accumulates merits, and also helps the wandering spirits to accumulate merits as the Taoist priest chants from scriptures including those which relate to repentance on their behalf. It should be noted that the wandering spirits invited were from the same locality as the tua, and it was not a universal call to all wandering spirits.
There is also a paper deity in the corner sitting on a unicorn with an umbrella, and this deity changes every year. From the very start of the event, this deity witnesses what the temple has done up until the next event when he is burnt in order to report to the Jade Emperor on what the temple has done in the entire period. This includes reporting on the events that go on during the annual celebration including inviting the wandering spirits, giving them food, and sending them back.
Moving further into the tentage there was an offering that was explained to me as food for the crippled or the handicapped who couldn't sit at the tables to eat. As can be seen in the photo, it was also laid out on the floor where it would be accessible, and there was plenty of it. Lastly, there were offerings of food and toys for the souls of lost children from miscarriages and abortions ... a moving tribute which had been laid out with care and attention to detail.
The organizers explanation of these offerings is that: "A foetus or a baby has a life of its own. Hence, when one of such is lost through a miscarriage or an abortion, it is considered an unjustified death (冤死), just like any other accidental deaths. If a rite (普渡) is not done, the soul (of the baby or foetus) will roam the Mortal World (人间) without clothes, food and shelter till its natural life span ends. But if a rite is performed, its suffering will lessen and the little soul will be brought to the Netherworld (地狱) to await faster reincarnation (投胎)" (from: http://pasiris.multiply.com/journal/item/60).
I questioned Alvin further on this practice as I thought that an aborted foetus was not considered a complete human in the Chinese belief system as it does not contain it’s three hun (souls) and seven p’o (spirits). Alvin has a wealth of knowledge and experience on all matters of a religious nature that relate to the spiritual realms, and informed me that according to the teachings of this Tua Ya Pek, the very moment a woman conceives, one of the hun already enters, as if it didn't, how could the baby grow? Something cannot grow without a life. Only something with a life can grow. The second hun enters when the baby is one month old. Chinese celebrate this in a very elaborate way. The third hun enters when the baby is three years old. This explains why a lot of old people say that children should not go out after dark and so on until they are three years old (four years old in the Chinese lunar system) as before their final hun enters, they are vulnerable. In this system, on the day the baby is conceived it is already one day old. Therefore when the baby is born it is already almost one year old. The full seven p'o will only be complete when the child is 16 years old in the Chinese system.
I expressed the idea that I had read that the three hun represent the soul which keeps the individual alive, and the seven p’o are the personality and emotions of the individual. Alvin concurred and expressed the idea that a baby can cry the day it is born and therefore exhibit emotions from the day of birth. As my own understanding of an emotion is of a thought with a physiological reaction, I had to agree with this assumption. Alvin suggested that even though it cannot be proven, the p'o enter at birth, they keep developing until the age of 16. Even though it seems clear from a Buddhist perspective that our personality, emotions and morality continue developing and maturing throughout our lives and are in fact, in common with all else in the Universe, in a continual state of change, hun and p’o, depending on definition, may be acknowledged as an exception to this rule during different phases of their existence. The three hun, as mentioned, are considered to be the soul, and it is believed that upon death, one goes to the Underworld, one remains in the tomb, and one remains in the ancestral tablet. The one that is reincarnated is the same as that which goes through the Underworld, and when it comes back it returns with two more hun so it forms a complete human again. Alvin claims that nobody knows where the extra two hun materialize from, and I suggested they came from the universal Tao. But I have diversified …
A paper palace had also been built to house the souls of the spirit children during the event (see photo 4), and I was impressed by this attention to detail. In this case, the construction of the palace was instructed by Tua Ya Pek. During the 13 years since the temple was established, Tua Ya Pek’s main motive besides helping living devotees has been to do his part for the wandering spirits that have nobody to take care of them, the so called ‘beggars of the spiritual world’. Therefore, Tua Ya Pek has always instructed that if there is a lack of funds, he would rather give up his own annual celebration and spend the money on the offerings to lost spiritual beings. Therefore, as a tua, they try to give more offerings to the wandering spirits in terms of food, paper houses, clothes and silver paper than they do for even their own deities. This is an example of spiritual compassion in action.
Back to the pu du event … At the appointed time after the chanting had finished, many devotees followed the Taoist Priest across the Nai He Bridge while Tua Ya Pek looked on.
This is a totally different bridge from the Ping An Bridge that I have seen in many temple celebrations. Whilst the Ping An Bridge represents salvation, the Nai He Bridge symbolises the crossing from the mortal world to the Underworld. In the Chinese belief system there may be corruption in the Underworld, so if your ancestors have not gained sufficient merits during their lifetimes or do not have enough money to bribe the bridge guards, their journey may be delayed, or they might even be banned from crossing the bridge and therefore be stranded on Earth as wandering spirits, and hence the need for the Nai He Bridge ritual.
In this ritual, it is mostly the descendants of the deceased that carry the ancestral tablets across the bridge. This symbolises that they have the filial piety to bring them over the bridge, and to pay for the passage. Either the Taoist priest or Tua Ya Pek will lead the procession to make sure that all of the deceased ancestors successfully cross the bridge and enter into the world beyond. On this occasion Tua Ya Pek supervised, and the charismatic Taoist priest lead the devotees across the bridge. In fact, in the day’s events, the Taoist priest was the active agency in the spiritual events as he had been chanting for the whole day. He had chanted to the Underworld deities to ask for permissions and made offerings and informed them that all of these ancestors had already repented for their sins on Earth. The priest utilized the scriptures including those of repentance as a catalyst to cleanse the ancestors of their wrong doings and thus to reduce their sins so that the Underworld Officers would show compassion and let them cross.
The event was spiritually overseen by a male incarnation of Guan Yin (Da Shi Ye) who can control the ghosts and spirits when it is finally time for them to leave. It was explained to me that in this transformation the Goddess of Mercy becomes the King of Ghosts - a transformation that I have not come across previously in my research in Taiwan, but one which is known among religious practitioners in Singapore. After the pu du ritual was over, it was time to transport all the offerings to a suitable location to be ‘sent off’ (incineration allows the spiritual essence of the offerings to be transferred to the spirit world). Once again, the Taoist priest took charge of the proceedings, and there was something magical in the moment that Da Shi Ye left (see photo 'Sending off Da Shi Ye'). A superb ending to a great week of worship, offerings, fine food, conversation, helping, learning and celebration.
