Hungry Ghost Festival

Hungry Ghost Festival is a festival of the Chinese in Malaysia. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is known as Zhong Yuan Jie in Mandarin, and Phor Tor in Hokkien. This festival is Taoism fused with folklore and local superstition.

The Taoists believe that during the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival, the gates of hell are open allowing the ghosts to wander the earth, seeking food and entertainment. These ghosts are spirits of the dead who were not given a proper sendoff. These ghosts are appeased with offerings, so that the ghost will not disturb them. For that reason, the superstitious Taoists do not go out at night, and even avoid going on trips and holidays, for fear that the wandering spirits will catch their soul while they are in unfamiliar ground.

Tent set up for the Hungry Ghost Festival (25 August 2012)


In addition to food offerings, families also burn "hell money" for use by their departed ancestors in the afterworld. Paper effigies of material goods - which can be anything from motorcars to mobile phones or even houses - are also burned, as a form of mailing them to hell.

In many places in Malaysia, particularly in Penang, market traders as well as coffee shop owners fund the erecting of makeshift stage for open-air concerts, called Koh Tai in Hokkien, as well as Chinese Operas. The shows are in fact staged for the entertainment of the wandering ghosts as well as the Gatekeeper of Hades, a fiercesome effigy erected facing the stage, with offerings of food before it. The food comprises five different types of vegetable dishes and five different types of meat dishes. The festival culminates on the end of the seventh lunar month with a ritual "closing of the door of hell" ceremony.

The Hungry Ghost Festival coincides with the Buddhist Ghost Festival of Ullambana. It is likely that the Hungry Ghost Festival is rooted in ancestral worship, which is still a pivotal part of the celebration, and predates both Taoism and Buddhism.

Effigy of the Lord of Hades (25 August 2012)