Urban Legend Feature - hungry For Revenge

Some believe evil will befall anyone who steps on food offerings for hungry ghosts. Could it all be in the mind?

When he was 7 years old, Mt Teo Chai Leng walked over some food offerings placed along a dark lane during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. That night he developed a mild fever that lasted two hours. This recurred at the same time over the next three days. Hi father, a Taoist priest, concluded that the fever bore the hallmarks of a ghost encounter, so he prayed over him and had him drink water mixed with a burnt joss paper. The child recovered the next day. Now 43, Mr Teo, himself a taoist priest for the past 25 years, has learnt his lesson: Woe betide anyone who offends the spirits, especially during the seventh lunar month when the Chinese observe the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Offenders may run a light fever and suffer sleepless nights and loss of appetite, or they could face a bout of bad luck and run into financial trouble, he warned. In more serious cases where the spirits enter and possess a victim, he may become mad or even die, said Mr Teo. To sidestep possible ill fortune, he advise people to keep a safe distance from offering sites. If you have to walk by them, be sure not to look at or utter careless words about them, he said. Instead, say differentially: "Excuse me, please let me pass."

Some may dismiss all this as superstition. But for years, the Chinese have been observing such practices, which have become stuff of urban legends associated with the Hungry Ghost Festival. they believe that food and paper money meant for wandering spirits during the festival, which falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, are not to be trampled on lest the spirits are offended. The term 'hungry ghost' is actually a misnomer as the festival is an occassion for all ghost.

During the seventh lunar month, the Buddhists offer prayers to express filial devotion to their dead ancestors. They commemorate the filial piety of Mu Lian, a mythical character who was able to find his dead mother in hell only with much effort. When he tried to feed his starving mother, other hungry ghosts grabbed the food. But with the intercession of Buddha, who was touched by his devotion to his mother, he finally succeeded in feeding her.

The Buddhists celebrate the festival as yulan Penhui, which is derived from the Sanskrit word "ullambana", meaning "emptying out of hell". They believe that "hell beings" are allowed to wander the world in search of food and other necessities during the seventh month. To Taoists,
the festival is a time to pray for ther estless souls that have no one to pray for them, giving rise to the English label "Hungry Ghost Festival".

In multi-religious Singapore, even members of the Malay and Indian community are mindful to keep a safe berth from road side religious offerings. Respect for spirit offerings should be shown throughout the year, Taoist priests said. One could offend the roaming spirits at any time - there just happens to be more of them around during the seventh lunar month, they added. And one is more vulnerable to the supposed ghosts if his 'yangqi' or life force is low, said Mr Teo.

The Chinese believe that the 'yin' world is populated by ghosts and spirits, while human beings make up the 'yang' realm. Upon entering a person's body, the ghost can throw one's system off balance, resulting in physical and emotional illness.

Mrs Sandra Tan, 50, a retired financial controller, witnessed such an episode. Her elder sister was preparing soup as a food offering more than 30 years ago during the seventh lunar month when some of the ash from the joss sticks she was holding fell into the soup. She yelled in dismay that it had been contaminated. Later that day, she developed a fever, supposedly because her utterances had offended the spirits. Already distressed by her husband's infidelity, she also suffered daily migraines, panic attacks and a loss of appetite after that. Despite peace offerings made by her mother and visits to mediums, her condition continued to worsen and she died five years later. Although she was diagnosed as having died of a brain tumor, her family believed her brush with the spirits led to her undoing.

To shed more light on this myth, devotees at several temples here were approached but many declined to comment, for fear that they may say 'the wrong things' and offend the spirits, as one put it. Such a response is not unusual, given that the Chinese view the world as being divided into good and evil. Acts that offend the spirit world invite retribution in the same way that evil begets evil, said Associate Professor Lo Yuet Keung of the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore. So to placate vengeful ghosts and have peace of mind, it is customary for Taoist priests to offer prayers, food and paper money during the seventh lunar month.

Retired teacher Lee Lih Tyng, 51, said that traditional beliefs validate the existence of ghosts. When the ghosts are said to be released from hell (during the Hungry Ghosts Festival), this induces fear in the minds of believers. It is pure psychology. They are trapped by their fears, suffer illusions and paranoia and then develop psychosomatic illness. A former Taoist, she used to subscribed to such beliefs.

Seen in this light, the death of Mrs Tan's sister could have been triggered by her guilt over offending supposed spirits, said Mrs Lee. Her inability to find a cure despite repeated visits to Chinese mediums convinced her that she had been possessed by a vicious and powerful ghost. This, in turn, led to a spiral of fear and paranoia that led to her eventual death. "If no one told you to be careful of these things, you would be ignorant and nothing actually happens. It's in keeping with the Chinese saying, 'bu zhi zhe bu zui' (the ignorant are without fault)," said Mrs Lee, recounting how beggars in her neighbourhood have eaten food offerings for spirits with no consequence. Still, many prefer to err on the side of caution.

Insurance agent Heng yun ying,46, who claimed to have seen ghosts in the past said: "That you cannot see ghosts with your eyes does not mean they do not exist. There's much power in the spirit world."

Fear is not the only reason behind offerings to ghosts. NUS Dr Lo said others include respect for and devotion to the dead. The Chinese, he added, regard the ,iving and the dead as one continuum. Offerings to the ghosts are a symbolic expression of filial love for dead
ancestors. "Underlying all this is Chinese altruism, a call to treat one's fellow beings, even those not related by blood, in a generous and gracious way." he said. He likened this to 'educating people by the use of spirits".

So the warning not to step on food offerings could be seen as a way to encourage reverence for the dead. It is impossible to prove a link between an offence that displeases a ghost any any ill effects that follow because much of this is tied to a person's belief system, he said.

But no matter why people make offerings, the result is the same - it spurs people on to show compassion and love. "There's a didactic purpose to all this that's rational and not superstitious,: he said. "What is superstitious are human perceptions and understandings."