Language Matters | How Hungry Ghost Festival cultural practices evolved in Hong Kong and Singapore
- The climax of Ghost Month when spirits from Hell roam free, the festival is marked with offerings, Chinese opera and, in Singapore, songs
“Open the gates!” And so it was that, a fortnight ago, at the start of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the Gates of Hell were unlocked for another year, allowing spirits to pass back into our world.
Throughout the day, on bamboo stages erected for the purpose in neighbourhoods and streetside, one can watch traditional Chinese opera – a performing art form rooted in Chinese tradition and staged with stylised actions and elaborate costumes.
Cultural practices such as Chinese opera were taken by migrants to their new homes. In the 20th century Hong Kong saw significant migration from mainland China, a consequence of the Sino-Japanese War, Communist revolution, and economic hardship; the majority came from the southern coastal provinces, especially Guangdong and Fujian.
Hong Kong is naturally a home to the major genre of Cantonese opera – which was inscribed in the first national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in 2006, and Unesco’s Representative List of ICH of Humanity in 2009. Chinese opera practices are also found in the communities of the Chiu Chow, Punti, Hoklo, and Tanka (boat people).
