During the Chinese Spirits of the 7^th Month (known by the misnomer “the Hungry Ghost) Festival, many Chinese communities in Malaysia & Singapore hold traditional Chinese opera using human actors, but only a few places still put on Chinese puppet shows. 

Not everything is strictly traditional about how the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia celebrate the Spirits of the 7^th Month “Hungry Ghost” Festival.  Chinese opera—in either Hokkien & Teowchew styles predominate, & there’s the rare traditional Chinese puppet show to entertain the sudden population explosion of spirits walking around.  But the modern world has invaded tradition as well, and most locales celebrating the festival also include some modern-styled Chinese entertainment.

Everyone living near any traditional Chinese community knows that this is now the 7^th Chinese month—that remarkable time of year known to many as the Hungry Ghost Festival. My closest local Chinese friend—a traditional religionist—insists that we stop calling it the Hungry Ghost Festival & more properly call it the “Festival of the Spirits of the 7^th Month.”

I want to respect his wishes, but sounds like a mouthful! And in the meantime, everyone else seems to call it the Hungry Ghost Festival.

The island of Java, in Indonesia has been documented to have the most fertile soil in the world. The volcanic soil here grows rice like crazy. Where there’s abundant food people have time to do more than just look for dinner & culture thrives.  

Many Javanese have long been freed up to delve deeply into the arts.  Batik, filigree silver making, ornate wood carving—some of the world’s best of these can be found in Java.  And then, there’s wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre!