Performing for Ghosts

Hungry Ghost month came & went. I don't miss the ashes flying about or watching out where I walk in case I trip over some offering. But I do look forward to the performances. Typically you either get the Getai, which I'd talked about here or the Chinese Opera. 

There were several going on in my neighborhood throughout the month. 

I asked around & made sure we went for one of the Opera Performances. 

Not quite your Orchestra band

The Girl enjoyed the costume & the makeup. 

Since we don't understand Teochew,

we made up stories on what they were saying & doing on stage

Meanwhile the auction & feasting carried on. 

The performance was indeed for the ghosts & a handful of us. 

Getai in our backyard

So we moved. Not exactly to the heartlands but definitely to a more local neighbourhood. Proof of this is the fact that a make shift stage was set up over the weekend for a getai show.

For my foreign friends, getai translates to mean "song stage". These are performances typically staged during the Hungry Ghost Festival (which is now) sponsored by the Chinese clan associations or businesses in the area. Gosh I haven't been to one of these in ages & when I realised that there is one right in our backyard, it was time to introduce X & the Girl to this uniquely Singaporean experience.

It was a bit of a lost cause of course cos they kept asking me what was going on & my Hokkien wasn't good enough to do a meaningful translation & X could not appreciate the kitschy appeal of it all. But it was a walk down memory lane for me & I'm glad all this happened right in my hood.

Hungry Ghost Festival occurs in the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. During this time, the spirits of the netherworld cross over to wander. Hence it is time for the Chinese to burn offerings, incense, put up performances to appease the ghosts so that they may enjoy their brief sojourn & return happily to where they come from.

Be it a make shift stage

there will always be fancy lighting, band & a very powerful sound system

Glam or Kitsch ?

Our fellow audience members

Ramayana Revisted

What can you do with an active 5 year old during the weekends ? Quite a lot if you are living in Singapore. Several weeks ago, we had a blast at the Peranakan Museum. They organised a special event over a weekend celebrating Ramayana & so had a whole bunch of activities for kids, all free.

Shall we take a look at what we did ? We were might busy.

This is Rangoli, traditional sand art. I'm ashamed to say my introduction of this was one episode of the Amazing Race Asia where they got the contestants to do this as part of a road block.

This takes patience so it was amazing for me to see The Girl spending a good part of the hour at it. She wanted to keep going on.

This was the end result (just kidding !)

I only have to whisper the words "face painting" & she would be jumping with joy. Children are so easy to please.

The only time she will sit quietly for more than a few minutes without fidgeting.

This was the highlight of her day. To have a henna painting. You should have seen her. She was holding up her hand the whole day, like the wounded, so afraid to smudge it. The henna lasted a good one week, during which time, she would show it off to everybody - even random strangers on the street.

The favorite with everyone else was the clay section. Everybody had a go at making different animals. We made this adorable elephant.

This was a bit of a mess but so much fun. Sand art. The children had a choice of different designs. I just had to help her remove the stickers & then she was off selecting the colours & pouring the sand over. The final result is now sitting on her bookshelf.

And that wasn't it... In between the activities, we got to watch several performances.

The space is a bit tight & since we weren't on Singapore kiasu mode yet (that changed for the next show) meaning we weren't there early enough to snag a spot, we didn't manage to catch the first show.

I might have found out what a Chinese opera had to do with the whole Ramayana theme if I had bothered to read the program.

Making sure we weren't disappointed a second time, we made our way to the performance area early. The Girl was the one who kept reminding me not to be late for the show. A Indonesian group enacted part of the Ramayana story which thrilled everyone. I, personally, adored their costumes.

Photo op after the show

All in all, a very good afternoon. It kept her busy for several hours. We brought home several souvenirs & best of all, didn't cost me a single cent.

Why I don't go to Starbucks

I used to be a fan of Starbucks - I know my frappucino from my macchiato, I know the Starbucks lingo - I know what it means when somebody says venti decaf 2% vanilla latte.

But I have not stepped into one in more than 3 months. Why ? I'm re-discovering the humble kopi. Once overshadowed by the more glamorous Western chains of coffee shops but not anymore.

They seemed to have made a comeback over the years & the kopi tiam has gone upmarket - Ya Kun, Toast Box, Wang, Mr Teh Tarik. Not only are they in air conditioned comfort, they are also offering ice blended coffees & get this, kopiccino.

I love going there for our mid afternoon snack of soft boiled eggs & kaya toast. Not quite the same gouter that we used to have in France.

Hey kopi tiams have their lingo too. I know what kopi o (coffee black) & kopi kosong (coffee no milk no sugar) means but I only just found out what's kopi siu dai (coffee less sweet).

So why pay $8 when you can get $1 coffee done the traditional way ? In a sock, of course.