On Ghosts

Reflections of some ghostly events held by The Black Sampan & NUS Interfaith

Introduction

I attended 2 fascinating events in October the “official spooky month” after the Hungry Ghost Month because Halloween is unfortunately stealing the limelight from what used to be the scariest time of the year for us as children.

This is my reflection on the 2 talks I attended, in my usual stream-of-consciousness ramble.

Okay, here we go!

A Taxonomy of Hantus

I saw on Instagram that The Black Sampan had invited Adeline Kueh & Alfian Sa’at to speak on Pontianaks and on Hantus respectively.

Excited, I quickly signed up with a friend and it was good that I did, for the event was completely sold out.

There was amazing food served (I wished I hadn’t eaten dinner before) before the event started, and the usher was dressed up as a hantu which scared me proper.

I enjoyed Adeline’s talk as a fellow Pontianak fan, but it was Alfian’s presentation that had me really intrigued.

“A Taxonomy of Hantus” explored the various categories of ghosts (“hantu” is Malay for “ghost”) which I found most fascinating.

Through his presentation, I learnt about spirits I’d never heard about before. It was that very night that I learnt about Makcik Keropok, who is a lady ghost who goes around selling keropok (a crispy snack) to Muslim households in HDB apartments.

I asked my friend how Makcik Keropok knows which are the Muslim households, and being a Muslim himself, he explained that they often have a verse from the Quran placed above their door written in Jawi.

“Ah… I see…” I replied. Our indigenous ghosts are pretty damn smart aren’t they?

I heard about the usual, Hantu Tetek (Ghost with Boobs that Suffocate), my favourite Pontianak (a ghost that died at childbirth that consumes the entrails of men who have wronged her), Orang Minyak (The Oily Man), Penanggalan (a spirit with a Floating Head and Entrails who achieved her form by dissolving her body in vinegar), and many, many, many more.

(I wish I could recall more of the different ghosts Alfian mentioned, maybe I should ask him for a copy of his slides. I think I remembered Makcik Keropok only because as a HDB dweller, it seemed like there’s a possibility of me meeting her + have I mentioned I really enjoy crunching on keropok?)

What I found most interesting was the fact that both speakers made sure that they did not speak on a Thursday evening (when ghosts are supposed to be more active, and speaking their name would summon them, according to Malay tradition), as the talk was held on a Friday night, and also Adeline mentioning in passing how the closest there is to a form of queerness is the Penanggalan consuming the bloody period excretions of women.

At this point, I am reminded of a Buddhist talk I once attended where a nun told us to not disrespect spirits.

She said to us, “Don’t say you don’t believe in ghosts. The next thing you know, they’ll come pay you a visit.”

At that point, I was very new to Buddhism and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they believe in spirits too. And have a healthy respect for them to boot.

It’s cool cos when I was chatting about the Hungry Ghost Festival with a Muslim friend of mine, he told me that as a child, his parents told him to be careful to not kick the joss sticks or offerings laid out by the Chinese, or the offended spirit(s) would follow him home.

I love living in a country where such experiences of religious diversity abound.

In any case, I am glad my third eye isn’t open and I cannot see spirits of any sort. This also reminds me of a recent Dhamma talk I attended at the Buddhist Fellowship where a monk explained that even though meditation might activate spiritual gifts where people are able to see spirits, he urged us not to pursue it as an intention when meditating.

The reason?

“If your karma isn’t yet “purified”, every day would be a walking horror show. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the novice is supposed to do hundreds of thousands of prostrations to Guan Yin or Buddha to purify their karma before attaining such states.”

Anyways back to the talk. I really enjoyed my first event with The Black Sampan, and am happy to learn of fellow Pontianak fans. I mean, according to this paper by a lecturer from Harvard, she is after al a symbol of female empowerment.

So yes, I say, you go girl!

Different Faiths, Different Experiences

Then, a couple days later, I was at my very first NUS Interfaith meeting held at U-Town.

I loved the meeting facilitated by Seung Jun and Brandon, the president and vice-president of this CCA respectively.

It was a great experience hearing folks from different faiths (and those of no faiths) share about their experiences with spirits and ghosts in different settings.

Dialogue sessions between members of the various faith communities in Singapore are so very important, as we not only learn from one another but begin to appreciate the diversity and beauty that life in Singapore has to offer.

I thought that having a “Brave Space” and all it entails, as laid out by Brandon at the beginning of the session was an important way to signal that even though all of us might have differences in beliefs and practices, it was vital to be respectful to one another and to practice deep listening and not cut in unnecessarily.

Seung Jun who kindly provided Korean strawberry and banana milk and London Choco Rolls for our evening snacks was also very welcoming and I’ll be sharing my experiences of my second session with them in a separate post shortly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I was absolutely chuffed to have attended the two events to learn about spirits from academics and also through the lived experiences of people.

As an exvangelical who used to despise spirits and over-generalise them as being all “of the Devil” or demonic, I am now beginning to have a greater appreciation for the diversity of spirits in the land we live on.

How do you get to know someone you’ve never met?

By learning from the stories of those who’ve met them of course.

And that’s what I’m doing here.

I am truly grateful for such events that are both fun and educational and promote inter-realm understanding.

I’m still learning and will post updates in the future when I finish a book I’m reading on spirits, or maybe do a book review over on my website I am currently in the midst of revamping.