Category: Cultural Customs

The sounds of cymbals, drums and suona accompanied Taoist prayer chanting, around 100 members of the Hau family gathered together at their ancestral house in red mourning attire, burning incense and kneeling to pray under the guidance of five Taoist priests. Through joint effort over several months, the entire family organized a commemoration ceremony in conjunction with the third death anniversary of the late old Mrs Hau. The 30ft joss paper house is dedicated to eight deceased relatives.

In traditional Chinese beliefs, a deceased person’s soul would depart to the Underworld, where they would pass through the Ten Courts of Judgement. Even if a person always did good deeds while alive, there might be unintentional mistakes for which they were punished. Descendants will engage Buddhist monks or Taoist priests to facilitate merit dedication rituals to help their ancestors atone for past misdeeds thus achieving enlightenment.

The head of the household is 69-year-old Hau Kim Heng, whose grandfather hailed from Nan’an, China yet eventually settled in Sungai Rambai, Melaka, where the family prospered and spread across different regions in Singapore and Malaysia. Hau Kim Heng used to work at Singapore in the construction industry, then he returned to the ancestral home to take care of his ageing parents until they breathed their last. His mother passed away peacefully at the ripe old age of 93, with five living generations, therefore a ‘Joyful Funeral’ was held where all the family members wear red mourning clothes.

The dedication of merits is very important in the Hokkien community, the late old Mrs Hau also commended the practice, therefore Hau Kim Heng and siblings decided to throw a grand ceremony in honour of their beloved mother. The dedication of merits usually spans three days, smaller occasions merely 24 hours, yet the Hau family decided on a large scale event spanning five days. The full itinerary comprises ‘soul summoning’, four sessions of prayer chanting held in the morning and at night, request for pardon, destroy city walls, morning assembly, repayment of treasury debts, appease roaming spirits, and dismantle the joss paper house. Last but not least is burning the joss paper house and give thanks to the Jade Emperor.

The leading Taoist priest for the Hau family’s dedication of merits, Haw Eng Thian, is a Zhengyi Taoist affiliated with Mount Longhu in Jiangxi, China. After ordination, he goes by the monastic name Hóu LuóZhǎn. Although just in his forties, he spent almost 30 years in the profession. Both Haw’s father and maternal great-grandfather are Taoist priests, he sparked a keen interest since the tender age of 10, following his father to attend various ceremonies on weekends and holidays, lending a helping hand while learning basics such as drumming, rhyme and rhythm in prayer chanting. Haw started out upon leaving school after Form Two, by the age of 20 he is capable of handling small to medium-scale ceremonies, therefore his father handed over the reins to him. 

At the beginning of his career, Haw handled mostly small to medium-scale ceremonies, where neighbours would assist the host family in preparing offerings and meals. However, community bonds weakened with the passing of the older generations, such tasks had to be outsourced to service providers and food caterers. As a Taoist priest, Haw tries his best to accommodate various requests by different host families. Sometimes he has to travel to two or three venues in a day, his passion alleviating the fatigue as he does his best to fulfill his duty at each ceremony.

The dedication of merits not only commemorates deceased ancestors, it also strengthens family bonds, as well as continuing the legacy of cultural customs. By properly performing each ritual, paying respects to ancestors while inducing younger generations to uphold moral obligations, complete virtue is achieved.

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[Soul Summoning]

The Taoist priest paves the way to the Underworld, using a soul-summoning banner to invite the souls of deceased ancestors to their respective memorial tablets. Each soul-summoning banner bears the name of a deceased, attached to the tip of a long thin bamboo stick, carried by the eldest son or eldest grandson. If the deceased had no offspring, a nephew would do.

[Five Elders Lead the Way]

Inviting the Five Celestial Elders and Five Immortal Boys to serve as guides for the deceased.

Five Celestial Elders: Green Emperor of East, Red Emperor of South, Yellow Emperor of Center, White Emperor of West, Black Emperor of North

Five Immortal Boys: QīngLíng Boy of East holds a green lotus, JīnHuī Boy of South holds a red lotus, ZhēnJué Boy of West holds a white lotus, KaīMíng Boy of North holds a blue lotus, MiàoGuāng Boy of Center holds a yellow lotus. They greet the deceased soul and serve as heavenly guides.

[Prayer Chanting]

The Taoist priest leads the family in prayer chanting: 10 scrolls of 《Precious Litanies of Nine Realms of Darkness》, three scrolls of 《Precious Repentances to the Three Primes》, and 《Scripture on Salvation》. At the conclusion of each scroll, the soul-summoning banner is raised and respects paid to deceased ancestors.

[Request for Pardon]

Apart from prayer chanting and delivering speeches, Taoist priests would act out various scenes, including meeting with the pardon attorney to implore his service in requesting for a pardon letter, feeding the joss paper horse on which the pardon attorney would ride as fast as he could to the Underworld, and pleading with the ruler of the Underworld to grant pardon.

[Destroy City Walls]

Also known as “Rescue from Hell”, based on the Classic of Filial Piety where Mulian rescues his mother from the Underworld. The Taoist priest leads descendants to travel around an octagonal city constructed of joss paper, explaining each checkpoint along the way, then the city walls are destroyed in order to free the deceased ancestors from suffering in the Underworld.

[Morning Assembly]

Offering tea and liquor as a token of gratitude to the presiding deities.

[Repayment of Treasury Debts]

Repaying the loans obtained for reincarnation according to the deceased’s Chinese zodiac. During the burning of treasury banknotes, descendants should keep banging metal objects to scare away roaming spirits from committing robbery. 

[Appease Roaming Spirits]

The host family prepares food and paper offerings to appease roaming spirits.

[Dismantle Joss Paper House]

On the final night of the ceremony, the joss paper house is dismantled and burned, marking the end of the mourning period.

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang / Michael Lerk
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Evon Pang
Copywriter : Pua Hui Wen

COPYRIGHTS 2023 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

36 pieces of 16-inch joss paper folded in half, tied in the middle by a red string, fold the tip of each sheet in alternating directions to shape into a lotus base. Pull a string through three stacked lotus bases and fasten them together, then make a belt out of red paper, thus completing a joss paper lotus (“liân-hue kim” in Hokkien). During Chinese New Year, when celebrating the Jade Emperor’s birthday on the ninth day of the first lunar month, a pair of those are required.

The ninth day of the first lunar month marks the Jade Emperor’s birthday, also dubbed “thiⁿ-kong senn”, “thiⁿ-kong tàn” or “thiⁿ-kong ji̍t”, the most important occasion of the Hokkien clan. Legend has it that during an invasion, Hokkien villagers hid in sugarcane fields in order to flee from massacre, only returning home after the troops have completely retreated, on the ninth day of the first lunar month. To show gratitude for the Jade Emperor’s blessing, the survivors held an elaborate ceremony with sumptuous offerings, among which sugarcane is a must-have. Other clans also celebrate the Jade Emperor’s birthday, to pray for safety, however customs vary across regions.

Joss paper dedicated to the Jade Emperor is called “thiⁿ-kong kim”, the area covered in gold foil is larger in comparison with other joss papers, therefore the most expensive deity currency. “Thiⁿ-kong kim” is folded into distinctive shapes such as ingot or lotus using traditional techniques, then burnt during the praying ceremony as a token of respect and appreciation. During mass emigration to Southeast Asia, joss paper folding techniques from various localities were brought over, the most common being tribute gold ingot, however the age-old method of shaping a large gold ingot by combining two pieces of “thiⁿ-kong kim” is scarcely seen.

70-year-old Madam Tan Siew Hong learnt traditional joss paper folding techniques from her mother since a young age. Later on, when her younger brother set up a praying supplies business, she is able to provide valuable help. Their house at Taman Sin Tat, Raja Uda, Butterworth, also serves as a warehouse, the roof beams are full of hanging joss paper lotuses handmade by Madam Tan. Tribute gold ingots and large gold ingots are folded into semi-completed products and packed, customers will then need to pry open each piece into shape during the praying ceremony.

Ethnic Chinese constitute the plurality of Penang’s state population, among which Hokkien clan is the majority, the ritual of celebrating the Jade Emperor’s birthday is well upheld, presumably the most important occasion of Chinese New Year celebration in Penang. After preparing food offerings and paying respect by burning incense sticks, “thiⁿ-kong kim” is piled mountain-high, symbolising moving onwards and upwards, after burning the paper offerings, firecrackers and fireworks are set off to mark the conclusion of the ceremony. Madam Tan needs to start folding “thiⁿ-kong kim” at least a month ahead of Chinese New Year, to be sold at her brother’s shop. Nevertheless, they almost always sell out, last-minute shopper will even sit by her and wait for her to finish folding “thiⁿ-kong kim”.

After a hectic Chinese New Year, the next busy periods for Madam Tan are tomb-sweeping festival and ghost festival, where she needs to fold joss paper relevant to the occasion as well as pack appropriate paper offerings into sets. Paper offering sets are an effective way to avoid mistakes in praying rituals, as the types of joss paper and paper offerings vary according to the occasion.

Decline in religious affiliation occur due to the pressure of leading fast-paced lives, however maintaining a heart full of gratitude opens up the door for continued blessings, therefore the ritual of celebrating the Jade Emperor’s birthday is still being upheld. The techniques of folding joss paper dedicated to the Jade Emperor have become simplified, not many have the time or patience to continue practising the complicated, old-fashioned way. It is truly wonderful of Madam Tan who is always willing to share traditional “thiⁿ-kong kim” folding skills and provide guidance.

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang / Michael Lerk
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Copywriter : Pua Hui Wen

COPYRIGHTS 2023 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

Standing at 21ft tall and 24ft wide, the joss paper house is built on a grand scale according to traditional Mǐnnán architecture layout, featuring ornate decorations. The frame is made of bamboo slivers tied together using paper strings, layers of vivid coloured paper are pasted as walls, balconies, and pavilions. Illuminated by colourful LED light strips, the entire joss paper house sparkles. In traditional Chinese beliefs, a deceased person’s soul would depart to the Underworld, therefore the Hokkien clan would dedicate comfortable joss paper houses to their dead relatives. 

Hokkien ancestor veneration revolves around filial piety. As a tribute to deceased parents, to mark the end of the three-year mourning period, the bereaved family would engage Buddhist monks or Taoist priests to facilitate merit dedication rituals to help their ancestors achieve enlightenment. Legend has it Emperor Taizong of Tang dynasty visited the Underworld in a dream, upon returning to the mortal world he organised merit dedication rituals for departed souls to atone for past misdeeds thus achieving enlightenment. Apart from joss paper houses, there are also gold and silver mountains, servants, sedan and carriages etc. are burned as offerings.

Toh Chooi Heng from Jenjarom has almost four decades of experience in crafting joss paper offerings, expertising in joss paper houses and Jade Emperor thrones (for use in Jade Emperor birthday celebration on the ninth day of the first lunar month). He has been helping his uncle crafting joss paper offerings since he was 11 years old, mastering the skills along the way. Having attempted various unsuccessful ventures during his youth, he returned to crafting joss paper offerings. As Toh settled his mind and paid full attention to his work, he patiently crafted elaborate and intricate joss paper houses. Even though the entire process is time-consuming and production capability is limited, he insist that the deceased should reside comfortably in an extravagant Underworld residence.

Toh’s joss paper houses are constructed in accordance with classic Mǐnnán folk dwellings, extending from the main hall in the center to symmetrical left and right wings, connecting to each other via corridors. The central courtyard is surrounded by rooms on all four sides: the South hall, the North hall, the East chamber, and the West chamber. The South hall is annexed to the gate, then comes the courtyard, where the East and West chambers sit on either wing. The North hall consists of major bedrooms and living space.

The topmost point of the joss paper house is the balcony, which offers moonlight view. Each storey is adorned with paper effigies symbolizing good fortune, such as Top Scholar Street Parade, Nezha rampages across the East Sea, the Eight Immortals etc. Furthermore, the 24 instances of filial piety are depicted, in the hopes of descendants continue to uphold virtues. The main entrance occupies the middle spot, winged by gardens and ponds, with arched bridges and ten pavilions.

The fundamental skill of crafting joss paper houses is to tie bamboo slivers using paper strings, which is harder than it looks, requiring ambidextrous coordination to build a solid frame thus preventing structure failure. Upon mastering this skill, one may move on to learn to construct paper columns proportionate to the building’s dimensions. Next up is the basic layer of white paper, on which coloured paper is pasted, then seal the corners. Sections of the joss paper house are completed separately, piled onto a lorry for delivery to the ritual altar to be assembled on the spot and to add on the paper effigies.

Advancing technology gave Toh the idea of illuminating joss paper houses with LED light strips. He does not stick firmly to tradition, but is open to creativity challenges. If customers decided on a joss paper bungalow, he is able to create a replica based on photos provided by customers. The scale dimension of a joss paper house is subject to spatial constraints, i.e. adequate space for open burning. Due to the time-consuming process of crafting joss paper houses and thereafter assembling at the ritual altar, Toh needs to estimate delivery time carefully in order to prevent double-booking himself, since he is unable to be in two places at the same time.

Even though their forebearers emigrated overseas a century ago, traditional cultural values such as ancestor veneration are still embedded within the Malaysian Chinese community, and traditional mortuary rituals are still being practised. Toh Chooi Heng observed that as times change, traditional rituals are getting simplified, traditional trades such as crafting joss paper offerings might slowly die out. However he feels optimistic as current market competition positively influence fellow craftsmen to produce higher quality handiworks, instead of the other way round.

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang / Michael Lerk
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Copywriter : Pua Hui Wen

COPYRIGHTS 2023 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD