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| Let the show begin! |
The hungry ghost festival in is full swing and every night, there is a Chinese opera performance somewhere in the streets of George Town, Penang. The photographs in this post were taken at the Phor Tor (Hungry Ghost Festival) held in Jalan Gurdwara (formerly Brick Kiln Road).
During the festival, these Chinese street opera are performed as an entertainment offering to Phor Tor Kong or the King of Hades, and the wandering ghosts who are allowed to roam the human realm for a whole month. Indeed, during our photoshoot that night, there were only two of us and two other photographers there. Perhaps there are other invisible 'souls' around us at that time?
These festivals are set up by the business communities in their respective areas and features giant paper effigies of Phor Tor Kong with various offerings placed on extended altars in front. The highlight of each festival is on the last night when the giant effigy of Phor Tor Kong is lit up in a bonfire of paper offerings, sending the King off in a grand way.
Sadly, the popularity of these street performances amongst the people is dwindling fast in the past years. This is probably due to the lack of artistic appreciation amongst the younger generation.
