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Grand preparation for the spirit
wedding
Over the past days the weather was gloomy and pouring heavy rain.
To our surprise the thick clouds were clear upon this particular
Monday morning as if it was a sign for something. A SPI
investigation team were tasked to observe and document a spirit
wedding at the Seng Wong Beo Temple. As the ceremony would
commence at 0800 hrs, the agents already arrived at the temple at
0730 hrs.
It was a public holiday today, the streets were unusually quiet on
a Monday morning. At the front gate of the temple, SPI saw two
guys unloading heaps paper offerings and models from a truck and
placed them outside the temple on the pavement. The investigators
were awed at the huge size of the paper models which were going to
be used for the spirit wedding later. There were paper effigies of
a car, bed, bridges, human figurines and even a huge mansion house
whose height was almost half as tall as a human. It must have been
really exacting on the workers who ¡¥built¡¦ these. These artworks
would be later incinerated in fire that was believed to be a
'transport' method to send them to the other dimension.
The investigators noticed that the temple¡¦s door was closed. ¡§Do
you think we should go in now?¡¨ asked an uncertain Sunkist. Just
then, one of the guys who unloaded the offerings and the paper
effigies from the truck replied, ¡§The temple is closed now. Please
come back in half an hour time.¡¨ Upon hearing this, they headed to
the nearby Tanjong Pagar cooked food centre for a light breakfast
and also performed a routine check on their equipments.
SPI returned back to the temple at exactly 0800 hrs. The smell of
the incenses filled the air and everyone's nostrils. There were
already quite a number of devotees paying their respect to the
deities. The investigators were greeted warmly by a helper of the
temple when they asked to see Madam Tham, the lady in charge of
the temple. They were led to the backyard of the temple where
several helpers were busy preparing and setting up the offerings
and the paper models for the spirit wedding. Madam Tham, who was
involved in the ceremony, introduced SPI to the paper effigies and
offerings that they would be using for the ceremony. She also
briefly told SPI that the family members of the deceased who would
be present for the wedding ceremony soon.
 
1. Early in the morning, a
punctuate unmarked truck was unloading all the necessary paper
dolls and offerings
2-4. They were piled at the entrance of the temple even before it
opened and before the temple abbots arrived
 
1. Two big concrete incense burners
were occupying half of the width of the pavement;
2. The full Chinese name of the temple that situated just behind
International Plaza;
3 - 4. SPI arrived on time and were ready for the investigation
Here came the priest
At around 0900 hrs, the sounds of strong chanting and the striking
sound of the small gong coming from the main entrance of the
temple were heard. ¡§The priest has arrived.¡¨ Madam Tham announced.
Master Lu Rong Xin, 51, is an experienced Cantonese priest who has
been practicing rituals since he was 12 years old.
For this occasion, Master Lu had been invited to perform the
rituals. He walked towards the back of the temple where the
ceremony was held as he chanted and hit the drum and the gong he
held in his left hand nine times each. According to Wei Yi, this
signifies the priest informing the deities of the nine realms of
heaven and nine realms of underworld. In addition, the beat of the
bell travels to the heaven while the beat of the drum travels to
the underworld.
The ceremony began with the priest chanting in the main hall,
honoring the city deity. As mentioned by Wei Yi, this part of the
ritual is a litany, meaning a ritual conducted in front of the
deities for confessing and imploring for forgiveness. Litany rites
are conducted to pardon the dead¡¦s guilt and help them to ascend
to heaven or to have a good reincarnation. While the investigators
were watching on, Wei Yi picked up sentences such as ¡¥dispelling
crimes in the nine dark hells¡¦. This short ceremony involved the
priest reporting to the city deity on the details of the rituals,
the people involved and at the same time, also seeking the
blessing and assistance of the city deity to oversee the whole
ceremony.
Shortly, the priest led the family members to the gates of the
temple facing the heaven and started to chant. The family members
followed immediately and burned the joss paper offerings the
priest held on to throughout the ritual. Subsequently, the priest
led them to the guardians of the gate to pray and soon after that
to the ancestral tablets. Wisely explained to the SPI team that
this part of the ritual was to invite the spirit come up to the
mortal world from hade and the priest¡¦s job here was to lead the
spirit pass the door guardian of the temple. If this was not met,
the spirit would not be allowed to enter the temple. The
investigators followed closely behind them to the back hall.
 
1 - 2. Four paper dolls, the two in
front are the bride and groom, two behind are the servants
3 - 4. The paper mansion that is meant for the newly wedded
couple.
There are two symbolic "gold" and "silver" mountains beside the
house, representing plenty of wealth for the occupants
 
1. Look into the house, it has a
waterfall view! On both sides, there is a water basin with some
toothpaste, and a car parked on the right
that they are somewhat out of scale. All are merely for symbolic
means
2. Paper made table and chairs. On the table top there are hot
water flask and cups, for the spirits to enjoy in the underworld
3 - 4. Paper double bed, you can see the pillows, blanket and even
bolster! The bed is somehow too narrow for two persons?
 
1. Dressing table with a big mirror
in the middle, clock and other cosmetic items drawn as
representation.
They are perhaps too much details and small size to be made as
three-dimensional items?
2 - 3. A paper car with chauffer driver to be offered to the newly
wedded ghost couple
4. This is the location of the ghost marriage ritual - it is the
backyard of the temple where the ancestral tablets were placed
Summoning up the deceased souls from hell for cleansing
The priest proceeded to the squared shaped paper model which
symbolized the gates of hell. The model had pictures on the gates
on each side, complete with food offerings placed in front of each
gate. The priest started at the East Gate and he instructed the
family members to stand behind him. Holding on to the ¡¥magical¡¦
sword, the priest wove the sword with his right hand and recited
scriptures and incantations. One of the male family members, who
was the head of the family, offered a cup of wine in front of the
East Gate. This is known as the ¡¥sacrificing wine¡¦. After the
sacrificing wine, joss paper offerings were offered and the family
members bowed three times to the gate.
Next, the priest empowered the East Gate with a lighted joss paper
folded in the shape of a cone, which is also known as the ¡¥fire
brush¡¦. Soon after this, the priest struck the paper gate three
times with the sword and declared the gate to be opened at his
order. At the same time, the family members were to shout out the
name of the deceased. Finally, the priest declared, ¡§From the East
Gate, out you come!¡¨ The whole atmosphere became very tense as the
ceremony was going on. Madam Tham whispered to SPI and said, ¡§This
ritual is very important as it releases the injured soul to be
cleansed.¡¨ The ritual continued and the priest repeated the same
ritual for the other three gates, namely the South, West and North
Gates. After the ¡¥destruction¡¦ of all the gates, the priest took a
paper effigy out from the centre of the squared shape model. This
meant that the spirit had been rescued from the gates of hell.
The paper effigy was placed in front of the altar by the priest.
Beside the paper effigy, there was another effigy which was much
taller and larger in size. Madam Tham continued to explain to SPI,
¡§The paper effigy which was just rescued from hell represents the
current state of the spirit, she carries the illness and
sufferings she had when she was alive. The much larger paper
effigy next to her represents the healthier form. The priest will
soon heal her spirit and she will regain her original health form
again.¡¨
They proceeded on to the next step where the priest empowered the
model of the bathroom and the ¡¥stage overlooking the hometown¡¦
which was situated above the bathroom. The priest placed the paper
effigy into the bathroom and spiritually bathed it. Deities were
invoked to supervise the rituals. A sacrifice of three cups of
wine was also offered to the deceased. The priest then reported
the details of the ritual to the deities seeking for their
approval. This was followed by the healing of the spirit whereby
the priest used two Chinese instruments namely the ¡¥mu yu¡¦ and the
bell. The priest struck the bell nine times followed by making
three bows. The chanting of prayers was recited together with the
rhythm of the ¡¥mu yu¡¦.
At this very moment, something strange happened. As the SPI
investigators were witnessing the ceremony, the dogs in the
courtyard started barking out of the blue. They were taken aback
by their unexpected reaction. What made the dogs bark all of a
sudden? Was it a coincidence or the effect of the ritual?
The ritual ended with three bows made by the family members.
According to Wei Yi, the scared name of the ¡¥Deity who dispel
crimes in the nine dark hells¡¦ was invoked during the ritual. Not
very long after the ritual ended, the priest called for a short
break. Beads of perspirations were seen across the priest¡¦s brows.
Indeed, it was tiring for the priest who conducted the ritual
under the blazing hot sun.
 
1 & 2. Food offerings were prepared
in front of the bridal couple paper dolls. It has wine and meats
and cakes of all sorts
3 - 4. This is the mysterious puzzle here. What is the function of
the red string that ties to the heads of the paper dolls?
 
On the other side, there are
another pair of dolls, one big one small.
The smaller one represents the current state of the soul, shabby
and tormented. The big one represents good health and fortune
Before the marriage ritual, the priest would conduct another
so-called "cleansing and blessing" ritual for the soul summoned up
from hell.
The soul would first enter into the smaller doll. Then after
prayers, the soul would transfer to a bigger doll that is more
nourished.
Thereby symbolically the "condition" of the soul is said to be
improved through this ritual
 
1. This paper boxes represent the
Hell Gate through which the souls would be summoned through by the
priest
2. Lots of joss papers that represent gold and hell money,
probably for paying for the transport fees for the soul to come
out
3. Each box column has four doors for four directions of the hell
gate. Two boxes, one for each bride and groom
4. When the ritual starts, the candles and joss sticks would have
lit. Notice the red string placed underneath the hell gate box?
The red string is believed to lead the soul out; then the soul
would be transferred to the paper dolls that are tied with another
red string
Bridges to the underworld
With the break nearing to an end, the priest changed back to his
robe and continued with the ceremony. He led the family members to
pray to the two deities known as the ¡¥flower deities¡¦. Other
deities were invoked such as the Guan Yin, Three divine officials,
etc. The whole ritual of invoking the deities lasted for about ten
minutes and ended with the burning of paper offerings and three
bows to the ¡¥flower deities¡¦. Soon, it was followed by the ritual
of crossing the ritual bridges.
Taoists believe there are three bridges leading to the underworld.
The three bridges are namely the ¡¥golden bridge¡¦, the ¡¥silver
bridge¡¦ and the ¡¥naihe bridge¡¦. The ¡¥golden bridge¡¦ and the
¡¥silver bridge¡¦ are used by the sages and righteous people,
whereas the ¡¥naihe bridge¡¦ is used by the common folks. The ¡¥naihe
bridge¡¦ is also known as the ¡¥river of endless of sorrow bridge¡¦
because the river underneath is made up of sinful blood of the
sinful people and is also filled with snakes and horrible
creatures inside. Only the good people can walk pass the ¡¥naihe
bridge¡¦ without worries but not for the bad people who will fall
through the ¡¥naihe bridge¡¦ to be tortured.
During the ceremony for leading the soul to the underworld, these
bridges are known to be placed in a parallel position whereby the
¡¥naihe bridge¡¦ is placed in the centre with the ¡¥golden bridge¡¦
and the ¡¥silver bridge¡¦ by the side of ¡¥naihe bridge¡¦. However,
for this particular ceremony, only the ¡¥golden bridge¡¦ and the
¡¥silver bridge¡¦ were used. The priest led the two paper effigies
which were held by the family members, to cross the ¡¥golden
bridge¡¦ first, followed by the ¡¥silver bridge¡¦. The priest also
held a candle in front of the paper. By guiding the soul across
the bridge safety, the priest is required to use a candle where
the flame of the candle is believed to be able to illuminate the
path for the spirit.
After the paper effigies were led to cross the bridges, the priest
continued to lead the paper effigies to walk around the bridges
anti-clockwise for three times. During this ceremony, Wei Yi
noticed the priest reciting the verses of ¡§The three refugees¡¨.
After they had completed their three rounds around the bridges,
the family members bowed to the paper effigies and sacrificed
wines to the spirit. After the ritual had ended, the paper
effigies together with the bridges and the offerings were burnt in
the big burner. While SPI were all watching the offerings to be
burned in the big burner, they could feel the intense heat around
them as the ashes were flying all around the place in the air.
With the addition of the hot weather, they were feeling an
unbearable amount of heat. Madam Tham came up to SPI and said,
¡§These rituals are important for the deceased because they will
have to wait for at least another 200 years before they can be
reincarnated.¡¨ Their eyes were open wide in surprise! ¡§200 years?¡¨
Dashingblue asked in astonishment.
 
1. This is the deed of land that
used to legally certify the ownership of the land belonging to the
person of the name written on it
2. There are other documents used in the ritual as well. This one
here needs to have both the names of the bride and groom written
3 - 4. Wonder how the four dolls are placed in formation of
perfect height arrangement? Here is the answer.
 
1 - 2. Notice the red strings that were
already tied to the forehead of the dolls?
3. In this case, the groom paper doll had a tablet placed at its
feet.
The words on the tablet simply indicates: Ghost Marriage -> The
couple's names.
But when it gets enlarged it shows something else: (A) is the
mysterious words. (B) may be just a stain on the glass of the
tablet frame
Check this out
yourself. 4. Other ritual items such as the copper bell and wooden
'mu yu'
There is some significance of the name tablet.
When SPI first visited the temple, Madam Tham warned very fiercely
that NEVER take any photo of the tablets.
She said many reported fell very ill and met mishap when took
photos and agitated the spirits that are supposedly to be in
honeymoon
 
Here now the priest is conducting
the ritual. Check the last photo, can you notice anything unusual
there?
The wedding ceremony starts
This is the most important ritual of all where the official spirit
wedding ceremony takes place. The ceremony began with the priest
inviting the spirits of the wedding couple by reciting some
prayers and hitting the gong at the same time. ¡§Come back!¡¨ the
priest declared all of a sudden. This was to inform the spirits to
return back to the altar so the priest could invite them to take a
seat at the altar. Next, the priest used an egg and circled in an
anti-wise direction for nine times in front of the male figurine¡¦s
face. After this, the priests used a comb and spiritually combed
the male figurine (groom). The priest also repeated the similar
gestures on the female figurine (bride). This was followed closely
by the family members paying their respect and offering three cups
of wine to the paper effigies of the bride and groom. Each member
was required to offer three cups of wine to the bride and groom.
At the same time, the priest also asked the spirit couple to watch
over and bless their family members and relatives, wishing them
good luck and also have a lot of people to help and assist them in
whatever they do. At the end, the priest informed the family
members that the couple had left the underworld and were enjoying
the food on the altar before announcing another short break for
everybody.
After the break had ended, the priest and the family members
returned to the altar to proceed with the spirit wedding ceremony.
The priest slipped the wedding ring into the male figurine¡¦s
finger with his family members witnessing this joyous event. The
priest also asked the groom to bless his family and to watch over
their safety. The ancestral spirits of the groom were also invited
to the altar to join and witness this event. The priest requested
the groom¡¦s mother (living) to ask the bride if she wishes to
marry into their family. The groom¡¦s mother tossed the cups and
not surprisingly, both the cups showed the ¡¥sheng bei¡¦ on the very
first toss. This meant that the bride had agreed to marry the
groom. All of the investigators watched on holding their breath as
the groom¡¦s mother slipped on the wedding ring for the bride.
 
1 - 2. At the end of the Ghost
Marriage ritual, the priest is being interviewed by SPI
3. Dashingblue is filming the process all the way; 4. This cat,
looks very suspicious, was silently hanging out at the ritual all
the time
 
1. The two Taoist priests were
exchanging views; 2. The cute cat comfortably felt asleep beside
Mr. Lu
3. The Taoist priests trio; 4. While Dashingblue was filming,
family of the Ghost marriage were hanging around behind her
 
1. The flower deities to be
worshipped for improving relationship and smoothing marriages;
2 - 4. Plenty of smoke generated from incense burning, ascending
through the roof opening.
The building of International Plaza - SPI's former office address
I hereby pronounce you to be husband and wife now, in hell
The ceremony continued and the family members were asked to stand
at the right side of the altar. The priest then held the paper
figurines of the bride and groom and took them to bow in front of
the heaven, to the underworld deities, to the elders and last but
not least, to each other. Finally, the priest declared them as a
wedded couple, witnessed and blessed by the city deity. The bride
and groom were officially pronounced as husband and wife. The
atmosphere around was filled with this magical feeling with the
sun shining brightly upon these newlyweds. Smiles were seen across
everybody¡¦s faces, it felt like SPI had witnessed a marriage
between two living couple, but no matter what, it was still a
joyous occasion for a couple to be married happily for the rest of
their lives.
Last but not least, the priest also wished the newlyweds well.
Soon, the paper effigies of the bride and groom, their servants,
their properties such as the house and the offerings were brought
to the huge burner to be burnt. The priest also set a tablet
bearing the names of the newlyweds at the ancestral tablet altar.
The priest proceeded to end the whole wedding ceremony by hitting
the drum and bell in the temple nine times each. The priest also
informed the family members that the whole ritual has been
completed and wished them prosperity and peace. The spirit wedding
ceremony finally ended. In all our hearts, we wished the newlyweds
well and may they lead a blissful marriage.
SPI would like to express our gratitude to Madam Tham, Master Lu
Rong Xin and all the people in charge of the temple for allowing
us to do an investigation in the Seng Wong Beo Temple. SPI would
also like to express our thanks to the family for their kind
permission to allow us to take photos and videos of the offerings
and the ceremonial items used during spirit wedding ceremony.
¡@
 
1. On an early Monday morning, Wei Yi
and Dashingblue were walking towards the temple; 2. Guardian deities
on the front door
3. There seems to be "something" on the wooden name board that says
"thanking the deity's grace";
below is the cloth banner that indicates the goddess of controlling
birth records
4. Walking through the main hall, SPI reached the backyard where the
ghost marriage takes place
 
The team's group photo at the end of
the investigation in front of the temple
Investigation Venue: ³£ «° ¶ª 庙, Seng Wong Beo Temple, No 113,
Peck Seah Street, Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 079332
Date of Investigation: 23 May 2005
SPI Members:
Wei^Yi
Sunkist
Wisely_xu
Dashingblue
Person In Charge of Interview:
Wisely_xu
Sunkist
Person In Charge Of Filming: Dashingblue
Person In Charge Of Photography: Sunkist
Report Written By: Dashingblue
Advisors:
Wei^Yi
Wisely_xu
¡@
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Answering
Mysteries
Come