The King of Hades.

It's 1.30pm. Nobody except for the organisers are around. The show has started its entertainment for the King of Hades.


And here's the King of Hades in all his glory.


The King is given a feast too by the people.


Prayers are offered for a peaceful time with the spirits wandering around for a month.


Look at the food and joss-sticks.

Here's the first part of the show on the first day.


Here's another part.
(I see what I can add for the night.)

The seventh lunar month this year started on the 20th of August. The 15th day of this lunar month was the 3rd of September. From this day, the Chinese who believes in the spirit world organises shows for the King of Hades to watch. These shows are known as the 'Por Tor He'. The organisers would have the shows start at noon and have a break at four o'clock in the evening. Then, at eight in the evening, the show continues and finishes at midnight. Usually, in the afternoons, very few people attend such shows. Still it is shown as scheduled. The reason is that the show is for the diety, not so much for humans. This goes to show how strong the belief must be. How did this belief started. According to a friend of mine, one person saw in a vision his own dead mother suffering from hunger. He believed that was a kind of SOS message from his beloved mother. He went to request for help from the diety. Eventually, to reward him for his filial piety, approval was given for the gates of Hades to be opened for a month so that human who have lost their loved ones could pray and offer food to these spirits. And to thank the King of Hades for his kindness, shows are organised for him to watch. I know, some people may be pooh-poohing such a belief. Well, I do not blame them, especially those who are scientific minded. Everything needs a logical explanation, failing which it is not possible. Let me ask these individuals: Before we understood telecommunications and such things, before even telegraphy was invented, would anyone be able to see any logic, be able to explain how moving pictures can go through the air, through walls to reach a box, known as the television, to entertain us? Definitely not! Why? It was because they were not privy to such knowledge then. Today, with hindsight and the knowledge brought to us by the inventors, people can understand the logic behind moving pictures from a box. Today, there are cameras able to detect what had not been detected before. Soon, perhaps, we will know that spirits do exist. Then, scientists will explain the existence of such spirits. What logic and knowledge have not been sufficient to explain, some human eyes have been able to see. My own father is one of those people who have such eyes. I believe he is not a very rare case. There are others like him in this world, quiet because of their fear of being considered weird. (I will be writing about what he and my uncles had told me in a later post. In an earlier post, I have also written about a personal experience of watching a Malay boy going into a trance in front of a temple. Those who have experiences on this matter could put them in the comments. Please do so in order that others may realise there is nothing to fear from such happenings.) Whether we believe this or not, the Chinese find a peace of mind in offering the King of Hades prayers, food and entertainment. Peace of mind is important to a happy life. Spirits are also appeased and there is most probably less mischief from some of the naughtier spirits. Do you know that they spend thousands of ringgit to put up such shows? Usually, residents of the area contribute whatever they can. At the end of the three or sometimes more days of entertaining the King of Hades, the excess funds are given to charitable organisations.