A DRAGON-shaped paper ship will be burned in a Hungry Ghost Festival ritual to symbolically ferry departed loved ones to the Buddhist Pure Land.
The elaborate Say Hong Chun paper ship, measuring 4.9m long, 1.5m wide and 4.9m high, will be burned at Sian Chye Tong temple, marking the finale of its Cheow Thor or Filial Piety Celebration in Hye Keat Estate, Air Itam, Penang on Sept 5.
The paper ship was made by members of the temple’s youth section, with eight volunteers taking about a month to complete it.
Its bamboo and cardboard frame is covered with more than 6,000 pieces of folded ong seng jee that are pieces of joss paper with Buddhist sutras.
The paper items have been folded into intricate shapes including lotus leaves, roof tiles, dragon scales, dragon tails and lotus flowers.
A dragon head and tail have also been incorporated into the design, while nine-coloured lotus flowers adorn the vessel.
The temple’s Cheow Thor celebration, which is running now until Sept 5, also features prayers, chanting and offerings for departed ancestors and loved ones.
Sian Chye Tong Youth Section chairman Loh Choon Teik said the temple has been making paper ships for more than 20 years.
“Initially, the paper ship was only about 2.4m long and less elaborate.
“With experience, dedication and interest, we managed to make a more elaborate paper ship,” he said.
During the Cheow Thor celebration, paper tablets bearing the names of deceased family members and their dates of death will be placed before an Amitabha Buddha altar for daily offerings and chanting.
Monks and nuns will conduct special prayers and chanting on Sept 5 before the tablets are placed inside the Say Hong Chun and burned.
The ritual symbolises Amitabha Buddha’s effort to ferry the deceased to the Buddha Pure Land for repentance and rebirth.
Loh said the celebration allowed descendants to remember their departed loved ones while expressing filial piety through prayers and offerings.
“Living descendants make offerings and prayers to accrue meritorious deeds for the departed so they can attain liberation and speedy rebirth,” he said.
The temple will also burn a 3.7m-tall and 1.5m-wide effigy of Tai Su Yeah, or the King of Hades, alongside the paper ship on Sept 5.
The effigy is made from bamboo and cardboard and covered with about 2,000 pieces of ong seng jee.
Five youth section members spent about two weeks making it.
Tai Su Yeah is widely regarded in the celebration as a transformation of Kuan Im Phor Sat, or the Goddess of Mercy, and is believed to guard the visiting spirits of departed ancestors.
The celebration also includes prayers for living descendants and unborn babies, as well as a prayer ceremony for ancestors on Aug 29 followed by an offering of robes to members of the Sangha.
A vegetarian buffet dinner will be held at 7pm on Sept 5. All are welcome.
