Saturday, September 10, 2005

Uniquely Singapore: One Wedding, One Funeral and One Religious Dinner Function

As I was returning home from rehearsals at the Konghuay, I realised an interesting sight at the void deck of my flat.

On the grass field just behind my flat, there's a religious dinner function going on held by my neighbourhood's Hungry Ghost Festival committee to mark the dissolving of the committee. Usually such religous dinner functions has got auctions held concurrently at the venue of the dinner, but since there'll be no more such functions from next year onwards, no auctions were held this time. Instead it was replaced by karaoke singing. But while people are singing away at the stage, a funeral ritual is going on at the void deck left of my flat. The deceased will be sent off tomorrow, and hence the priests were invited to chant and pray at the wake. But that's not all! On the right void deck of the flat is another function going on; a Malay wedding! However the wedding is only taking place tomorrow, but the families involved were still busy preparing for the big day, while some Malay music was playing in the background through their PA system.

The neighbourhood I lived in used to be a very quiet place, other than the sound of engines and horns from vehicles on a nearby expressway, but today it become so unusually noisy. A din it may be, but it is perfectly understandable. It is interesting to find 3 entirely different religous and cultural events can actually take place in the same place and almost at the same time. I think this is something rather unique, even in Singapore!

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