As per Chinese folk religion, the soul consists of ten components - the three hun/魂, which are 'higher faculty' components responsible for more 'evolved' spiritual and mental functions like morality, and and the seven po/魄, which are 'base' components responsible for instinctual behaviour and earthly/worldly desires. These should be regarded, by default, as fractions of a whole rather than individual entities in their own right, although it is sometimes said that if fuelled sufficiently (if someone continually allows his base desires to get the better of him, for example), any of these components can become autonomous after death - this is supposedly how demons and evil spirits come into being.

In the Chinese folk religious context, a newly deceased individual is collected by local Hell deities and brought to their area's City God for arraignment (the City God is the local spiritual magistrate of a city, town, village or other settlement - I will speak more about him later). Charges are levelled against them based on the sins they have committed in life, and they are allowed to plead guilty or not guilty to each. The full list of charges is branded into the spiritual fabric of the individual, like a tattoo, to ensure easy identification (in case of escape) and aid the upcoming trial. The City God will then either declare that the individual be remanded, or be permitted supervised bail of up to 49 days' duration. During this bail period, the individual may visit their loved ones to say their last goodbyes. After the bail period is up, the individual is then brought to Hell for their trial proper, as detailed earlier in this thread.

i see, thanks for the reply

my late dad was very dedicated to this while im so so about it...but i always felt im protected or having clues before anything happen and im not clever enough to act in time (just saying, nothing to shout about it)

during his living time, he had always been "captured" during trance doing their community services

this lead him wanna become a medium himself, well, his grandpa was one too

to make it short, he died by motorcycle accident on the way back on the night he was suppose to become a medium by a ceremony

this lead me to wonder what actually happened and why?

A very informative thread!
I will be reading post for post in a short while. Thanks TS.

During the 49 days period, i understand that there will b some "bull" will excort the death to earth. Wana know more details bout them & we need to do some offerings to them as well otherwise they will torture the decease.

Hell deities cannot be bought over or bribed. To do so would be considered a grave insult. Neither do they torture or punish anyone who is innocent. If the deceased are being tortured by Hell deities, the deceased DESERVE to be tortured, full stop.

But on to the story of Niu Tou and Ma Mian.

Niu Tou/牛头 and Ma Mian/马面 (Ox-Head and Horse Face) are the names given to the bestial pairs of ox-headed and horse-faced Hell soldiers who act as jailers, enforcers and muscle. They usually dwell within Hell itself and leave only to hunt down and recapture souls that have escaped, although a small number do serve on Earth as security detail within the courts of the various City Gods (and, as you say, escort the newly deceased during their bail period).

The original pair of Niu Tou and Ma Mian were an ox and a horse who were brutally mistreated by their owner despite all the hard work they selflessly did for him. After they died, the two animals petitioned the Hell magistrates for justice. To this end, they were transformed into ghostly monstrosities and recruited into the ranks of the Hell armies; the first prisoner they punished as part of their new job was none other than their owner. Most additional pairs of Niu Tou and Ma Mian, if not all of them, are clones of the first pair.

The statues below are from my personal collection, by the way; I painted them myself.

It sounds like he met with an unfortunate accident, nothing more.

Which is not to minimise the tragedy of what happened; I'm sorry for your loss.

Growing up in a fairly non-practicing taoist/buddhist/chinese folk religion background, I was merely told me to put my palms together and pay respect when visiting a temple and more importantly not to desecrate a holy place/ place of worship. I have very limited knowledge on this topic, appreciate if you could help me with some of these queries:

- How do you actually pray to a deity when you visit a certain temple i.e. do i need to state my name, location, wish, age etc.
- Is there a certain process or rituals that need to be adhere strictly to post or prior to visiting a temple?
- In the case of seeking peace of mind rather than asking for a wish, what do I need to do when I'm in the temple?

Thank you.

Nicely painted. On a separate details, i noticed people pray to a tiger/ lion usually placed in a pair in front of the temple entrance. Wondering what's that?

thanks TS

In one of the guaitan series, one of the sifus mentioned that worship of hell deities seems common in Malaysia, and advised against such worship since hell deities are of the yin element while humans are more of the yang element.

You have been taught the proper basic behaviour, which is highly commendable, although there certainly is more to the nuts-and-bolts of prayer.

I make it a point to be at my most presentable before attending a temple. This includes having a shower and putting on fresh clothes. If you are female, visiting a temple when you are menstruating is not advisable; menstrual blood, so heavy in yin energy, is a substance that confounds/contaminates the temple's spiritual 'ecosystem' and prevents rituals from being optimally conducted.

Certain taboos exist where it comes to certain deities, and one should be mindful to adhere to them. For instance, one should not consume non-Halal items before praying to Datuk spirits, or offer them such items. It pays to do one's research where it comes to these matters.

Your first port of call when you get to the temple is the altar to the Heavenly Hosts/the Jade Emperor; this is usually represented by a large urn standing just outside the main entrance. An offering of three incense sticks, representing Heaven, Earth and Humanity, is the standard for most Heavenly gods, and applies here. As per folklore, incense sticks serve 'to waft your prayers/wishes to the gods', akin to smoke signals.

Standing with the urn in front of you and with your back to the main entrance, clasp the incense sticks in both hands, bow your head or bow at the waist, and make your prayer while remaining bowed. Once you are done, place the incense sticks in the urn using your left hand; this hand is closer to the heart, the seat of Yang energy, and using it thus also creates a gesture of sincerity.

Most large temples have a double door as the main entrance, with small side entrances flanking it. Do not enter via the main entrance, but via the small entrance to the right of the double door instead (the right side is always favoured first, as this is the side that represents Yang, while the left represents Yin). The main entrance is reserved for the deities' use, and is also the prime conduit for the temple's spiritual energies.

Next, head for the main altar in the interior of the temple; this will display the principal deity to whom the temple is dedicated. This deity need not necessarily be the most senior deity enshrined within, but are nevertheless the next in line. A three stick offering will again be the order of the day - this is in deference to the fact that they are the 'guest of honour'. Same prayer procedure as before, with you facing the main altar this time.

You then similarly pay your respects to the other deities in the interior, travelling in an anticlockwise direction. In other words, once you have paid your respects at the central altar, you then make offerings to the deities enshrined to the right of the altar, and then the deities enshrined to the left of the altar (again, Yang over Yin). After this, you exit the temple through the small entrance to the left of the double door (once more, Yang over Yin), and pay your respects to any deities enshrined outside.

The other deities will often consist of a mixture of Heavenly gods, Earth gods and Hell deities. As above, most Heavenly gods will warrant a three-stick offering - unless there are specific indications that individual offerings are a must, you can collectively offer three sticks to a group of Heavenly gods (this will be apparent when only a single incense urn is placed before two or more statues). There are one or two exceptions, such as the Five Camp Commanders, a group of Heavenly warriors who are collectively offered five sticks instead of three (I will speak more about them later).

The Earth gods are normally collectively offered five incense sticks, as they are fivefold, in charge of the soil of all five cardinal directions. And the Hell deities are normally collectively offered seven incense sticks. Seven is a number associated with the Yin aspect and death - each phase of the moon, a Yin heavenly body, is a seven-day cycle, seven seven-day periods, totalling forty-nine days, are how long it supposedly takes for a newly-deceased soul to sever itself from the mortal realm (see my previous posts on the 'bail period' that a soul receives prior to heading for the Netherworld), and the Hungry Ghost Festival takes place during the Seventh Lunar Month.

The general order in which one pays their respects is Heavenly gods first, Earth Gods next, and Hell deities last (you've got it - Yang over Yin). Once you are done, drop an offering into the temple's donation box if you feel like it. You are not obliged to make an offering, but if you do, the offering is traditionally commensurate with the seriousness of the problem for which you are seeking assistance.

As previously mentioned, it is very bad manners to bald-facedly make demands of the gods, especially if you haven't been a particularly good person. But a sincere, virtuous individual in genuine need of help - that's another story. You need not provide your particulars, nor need you necessarily go into all the nitty-gritty details; merely saying something along the lines of the following will do: "Sir/madam, I am in a time of need. I know I may not necessarily deserve help, but if you somehow deem me worthy of assistance and decide to smile upon me, I would be very much obliged. Thank you in advance." Neither does your prayer have to be said out loud.

Attending a temple with no desire to seek assistance is more than acceptable - in fact, I pretty much always attend temples with no requests in mind whatsoever. You adhere to the same procedure as above, but your prayer will obviously be different. Something along these lines is fine: "Sir/madam, I am here to pay my respects - I hope that you enjoy my offerings, and that you have a good day."

Hope this helps.

In all honesty, I would say that Hell deities are more widely worshipped in Singapore than in Malaysia. The reason for this trend lies in the Second World War, during which Singapore experienced some of the worst bloodshed in proportion to area of land. Many restless, tortured souls roamed the island, necessitating the worship of Hell deities in order to 'keep the peace'.

As for advising against worship of Hell deities, bear in mind that they are warriors of justice - the spiritual police force and judicial system. One would be hard pressed to find more upright beings to worship. I trust them more than I trust most human beings.

While it is true that some people cannot tolerate the Yin energy that the Hell deities radiate, the Hell deities do not do this intentionally; the Yin energy is part of their spiritual composition, the very fibre of their being. They will never hurt an innocent person, and will be more than willing to undo or prevent any unwitting damage that their Yin energy may have inflicted.

Well, the sifu advised ppl to worship heavenly deities instead of hell deities due to this factor, that's all.

Thanks for the explanation. Very clear and concise, really appreciate it.

wow this CNY, I bet will be able to teach even older folks in my family about a thing or two thanks to nacht and earn their respect

May I kindly seek clarification from you guys on how the Chinese folk religion is dissimilar to the Greek mythology?

No one worships the Greek gods anymore...not that I know of..lol.

Deadlocks is christian. so you can expect him to criticise cainis religion and brand us as "praying patung", "infidel", "pray to wood", "idol worshipper" etc etc. dont bother replying him. he had ill intentions with that post.

If I recall correctly from one of the guaitan series when they filmed in Perak, a medium supposedly under trance of Li Ya Pek, came and disturb a filming of guaitan, so the sifu uttered some mantra to close the session invoking the heavenly armies, and the medium gave out a shriek....lol.

Ah, yes. I understand how it's not the same. Thanks.


Where did you see me criticize the religion, and why do you assume that I will have ill intentions just because of my background?