大山脚埠众盂兰胜会

大山脚埠众盂兰胜会大士爷金身

农历七月的到来意味着盂兰胜会（鬼节）的开始。相傳陰司地府在七月初一大開鬼門關，直到七月三十日才再次關閉。在槟城，多数区域都会在农历七月里选上几天进行普渡。
这尊大山脚埠众盂兰胜会的大士爷金身据说是全马最大尊的。高26尺8寸，一个头就几乎相等于一个人的高度了。大士爺的金身被安鎮在比鄰大山腳玄天廟的市集內。

7th moon of the lunar calendar marks the beginning of the Hungry Ghost Festival. It is said that the gate of hell will be opened on the first day of the 7th lunar month and closed on the 30th day of the 7th lunar month. In Penang, penangites will select few days in the 7th lunar month to celebrate this festival. The God of Hades statue in the photo is said to be the largest in Malaysia which has the height of 26 feet 8 inches. This God of Hades statue is located at Jalan Pasar of Bukit Mertajam.

据说大士爷是观音大士的化身，所以大士爷金身的头上都会有一尊观音。如果再看仔细些，你就会发现观音的左边有一尊龙女，而右边则有一尊善才。这两尊善才龙女士很罕见的，估计是因为这尊大士爷金身特别大所以才能安放这两尊善才龙女。

It is said that the God of Hades is actually the incarnation of Goddess Guan Yin, so there is a Goddess Guan Yin above the head of every God of Hades statue. At both side of the Goddess Guan Yin are the assistants of Goddess Guan Yin. It is rarely seen on any other God of Hades statues possibly due to the smaller size of the other statues.

大士爷的右手拿着一面令牌，通常是会写着“分衣施食”的。该令牌的最大目标是要人们去除贪念，作出“老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼”的善举。

There is a block at the right hand of God of Hades. This block serve the purpose to remind us not to be greed.

大士爷的左手则拿着幡，有召集好兄弟的功能。

And the left hand is taken a pennant which has the function to summon the wandering ghosts.

大士爷之下有着四尊较小的纸雕像。分别是黑无常，白无常，土地公与文判官。这尊就是黑无常啦。黑無常名為「范無救」(或無赦，少數人寫作咎)，體態短胖，面黑，尊之曰「矮爺」或「八爺」。

Below the God of Hades you will see four smaller paper statues. They are Hei Wu Chang, Bai Wu Chang, God of Earth and the mythological underworld judge. This paper statue is Hei Wu Chang. He has a black face and he is short and fat.



这是白无常，名為「謝必安」，身材高瘦，面白，尊之曰「竹爺」或「七爺」。黑白无常是中國傳統文化中的一對神祇，也是最有名的鬼差。

This is Bai Wu Chang. He has a white face and he is thin and tall. Hei Wu Chang and Bai Wu Chang are the cop of the underworld which help to capture the ghost.



这尊则是土地公。他的职责就是保护好他管理的区域。

This is the God of Earth. His job is to protect the area under his care.

这是文判官。文判官的职务相当等于衙门里的左典史，左手握有生死簿，调查人民素行的善恶及寿夭，执行各司的的判文或检阅记录。

This is the mythological underworld judge. His Left hand holds the book of life and death and his job is to investigate the good and evil done by people.

大士爷的左边有一座金山，右边则是一座银山。这座是金山。

The left side of the God of Hades has a mountain of gold and the right side has a mountain of silver. This is the mountain of gold.

而这座就是银山啦。除了金银山，在一些地方还可以看到衣山，饭山和经山等等。

And this is the mountain of silver. Besides this mountain of gold and silver, some other places do offer mountain of clothes, mountain of rice, mountain of scriptures and so on.

南洋网〉〉在这长达15天的庆典里，保守估计到来的香客及游客是超过1万人次。

Nanyang.com >> In this 15 days long celebration, the estimated number of pilgrims and tourists is expected to be over ten thousands people.

在这里你时时刻刻都会听到敲钟声。每听到一次钟声就代表着有人添加香油钱。

At here, you will listen the sound of bell very often. Each time the bell is rang means that there are people donating money to the God of Hades.

信徒们都诚心的向大士爷祈求平安，希望一切顺顺利利。

The pilgrim are praying to the God of Hades hoping that they will have a blissful life.

这些都是信徒们供奉给大士爷的冥纸。据说，每天将会有二至三辆啰里将这些冥纸载到焚烧地。

This are the paper money that the pilgrim use to worship the God of Hades. It is said that everyday there are two to three lorries taking these paper money to other places for burning.

在大士爷的前方是供奉好兄弟公的桌子。庙方指示必须先拜大士爷才能拜好兄弟公。

In front of the God of Hades is the table to pray for the wandering ghost. Pilgrims have to pray the God of Hades first before praying the wandering ghost.

在好兄弟公的桌下有很多祭品。这些祭品是拿来祭拜好兄弟中的小孩子的，因为桌子太高了小孩子无法拿到桌上的祭品。

Below the wandering ghost offering table, there are many offering items. These item are offered to those wandering ghost which are still kids. This is because the table is too high for the kid wandering ghost to reach.

当然，这么大型的盂兰胜会一定是少不了戏剧演出的。七月初三至初九将由泰国老赛宝丰演梨七天而七月初十至十七将由新兴潮剧团演梨八天。

There will be a 15 days of Teochew opera performing at every night. The first 7 days is performed by the Teochew opera from Thailand.

农历七月十七，也就是阳历8月23日将是大山脚埠众盂兰胜会的最后一天。当天晚上将会送走大士爷然后大士爷金身将会被火化。如此高大的大士爷金身被火化，想必场面一定会很壮观！

The 17th day of the 7th lunar moon (23rd August) is the last day for this Bukit Mertajam Hungry Ghost Festival. At that night, they will send back the God of Hades and the paper statue will be burned.

p/s : Some of the religious terms I might have translate it wrongly as I am lacking of this religious knowledge. I apologise for any wrong information.

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