Getai is a festive celebration usually performed during the Hungry Ghost Festival. However, in recent times, getai performances have stretched to encompass not just Hungry Ghost Festivals, but also festivals such as Chinese New Year and the Mooncake Festival. There has also been an increasing use of Getai as a medium for spreading messages. But what exactly is the Hungry Ghost Festival that is so famous for Getai performances?

Hungry Ghost Festival takes place during the seventh lunar month, and according to Taoists’ belief, the hell gates will open during this time. Families use this time to make offerings to their ancestors during the first and last days of the month. As during this seventh month period, the souls released are free to roam about when the hell gates open, hence it is important to appease them.

There will also be prayer sessions and offerings organized by Trade Bodies or community residents for these souls. Forms of entertainment such as Getai will be performed for these souls to appease them, along with opera shows, dinners and auctions of lucky items. The money collected from the auctions will usually go to funding more getais.

Getais are live performances usually held on stages erected in empty fields. The stage is usually temporary and made of wood. Getais are usually considered very “noisy” and very lively, because of the performances put up by the performers and the songs they sing, and the performance is both for the souls and for the people. The wooden stage is usually elaborately decorated, and light effects and sound effects are also used to give a grander effect. The costumes worn by the performers are usually loud, shiny and colourful, with the use of sequins. Getais are usually a very interactive entertainment form, where both the host and performers will interact and sometimes crack crude jokes.

Sometimes, there are seats allocated for the souls. They are usually placed in the front and people are not supposed to sit on those seats as a mark of respect for these souls. However, even among ghosts, there are also rankings. Special seats with silk covers are arranged for ghosts, which are of a higher ranking that the rest. In order to pay respect to these ghosts, snacks such as beer and cakes are prepared, as well as cigarettes.

The performers usually perform for more than one getai each night, and they need to rush from one getai to another due to the unwritten “first come first serve” rule in getais, where you perform in the order of your arrival.

In the previous sections we have discussed about what getai is and it’s past. Here, we will move on to the present. The present getai is very different from getai in the past, because standards have changed and it has moved on with the times. Getai now, is still part of the Chinese culture and performed most often during the hungry ghost festival, however now it has expanded to cover many other events like Chinese New Year for example, as it is a joyful and commemorative event which fits right into the festive mood of Chinese New Year.

Right now, to attract a wide range of audiences, Getai not only covers old hits, but also new and popular pop songs which the youngsters love. The present Getai has been upgraded, both in status and in the performance. People used to think that Getai is a very low class event, however the present Getai has proven such thinking wrong. The lighting and sound effects have improved drastically and most getai owners use the most expensive and modern effects that they can find, most being imported from overseas and being at least a few thousand dollars. It has expanded from a tiny and modest stage affair to a full-blown and grand affair, with brilliant effects and needing a lot of manpower, from backstage, to artistes, to lighting crew to the band.

Getai is actually a very expensive affair right now, contrary to what many think. A single getai event can go up to S$5000 at least just to organize it, and the price gets steeper with the standard of the getai being hosted. One of the reasons why getai is so expensive is because they usually invite foreign Taiwan and Hong Kong singers over to Singapore to participate in the getai, so that the locals can not only appreciate the local talent, but the foreign talents as well. It has also garnered the support of the government, in forming committees in Singapore responsible for the organization and funding of such getai events, showing that it is not as unknown and remote as we think it is.

Getai is now, not only just for the older folks. Some of the getai performers range from the age of 15 to 19, showing that even the youth have come to appreciate such an event. Getai singers can now earn big bucks from just performing in a getai event. Experienced performers can earn up to at least $200 per show, which is an extremely huge amount. Getai singers usually cover about 3 getai per night, earning around $600 per night. As getai singers usually perform more than 1 getai, they usually face with jams. In the past, if you are a more popular singer or have good relations with the host, you will go first to perform. However, as this is not fair, performance is based on a first come first serve basis.

Their costumes are also elaborate and over-the-top, which cost from $8 to $200 per piece. These include kimonos, feathered pouf skirts, and many other striking costumes which catch peoples’ eyes. Although Getai has now expanded to cover many other events, their busiest season is still undoubtedly the Hungry Ghost Festival, where it is possible to have 5 shows per night, outnumbering their usual number of 3, for a Getai performer, ranging anywhere from Bedok to Jurong.

Getai performances also have dos and don’ts, like not singing songs related to rain, as they believe that it will rain when the singers sing it. People also have the conception that if the more scantily a getai performer is dressed, the more popular he/she will be. However, this is not true, because performers have to have a certain talent in singing, and it is their voice that will capture peoples’ admiration ultimately. Dressing scantily is just a way to raise the spirits of the audience. However, it is important to note that this only applies to a small proportion of the audience. Sometimes, it is not the performers’ choice, but the choice of the organisers of a getai to dress scantily, and performers obey them because they have to be on good relations with the organizer. If not, it is very hard to have chances to perform without an organizer supporting them.

Right now, Getai has been getting a lot of spotlight due to the recent movies, 881 and 12 Lotus by Royston Tan. His first movie about Getai, 881, released in Singapore in year 2007, crossed the $3 million mark at the box office, making it the highest grossing Asian film in Singapore for 2007. According to Kenneth Tan, CEO of Golden Village Cinemas, 8881 has “attracted a wide spectrum of people who probably don’t normally go for Getai performances. Young people (are) attracted to the younger talent in the film.” “881” had even been invited to take part at the prestigious Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea, showing the popularity of this film. After the premiere of “881”, the crowd drawn to local getai performances have noticeably been larger, and noticeably more of the younger generation have learnt to appreciate Getai and this can be seen from the increasing number of young people in the crowds. The popularity of Getai will be further boosted with the premiere of “12 Lotus”, another Getai film by Royston Tan, although his last.

Getai not only serves as a form of entertainment now, it also serves as a political tool to spread messages to the local public. For example, last year (2007), there was a record number of 77 dengue cases in Bukit Batok and it had not gone down, hence grassroots leaders in the area adopted a different approach to promote the anti-dengue message. Although most Singaporeans are literate and follow the news, there is still the older generation that have not been reached out to, and grassroots leaders have turned to using getai as way to spread the anti-dengue message. Through dialect, humour and songs, getai was used to spread the anti-dengue message in Hong Kah North. This is a clear example of how getai has progressed over the years, from being a form of entertainment to being a way to reach out to the masses.

MPs (Ministers of Parliament) have turned to using Getai as well, often using it to attract residents down to listen to them address issues about the area. For example, when a particular HDB area undergoes renovation, MPs may turn to using getai as a way to attract residents down to discuss about the issues. Getai is also sponsored and supported by town councils, government agencies and community centres for example.

Getai is also now being used as a way of promotion. In The Straits Time Life Section Page E4 (2008-8-16), the article “Movie wars on getai stage” talks about how the getai stage has become a battleground for promoting the two latest movies by two different directors, 12 Lotus by Royston Tan and Money no Enough 2 by Jack Neo. According to Neo, “It is a conincidence that my movie is released during the Hungry Ghost Festival, so I am using getais to reach out to the heartlanders.” He has already appeared in 23 getai performances since the beginning of the Hungry Ghost Festival Season and it drew a crowd of around 4000 people. The cast made use of many jokes in the movie, received with roaring laughter from the crowd, as well as performing some famous getai songs like “One Million Dollars” complete with back-up vans.

Whereas for Royston Tan, his getai shows focused on more songs, mostly in Hokkien and from the movie, and less banter and jokes. Tan said that he opted for more songs for his getai acts as “it is essentially a getai song and people are there for the songs.” A domestic cleaner, Tan Kim Hong, 48, is impressed by the getai show and said that “This promotion is good because it informs people like me who don’t watch films often.”

This shows how powerful getai is as a tool of promotion in reaching out to the heartlanders, as it is something that all can connect with and can understand, without leaving anyone out. The power of getai has been clearly understood and grasped by the two local film directors, undeniably.

Although Getai is booming right now, there is still a need for conservation as even with the new interest from the youths, it may not be enough to carry on the legacy of Getai past the older generations.

We as a country need to continually redevelop getai and think of ways of how to use getai as a tool other than entertainment, as shown by what the MPs did and film producers did, by using it as a political and promotional tool.

Right now, the biggest problem is on how to appeal to the younger masses, as they are the up-and-coming generation that will not really care if getai disappears for good, as they do not know how to appreciate such entertainment. On top of using getai to appeal to the heartlanders, a way must be found to appeal to the younger masses as well.

Right now, the newest fad among teenagers is a term coined from the Japanese Animation that has been taking the world by storm- cosplay. Cosplay involves the dressing up of their favourite Anime character, each with meticulous detail from the costume to the hair. It has become an extremely popular trend with the younger generation and it would be a good idea to make use of that popularity to boost the standing of getai among teenagers.

A good idea would be to hold a getai cosplay event, targeted to the younger generation. In this event, they can dress up as getai singers, and cosplay as them. This would be a good way to cultivate their interest in getai as they are introduced into the world of songs and outrageous costumes. There can be live singing competitions where they can recreate the atmosphere of a getai stage by singing different songs of different languages, where it need not be only Hokkien, and finally a fashion show where they can win prizes for the most creative outfits for example. It would be an event targeted to the teenagers and one that would be able to connect with the teenagers on a more intimate level.

Movies like “881” and “12 Lotus” about Getai has proved a hit among audiences, young and old, and a effective way of increasing the youths’ knowledge about Getai is by releasing more local movies promoting Getai. Teens love going to the movies, and by releasing movies about Getai, it is released through a medium which they like and would watch, and this would at the same time increase their knowledge about Getai as well as their interest, as proven from the response from “881”, attracting a wider younger audience.

Another way to conserve getai is to continually use it as a tool to reach out to the heartlanders. MPs in Bukit Batok have already recognized the power of getai in spreading messages to the heartlanders, and Singapore should continue to use it so as to prevent it from dying out, if it ever does. Getai can be the main tool in spreading the anti-dengue message, especially to the elderly who do not follow television, or who cannot understand English. This will ensure that they are not left out of the loop and have access to such information as well as this is presented in a way that they can connect with and understand.

Getai can be a very feasible way of creating wareness for different organizations and welfare groups as well. Getai can be featured in Charity events, for example, to help raise funds for the needy people and for different organizations, as it is something that people can connect. Other than being used to spread anti-dengue messages, it also can be used to spread important messages such as Road Safety and Cancer Prevention for example.

Getai is a way to connect to the heartlanders, and one of the most pressing issues concerns the elderly. Recently the elderly have succumbed to conmen again and again, as they are conned out of their money and valuable items. As the elderly may not understand English, they may miss important messages warning them against this in the newspapers and on television. Getai, then, would be the best way to transmit the message to them as it is something they all understand, and this would help drop the crime rate in Singapore as well as conserve Getai by using it for different purposes. Getai is an important aspect in Chinese Culture and we should try our best to ensure that it never dies out.