The Walk Of Faith

The Sifu At Ampang Kau Ong Yah Temple Leading The Walk Of Faith

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is an annual 9-day Taoist event celebrating the return from heaven to earth the nine emperor deities. Celebrations commence on the eve of the 9th moon Chinese lunar calendar (typically October timeframe) with an elaborate ceremony of rituals to invoke and welcome the deities. It reaches its climax on the 9th day with the famous charcoal fire walking ceremony where Taoist priests, led by the Sifu (Master) lead devotees (devotees need to observe a 9-day long prayer and rituals) to walk across a raging fire and embering charcoal mound to clean and and ward themselves off evil or bad influences, to usher in good luck, affirm their belief and faith in their Nine Emperor Gods before the celebrations wind down and come to a close the following day.

Well, the eve of the 9th moon Chinese lunar calendar falls on the 30th September this year and as I write, activities and rituals are already in full swing over at the packed Ampang Kau Ong Yah Temple to welcome the return from heaven to earth the nine emperor deities. A vibrant and dramatic celebration is expected, as always; an enlightening and memorable experience is assured, regardless you are visiting to partake in the celebrations or to spectate and soak in its festivity and atmosphere. I plan to visit the temple to cover the event on a number of days in the following 9-day celebration period to further document special moments of this unique and absorbing celebration. Here’s hoping the gods will be kind again this year with some divine intervention to my photography :).

Some earlier posts of mine on the Nine Emperor Gods Festival can be found here …

https://kenandagnesphotoworks.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/nine-emperor-gods-festival/

https://kenandagnesphotoworks.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/nine-emperor-gods-festival-part-2/

Photo: Fujifilm X-E2 with XF 55-200 mm

 

Nine Emperor Gods Festival – Part 2

The temple was just as crowded and busy on the other two nights I was there. Devotees and visitors thronged the temple grounds and prayer halls going about their activities. This is likely due to the fact most devotees will only have time to visit the temple in the evenings on weekdays, after their working hours.

Being more familiar with the place and environment after my initial visit, I felt more relaxed with my photography, less worried about disrupting the ceremonies or causing offence to the priests or devotees, and immersed myself in the spirit and atmosphere of the festival. For me, attending the festival has indeed been an eye-opening, fascinating and rewarding experience to know more about this interesting Taoist festival’s various ceremonies and its formalities. It has given me an insight and better appreciation of the devotees’ belief, commitment and devotion to the Nine Emperor Gods, who serve as a solace in hard times, a confidante for spiritual advice, a guardian, a source of strength and hope for better future and prospects, and that’s really saying something, in this day and age.

Here are more photos from around the temple grounds and within the temple halls.

During peak periods, devotees were planting and filling the urns full with joss sticks rapidly, while workers briskly remove them to make room for other devotees. The joss sticks don’t get to spend much time in the urns; but that’s ok, it’s the intent and symbolic gesture that matters.

Adorning the makeshift shelter in the temple forecourt were these colourful banners beautifully embroided with folk art, floral motifs, ‘The Nine Emperor Gods’ in Chinese text and fringed with colourful string tassels.

Its not all serious stuff though … there is time for some selfies and general photography, like this gentleman here snapping some pictures of the North Star God pagoda.

Devotees interested in getting spiritual enlightment/advice may consult the gods via a temple priest who after performing a ritual, becomes a medium to the gods. The smiling girl probably heard something funny or agreeable from the gods.

It is customary for devotees to make a donation to the gods/temple at the numerous donation counters set up around the temple grounds. In return, they receive a talisman as token of appreciation for their kindness and generosity.

As part of the event’s attraction and entertainment, visitors/devotees can enjoy the traditional Chinese opera performed nightly. Mainly appreciated by the older generation these days (you can tell from the audience present), this art form and performances is becoming something of a rarity these days, only featured in selected Chinese festivities by associations with sufficient funding to engage them. So, it was heartening to see the event organizers supporting and promoting it, hopefully, gaining more younger generation fans.

For those unable to secure seats, standing and watching the Chinese opera from a distance is equally entertaining.

Devotees praying to the Five General Gods at the side of the main entrance to the temple prayer halls. The Five General Gods are leaders of the spiritual armies.

Devotees queuing at the main entrance to proceed to the temple’s prayer halls. Note how the devotees clutch and hold the bundle of joss sticks high, out of harm’s way.

Devotees patiently queue and wait for their turn to pray to the gods in the outer prayer hall, unfazed by the thick mist of incense smoke making breathing difficult and eyes teary.

When their turn comes, devotees pray in earnest and spiritual devotion …

An up close and personal spiritual moment with the gods …

A temple priest and his entourage going round to the respective gods’ altars reciting verses from a holy scripture during one of many prayer ceremonies conducted throughout the festival.

One of three arched entrances leading to the main prayer hall. It was a hive of activity therein as devotees pray, consult the gods, ask for lucky numbers (number betting), etc. There is also a queue at the far end where devotees queue for their turn to pray and offer their respects to the Nine Emperor Gods which is stationed in an area behind the golden curtain. The bell is tolled each time a devotee offers a donation. Thankfully, its a lot less smoky in the main prayer hall as there is an efficient ventilation system installed to expel the incense smoke through the ceiling.

Devotees knelt in prayer, note the amount and assortment of offerings on the floor offered by devotees to the gods. Those in queue were waiting for their turn to pray to the Nine Emperor Gods.

Some lovely RELA girls on duty during the festival. Crowd control and security is an important aspect of any large public event, the Nine Emperor Gods festival is no different. Event organizers engage RELA (a paramilitary civil volunteer corps formed by the Malaysian government) personnel to be in attendance to maintain order and assist with traffic management, etc.

Female devotees from afar participating fully in the prayers and ceremonies over the nine day festival to enrich themselves spiritually can apply to stay at the temple’s dormitory facilities for a small fee. Its basic but sufficient for the purpose. This is made possible by the fact that the temple is famous among the Chinese community, receives good support and funding from devotees, thus enabling it to offer such services and maintaining its facilities in good order.

Some devotees also choose to augment their prayers and wishes to the gods with incense coils (for longer burn duration) tagged with devotee’s name/family and an appropriate traditional Chinese wish (message). Common wishes are for peace, health, longevity and prosperity. These incense coils are hung in a dedicated area and left to burn completely.

The ultimate in presentation and burn time – erect dragon incense sticks donated by devotees at the ready to be lit.

The temple’s brick walled censer where devotees offer joss paper to the gods. From the moment the censer is lighted with the first piece of joss paper during the commencement of the festival, devotees see to it that it remains fired throughout the festival by continuously feeding it with joss papers. Ensuring the censer is lighted throughout the festival brings good luck and fortune to all.

I will subsequently post a final set of photos capturing the famous charcoal fire walking ceremony.

Part 1  can be found here .

All photos: Fuji X-E1 & X-E2 with XF 14mm, 23mm, 35mm, 18-55mm & 55-200mm.

 

 

Nine Emperor Gods Festival

I can recall over the years when I was living with my parents, mum would comment ‘It’s the time of the year for The Nine Emperor Gods Festival’ when the long spell of rainy days towards end September/early October comes around. But as our family is not Taoist, we did not make it a point to observe the the Nine Emperor Gods Festival through the years and therefore I did not have much appreciation for the festival. I can however vaguely recall one of my uncles bringing me to a temple’s Nine Emperor Gods celebration to watch the ‘walk over charcoal fire’ ceremony when I was a little boy.

This year, I contemplated attending the festival to learn more about the festival, do some photography, and of course, write a post on it. Some quick research on the net enlightened me with interesting and rational background information on the festival’s history and origin …

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a 9-day Taoist event celebrating the return from heaven to earth The Nine Emperor deities. Observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries, the celebration commences on the eve of the 9th moon of the Chinese lunar  calendar and ends on the birthday of The Nine Emperors, which according to ancient Chinese legend, were born on the 9th day of the 9th Chinese Lunar Month. The origin of the Nine Emperor Gods can be traced back to the Taoist worship of the Northern Constellation during the Qin and Han Dynasties. The observation and worshiping of stars was practiced in ancient China long before Taoism was founded. As Taoism developed during the Han Dynasty, it began to assimilate the practice of worshiping the stars, symbolizing them as Gods …

Ask any Chinese within Klang Valley who knows about The Nine Emperor Gods Festival and they will tell you the most famous temple in Kuala Lumpur (temple with the most elaborate celebration program) to experience the festival is the one in Ampang – the Ampang Nan Tian Gong Temple (also known as ‘Kau Ong Yah’ Temple in Hokkien dialect) located in Ampang New Village (Pekan Ampang). Ampang New Village is historically a Chinese predominant community which harks back to the introduction of tin mining in the area during the early 1900s.

The celebration kicks off with a ceremony to invoke and welcome the deities on the eve of the ninth moon. Temple priests conducts prayers, and at some stage go into a trance acting as mediums to the deities. As the arrival of the deities is through the waterways, a major attraction symbolizing this is a parade to welcome the deities from a nearby river and ushering them back to the temple. This marks the start of the nine day celebration.  Over the next nine days, a host of ceremonies and prayers will be conducted. The festival reaches its climax on the ninth day when the famous charcoal fire walking ceremony is held, followed by a celebration ceremony before the festival winds down and a farewell ceremony/procession is held to send the deities back to the heavens.

Unfortunately, I missed this year’s kick-off celebration and parade as I only got to visit the temple on the 5th. night of the celebration, and twice more on the 8th. & 9th. nights to catch the highlight ceremonies.

The Temple’s Beautiful Main Arch Gate

A festive and busy atmosphere pervades the temple grounds and its vicinity the nights I was there. Makeshift stalls without and within the temple grounds did brisk business selling prayer paraphernalia, food, drinks, etc. to visitors.

Tortoise Bun Stall. The Tortoise Symbolizes Longevity And Prosperity In Chinese Culture. The Chinese Signage Is A Commonly Used Phrase Which Translates To ‘Safe And Sound In Daily Activities’

Youngsters Eager To Know What The Future Holds For Them At A Fortune Telling Stall

A Stall Selling An Assortment Of Prayer Paraphernalia

The temple was thronged with devotees; elderly or young, from near or afar, they come to pray to the deities for good health, good fortune, good luck, peace and harmony, divine protection, atonement for sins committed or to offer thanks for prayers fulfilled. The sheer amount of lit joss sticks and candles filled the air with a mist of acrid smoke, making breathing difficult and eyes teary. The Ampang Nan Tian Gong Temple is known for its ‘success rate’ fulfilling one’s prayers and wishes, hence its high popularity among devotees.

Devotees Lighting Up Joss Sticks And Praying At The Main Urn In The Temple Forecourt

The Young And The Elderly, They Came to Pray …

Pray For Good Health, Good Fortune, Good Luck, Good Job, Good Life Partner, Etc. Etc. Etc. …

Stay tuned for Part II  …

All photos: Fuji X-E1 & X-E2 with XF 14mm, 23mm, 35mm, 18-55mm & 55-200mm.