By Foo Ming Li
The Nine Emperor Gods festival is celebrated annually for nine days during the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This festival is organised in various Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
In Chinese mythology, Tou Mu, the Goddess of North Star, is the Taoist counterpart of Kuan Yin, and she has compassion for the suffering of mankind. She is believed to have control over the books of life and death, and all who wish to live long may offer prayers to her.
Tou Mu’s nine sons are T’ien-Ying, T’ien-Jen, T’ien-Chu, T’ien-Hsin, T’ien-Ch’in, T’ien-Fu, T’ien-Ch’ung, T’ien-Jui, and T’ien-P’eng. His nine sons have been deified as ren huang (human sovereigns), and they are believed to confer luck, wealth and long life, as well as cures for ailments.
Devotees of the Nine Emperor Gods festival must follow a strict vegetarian diet, as meat eating is considered a sin. Devotees must undergo this strict diet throughout the nine days of the festival or the whole ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar to receive blessings from the Nine Gods.
The Tow Boh Keong temple located at Jalan Cheong Fatt Tze (formerly known as Hong Kong Street) has been in existence since the mid-19th century. The temple is considered the oldest Tow Boh Keong temple in Penang that possesses a unique handwritten scripture book dating back to 1842.
Khoo Khay Hock, the Temple Trustee of Tow Boh Keong temple, said that this year’s celebration of the Nine Emperor Gods festival will be a simple one due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The temple has organised the festival for over a century, and the festival is an annual Chinese tradition, so some of the newly implemented methods will only allow nine devotees to enter the temples to perform their prayers,” he said.
Khoo said that the number of attendees who will welcome and bid farewell to the Nine Emperor Gods have also greatly reduced to twelve people consisting of six temple trustees and six devotees riding on a separate sampan boat to conduct the rituals.
On the other hand, Tow Boo Kong Temple of Butterworth, which is located at Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, is a temple that has been dedicated to the Nine Emperor Gods since 1970. Between 1986 to 2010, the temple has been renovated numerous times to accommodate the large number of devotees during the Nine Emperor Gods festival.
Currently, the temple committee is preparing a set of guidelines and safety measures while adhering to the Covid-19 SOP issued by the Malaysian government. Chan Kem Wah, secretary of Tow Boo Kong Temple Butterworth Secretary, said that there are security guards to monitor the number of devotees who are entering the temple.
“We have decided to allow 50 devotees to enter the temple, and we’ve hired a few security guards who will ensure that the devotees leave the temple after their prayers to avoid congestion in the temple,” said Chan.
He said that the process of welcoming and bidding the Gods farewell is being managed by the person-in-charge. Other activities, such as the making of medicated oil, the float procession, fire walking, and mass prayers have been cancelled to prevent high numbers of devotees from attending the activity and possibly spreading the virus.
Chan adds that the temple only sells vegetarian rice boxes for takeaway dinners. This is because the Penang government has announced a ban on dine-ins during the Nine Emperor Gods festival.
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