Half a pound of treacle

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2015 - Day Two

The second day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival sees the invitation of the Finance Minister at Ampang Nan Tian Gong temple. This procession mirrors that of the Nine Emperor Gods invitation ceremony on the 12th of October, with the difference being the Finance Minister, Tian Fu Yuan Shuai is the deity invited this evening.

Fishy... Chinese love their fish. Here there are many fishes and a phoenix flying to the temple.

The other difference to this procession compared to that of the first one is that the energy levels seemed to be very high, and everyone seemed to be anxious to get the Finance Minister back to the temple. Well, who wouldn't want to be in the good books with the money guy? Especially in times of economic hardship, everyone must be praying hard that Tian Fu Yuan Shuai will bless them with money and more money...

Sushi or shashimi...

The cutest dragon and dragon dancers in town...

The palanquin leaving the temple.

The outriders for the gods do not have sirens nor flashing lights, just these plaques.

Hi ho, hi ho.. is off to the invitation we go. The ladies trooping down the road at the start of the invitation ceremony.

The number of visitors were much more too, due to the public holiday, as well as photographers, making it a mad dash for the best spot to see the happenings in the temple. So for those who prefer to see the procession at Ampang Nan Tian Gong Temple with less maddening crowd, the invitation ceremony for the Nine Emperor Gods is a far calmer, more restrained and regal in a way as compared to the invitation of the Finance Minister.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2015 - First Day @ Ampang

The first day of the festival at Ampang Nan Tian Gong Nine Emperor Gods temple started off as a quite day immersed in prayers and offerings. However, the mood became very festive after 6pm, probably due to the next day being a public holiday in Malaysia for Awal Muharram. By 8pm, the crowds were surging in, the opera blaring away and incense smoke pouring through the vents and doors of the temple.

Devoted to her prayers... she is a picture of calm in the sea of moving devotees in the temple.

Then a heavy downpour came and somewhat slowed everything down. It was more of a gridlock scenario as devotees crammed into whatever sheltered space available to avoid the rain. The crowd then slowly thins out as the night passes.

Peace (ie safety) wherever you go... a LED sign hanging from one of the stalls outside the temple.

Reciting prayers to the Nine Emperor Gods.

Yes or no.... the lady was throwing divination blocks to obtain an answer from the Nine Emperor Gods.

Tortoise buns with lucky lottery number - a popular offering in this festival.

The atmosphere of the temple at 7pm was rather quiet, as can be seen from this shot.

The crowds came around 8pm... you could hardly move through the road without elbowing someone.

A costume's equivalent of a bad hair day - Chinese opera actors and actresses were performing on stage.

Reflections - after a heavy downpour. It didn't dampen the spirits of the visitors and they continued on despite the wet ground full of puddles.

The second day will probably be more festive and crowded as there will be a procession at 7pm to invite the Finance Minister, Tian Fu Yuan Shuai.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

The Nine Emperor Gods are here

It ain't heavy, it is the Emperor Gods.... the palanquin that is supposedly used by the deities were being carried out for the ceremony.

On the 12th of October, the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple went out to invite the Nine Emperor Gods from a nearby river. The invitation ceremony and procession started at 7.35pm and the palanquin returned with the urn around 10pm. And so the festivities start... Huat ahhhh!

Fire, fire... - dragon joss sticks being lit with kerosene whilst the guy smokes.

Dragon ball... Dragon dances were performed as part of the ceremony and the procession to invite the Nine Emperor Gods - photo by Bob.

Taking out the plaques that announces the presence of the Emperor Gods - photo by Bob

Rock - a - bye Emperor Gods - the palanquin rocking to and fro as they move it from the temple. Devotees believe that the rocking indicates that the deities are present in the palanquin.

There will be another procession on Wed night (14 Oct 2015). However be prepared for a major crowd and traffic jam as it is a public holiday. Even now at 12am, the traffic is backed up to Spectrum at Ampang.

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