Wishing all a Merry Christmas!

Wishing all a Merry Christmas from Kuala Lumpur and looking forward to a better 2022!

The tallest Christmas tree in Malaysia at KLCC Suria (100ft tall) and is covered with over
7000 colourful baubles).

Happy Winter Solstice 2021

Today is the Winter Solstice and for Chinese people it is celebrated as as Dong Zhi (冬至), which when translated literally means Winter's Extreme as it marks the longest night of the year.

On this day, Southern Chinese families and their diaspora will usually get together and consume coloured glutinous rice balls which symbolizes reunion and a new beginning. The glutinous rice balls are also offered to ancestors and deities that are worshiped at home. On the other hand, Northern Chinese would typically consume dumplings instead as the festival food on this day.

So have a Happy Winter Solstice Festival!

Kuda Kepang - The Dance of Two Realms

Kuda kepang, a traditional Javanese dance, is also commonly performed by the Javanese diaspora in South East Asia. In Malaysia this traditional performance is kept alive in areas of Southern Johor, where a large number of people of Javanese descent resides.

Whilst this dance can be merely a performance, in its original form it often incorporates elements of trance which is said to be caused by invited spirit possession. However with the rise of Islamization in the region, the trance portion is often left out as it is deemed un-Islamic. Hence to witness a kuda kepang performance incorporating the trance element here in Malaysia is very much a novelty and a treat.

We were lucky in KL that last night, Pusaka in collaboration with Seni Lab and 33.3studio brought Kumpulan Kuda Kepang Parit Raja Johor to Black Box, Publika in an exciting and eclectic traditional kuda kepang performance with light show and music called Cahaya 004 - Kitab Basah, and yes it was with trance as well.

The moment the dancers goes into trance, their movements seemed to take on an unearthly vibe and exudes that sublime other realm feel to the performance. It is as if something from the other side touched the entire performance and everyone in it, and for that short time, the two realms, physical and the unseen, were connected through the dancers and their movements.

It was an enthralling and a different experience that cannot be adequately described in words or by photos, and is definitely a performance that everyone should at least experience once in their lifetime for themselves.

Of Lights and Water... the Loy Krathong Festival

The Loy Krathong festival, which falls on Friday this year (19 November 2021) is one of the most picturesque festivals that is celebrated in Thailand and also by the larger Thai communities in other countries including those in certain areas of Malaysia.

This festival has its roots as a Brahminical festival to honour the Goddess Ganga (Phra Mae Khongkha - พระแม่คงคา), and is celebrated on the full moon night of the twelfth month of the Thai calendar, which usually falls within the month of November in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival also coincide with the Lanna (Northern Thailand) festival of Yi Peng, where they release sky lanterns (basically identical to the Chinese Kung Ming lantern), and is now celebrated as one amalgamated festival in Northern Thailand.

Whilst Thailand is celebrating the festival on a big scale as they have started to reopen to tourist post Covid-19 pandemic, the same can't be said for Malaysia; where it would not be publicly celebrated by the Thai communities in Klang Valley and in Penang this year due to concerns of the pandemic.

So in this post are a few pictures from the festival in Penang (at Gurney Drive) taken in 2014, and hoping that the festival will make a comeback here in Malaysia next year. Happy Loy Krathong!

Flower Power... Krathong with lovely flowers

Lighting up the krathongs...

Say a little prayer for you...

Let it go, let it go...

The North Star Deity (北斗星君) arrives at Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Temple

As part of the series of ceremonies and divine invitations that occur during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the Nan Tian Gong Nine Emperor Gods temple of Sekinchan (适耕庄南天宫九皇大帝) invited the North Star deity (北斗星君) yesterday on the 5th day of the festival.

Whilst the South Star deity (南斗星君) is believed to be in charge of matters regarding your well-being and living quality in this life, the North Star deity is in charge of the death (ie. lifespan) of a person, and therefore prayers are often offered to the North Star deity to prolong one's lifespan.

 

The invitation ceremony of the North Star deity carried out by Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple yesterday was somewhat similar to the South Star deity invitation ceremony on the 2nd day of the festival (click to read in new tab), with the exception that it was more festive this time around, having a pair of lions performing the lion dance and escorted the entourage for the invite, plus we headed north of the temple this time to a spot located somewhere in the agricultural fields for the invitation. Also, as the site was quite close by, the temple entourage walked to the site which took us about 10 mins to get there.

The schedule of invitation ceremonies at Sekinchan are as follows:

• 5th Oct 2021 (eve of festival) 10.15pm - Invitation of the Nine Emperor Gods
• 7th Oct 2021 (2nd day) 10.15pm - Invitation of the South Star Deity
• 10th Oct 2021 (5th day) 10.15pm - Invitation of the North Star Deity
• 12th Oct 2021 (7th day) 8.45pm - Invitation of Jade Emperor
• 13th Oct 2021 (8th day) 10.15pm - Invitation of Dou Mu

 

Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Festival - Invitation Ceremony for the South Star Deity on Day 2

On the night of the 2nd day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple (适耕庄南天宫九皇大帝) invited the South Star deity (南斗星君) back to their temple. Even though it was a simple ceremony without any elaborate procession or fanfare, one can sense the intense religious fervor that pervaded the ceremony emanating from the temple members and mediums in trance who were tasked with carrying it out.

The ceremony starts (as usual) with the mediums going into trance to the beat of the gongs and hand drums. This is then followed by the royal parasol, the sedan chairs and the temple entourage leaving for a selected location to do the invitation.

Upon return back to the temple, the entourage were greeted with lit firecrackers and the sedan chairs were then paraded around the temple altar table whilst being rocked hard before being placed back to their respective places in the temple after the deities on board have been let in into the temple's inner chamber. After that mediums who are still in trance attended to the various needs of the devotees.

This year, the Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple is one of the few Nine Emperor Gods temple in Klang Valley whose prayers and ceremonies are open to the public whom have been fully vaccinated, and I believe it is also the only one in Klang Valley that did raise the lantern flagpole for this year's Nine Emperor Gods Festival which is accessible to the public at large.

See the next post about the North Star Deity (北斗星君) invite at Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021... A Celebration Behind Closed Doors

Today is the second day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and as expected, it was quiet but still smoky at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple. Other than the numerous dragon joss-sticks burning away inside the temple grounds, it actually feels more like a non-celebration, being rather calm and without the usual endless stream of devotees coming and going throughout the day.

• Previous post - A Low Key Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021 for Ampang

A Low Key Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021 for Ampang

With it being two more days before the eve of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021, the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple (安邦南天宮) is unusually calm and quiet compared to pre-Covid times. The usual stream of people dropping off rice, oil and other foodstuff as donations and offerings were completely absent this year.

 

 

However, there were more devotees present than in the previous week, probably making use of the weekend before the temple closes its doors for the festival to place donations and pay for coil incense to be lit on behalf of them during the festival by the temple staff. Outside, within the temple grounds, the dragon joss sticks were already up, and I was informed that more are coming on Monday. Towards the end of the day, more devotees turn up to offer their prayers in lieu of doing so during the festival as the temple will only allow their committee and limited number of members to attend the prayers during the festival to avoid any over crowding issues.

 

 

The unusual calmness and lack of activity during this time of the year does feel pretty disturbing, especially if you are so used to the chaos and cacophony that is the hallmark of the temple gearing up for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. So here's to a quiet and uneventful Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021.

 

Important Dates:

Eve of 2021 Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 5th October 2021 (Tuesday)

First Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 6th October 2021 (Wednesday)

Ninth Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 14th October 2021 (Thursday)

• Next post - Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021... A Celebration Behind Closed Doors
  
• Previous post - Yet Another Year of Quiet Prayers behind Closed Doors - the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021

 

Yet Another Year of Quiet Prayers behind Closed Doors - the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021

Yes it is almost time for Nine Emperor Gods Festival again, as it is just 6 more days before the festival begins. This year the festival begins on the 6th of October 2021 (1st day of the ninth lunar month) and ends on the 14th of October 2021 (ninth day of the lunar ninth month).

 

However, the festive atmosphere here in Malaysia is again missing this year as many temples here have either opted to hold simple ceremonies or to make the prayers a private affair only for the temple committee and senior members.

In fact almost all of the famous Nine Emperor Gods temples in Klang Valley are holding the prayers behind closed doors, for example Ampang Nan Tian Gong temple, Jinjang Bei Tian Gong temple, and Sg.Way Leng Eng Tian temple; the main reason being to prevent large crowds of devotees from thronging these temples, thus making adherence to Covid-19 SOP difficult.

 

Hopefully next year we will see some semblance of normality for such festivals, although returning to the way this festival were celebrated before Covid-19 does seems impossible for now.

 

• Next post - A Low Key Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021 for Ampang 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 2021

It is again the Mid-Autumn Festival or better known as the Mooncake Festival. The mooncake shown here is a type of mooncake known as 公仔饼 (doll biscuit) or 猪笼饼 (pig basket biscuit). Traditionally, this biscuit is placed unwrapped in miniature bamboo and later plastic baskets that resembles the cages that pigs were transported in (hence piggy biscuit). Nowadays as to comply with food hygiene requirements, they are individually wrapped in plastic wrapper before being stuffed into the plastic cage.

 

 

This type of mooncake biscuit is basically made with the dough for the skin of the traditional (Cantonese style) mooncakes, and is a good way to utilise all the excess dough instead of letting them go to waste. In the past, they are moulded into various shapes including a simple, elongated oval shape, as long as they can fit into the 'cage'. Nowadays they are almost always moulded to look like a cute miniature pig.

Traditionally, they are solid, with no filling whatsoever as the purpose of this mooncake was to make use of the excess dough; plus it also doubles up as a cheap gift for customers who bought a lot of expensive mooncakes. Nowadays, mooncake makers do make them with simple filling like lotus paste or red bean paste.

Even though it isn't as popular as other types of mooncakes, nevertheless the sight of these piggy biscuit mooncakes always reminded me of the way  the Mooncake Festival was celebrated when I was young.

 

Another year of quiet Hungry Ghost Festival

As the Hungry Ghost Festival this year comes to a close, it has been another year of low key celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

No large makeshift altars were allowed here this year. Instead, people are only allowed to do prayers in temples and also private offerings outside their homes.

 

And as we reminisce upon the festive celebrations of previous years, we hope that perhaps next year we will start to see some of these traditional festivities return to normal.

Comtemplation in the Market...

A fresh seafood seller seemed to be deep in thought whilst waiting for customers to come by at Psar Chas in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This photo was taken in 2015... and with the current pandemic, I too sometimes wonder if we can ever be the same again like in pre-Covid times.

Interestingly, the word for market in Khmer is Psar... which is probably a derivative from Champa or the Malay word Pasar, which came from the Persian word Bazar. The influence of East - West trade on the word usage for market is indeed interesting.

Memories of Jogja Istimewa -The Endog Abang Lady

A rather unique festival celebrated in Jogjakarta, Central Java is the Sekaten festival that usually last for a week, commemorating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. One of the features of this festival is the abundance of ladies selling red eggs on skewers decorated with bits of paper known as Endog Abang (in Javanese endog is egg and abang is red - literally red egg).

The Endog Abang seller...

 

This photo of the lady selling Endog Abang was taken just outside one of the entrance to the Jogjakarta Palace during the 2015 Sekaten celebration. Whenever she sells a few Endog Abang, she will then proceed to make a few more from her supplies of red eggs stored in the woven basket in front of her.

Happy Hokkien New Year - Jade Emperor's Birthday

The Jade Emperor's Birthday falls on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and for the Hokkien community it is regarded as their New Year. This year it falls on the 20th of February 2021 and in places where there are a large number of Hokkiens eg. Penang, this is usually a bigger and grander celebration than the first day of the Lunar New Year!

 

Usually families will prepare an altar for worshiping the Jade Emperor on the night of the eve of the festival (night of the 8th day of Lunar New Year) and when midnight comes, the prayers and festivities will commence, together with setting off fireworks and firecrackers to usher in their new year.

Devotees praying to the Jade Emperor inside the main
shrine of the Jade Emperor Temple in Air Itam, Penang.

For those that have neither the space nor the convenience to do the prayers at their place of residence, they would usually go to temples or to communal altars set up by the local community to worship the Jade Emperor together. In Penang, the Chew Jetty is one of those famous places where the communal worship of Jade Emperor on his birthday is practiced.

Alas, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, public celebrations have been cancelled this year and people can only do small scale prayers at home. Hence it was a pretty muted affair this year. Hopefully next year the festival will be back to being celebrated on a grand scale.

Happy Hokkien New Year!!

The 'Niu' Year...

Today is he 1st day of the Lunar New Year, and even though the Year of the Metal Ox had officially started on Li Chun (Beginning of Spring - 3rd Feb in 2021), many still associate the Lunar New with the change of the animal horoscope and hence assume that the year of the Metal Ox has just begun - which is a misconception.

 

Since we are not allowed to travel about and there are no temple fairs to shoot, nor are there any open houses or lion dances happening in KL this year, I have resorted to shooting household stuff related to Chinese New Year, which resulted in this 'Niu' Year (牛 - the Ox) image that can be used as an e-greeting image. Have a Happy Chinese 'Niu' Year!

Wishing All A Healthy and Happy Chinese New Year 2021

Wishing all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year 2021. This year the lunar new year falls on 12th Feb 2021 and today being the eve of the Lunar New Year (除夕 - chú xī), it is customary for Chinese families to hold thanksgiving prayers today for their ancestors, and then followed by a family reunion dinner later in the evening before ushering in the new Lunar Year in a few hours time.

Unfortunately for us in Malaysia, this year's Chinese New Year celebration atmosphere is rather sombre as we are not allowed to travel across state or district and family reunion dinners are only allowed for family members within a 10km travel distance.

新年快乐, 身体健康, 万事如意!

In this difficult time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I would like wish everyone a good year ahead, stay safe and healthy always! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Li Chun (Beginning of Spring) 2021

Happy Li Chun to all... Li Chun (立春) or known as Beginning of Spring is a Chinese calendar solar term, and marks the beginning of a new Chinese zodiac year. Being a solar term, it has a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar, and usually falls on Feb 4 (plus or minus one day) - this year it falls on Feb 3rd at 10:58:39 pm and marks the start of the year of the Metal Ox (辛丑).

 

Chinese New Year is of course coming up, being only 8 days away. As this year's Chinese New Year (which is calculated based on a lunisolar system) begins after this year's Li Chun and ends before the following year's Li Chun, it is considered a 'Double Blind Year' as it does not meet with Li Chun either in the beginning or at the end. Traditionally a double blind lunisolar year is considered inauspicious for certain activity like marriage.

Thaipusam 2021... Looking Back on Past Celebrations

A blessed Thaipusam to all, and even though we cannot personally attend the festival in Malaysia this year due to Covid-19 lock-down, we can always look back at happy memories of Thaipusam celebrations in the past and hopefully next year we all can join in the festivities once more.

Bathing of the Vel at Sg, Batu river during Thaipusam... (Thirthochava Ceremony)

Eight More Days to Thaipusam 2021... A Different Thaipusam due to Covid-19

Thaipusam is coming up in 8 more days, and yes this year it will be very different in Malaysia due to lock-downs brought about by Covid-19. Missing from this year's celebration would be the chariot procession, kavadis and huge crowds at Batu Caves, Penang and Ipoh as we are under lock-down that will most likely be extended beyond the festival date.

A couple carried their child up Batu Caves as a sign of gratitude for Lord Muruga's blessing,
one day before the second Covid-19 lockdown in Selangor.

Even so, some devotees managed to fulfill their vows of carrying paal kudam (pot of milk) or their baby as a sign of gratitude before the lockdown was imposed. Hopefully this will be the only year that the festival's age old traditions were broken, and we can return to nomalcy next year.

 

Vetrivel Muruganukku Arogara!

UPDATE: MKN has announced that all Thaipusam activities are NOT ALLOWED in temples within Movement Control Order (MCO) and Conditional MCO  (CMCO) states in Malaysia.

 

UPDATE 2: The Thaipusam chariot procession of Batu Caves, Penang and Ipoh has been granted permission to be held but under tight security with no devotees allowed.

Happy Thai Pongal 2021

Colourful earthenware pot for sale for the coming Pongal festival.

 

If you had noticed stalls selling sugarcane stalks complete with leaves, colourful earthenware pots, flowers and coconut leaf garlands recently in past few days is because the Thai Pongal or Pongal festival is coming up tomorrow on 14th January 2021. This festival marks the beginning of the Thai month in the Tamil calendar.

 

The festival is known as Makar Sankranti and is one of the few Indian festivals based on solar calendar terms as hence will always fall within a day or two from 14 January and marks the transition of the Sun into Capricorn.

As the majority of Indians in Malaysia are from Southern India, the festival is celebrated as Pongal here, and the name actually refers to the rice milk porridge cooked on that day in earthen pots and allowed to overflow upon boiling (a sign of abundance) and is regarded as thanksgiving. The porridge is then offered to the gods and then to family members.

 

Sugarcanes for sale for Pongal

Specifically for this festival, the Sakkarai Pongal (short grained rice cooked in jaggery and milk and and then garnished with ghee, cashew nuts and raisins) is cooked in the morning of the festival. Three sugarcane stalks are usually tied in a tripod fashion and stood over the pot used to cook the Sakkarai Pongal, hence you see the sale of sugarcane stalks by the stalls.

 

Happy Thai Pongal 2021 from Malaysia!

Can Malaysia Survive Another Covid-19 Lockdown?

On Wed 13th January 2021, Malaysia will enter into yet another lock-down as the escalating case numbers of Covid-19 cases are getting out of control. This is in spite of the fact that in the middle of last year (2020), we were one of those countries praised for the excellent handling of the Covid-19 situation; all it took was a by-election and everything has gone south ever since.

Yet Movement Control Order 2.0 may just be the last straw that broke the camel's back, as the country's economy which hadn't recovered since the first lock-down despite the relaxation of the lock-down several months later might not be able to take the brunt of another lock-down. The signs are obvious, especially small businesses that had shuttered their doors due to the pandemic.

An empty Petaling Street on a Sunday... Wonder how many customers did the old uncle
selling Ban Chang kueh (peanut pancake) gets each day?

If you take a walk in Kuala Lumpur's inner city areas like Petaling Street, you can definitely see the effects of the previous lock-down on small businesses. No longer bustling with people and with only a few stalls still open for business, Chinatown is now a ghost of its former self and actually looks more like a ghost town! Even on weekends, you could stand in the middle of Petaling Street, stretch your arms out and spin around without hitting anyone. The photo above was taken on a Sunday, just days before the second lock-down, and you can see how empty Petaling Street is.

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but I truly hope that after this Covid-19 pandemic is over, the old uncle selling the peanut pancake will still be there.... hopefully!