Masi Magam Theppa Thiruvizha 2022 @ Penang

The Masi Magam Theppa Thiruvizha celebrated by the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple in Teluk Bahang, Penang is one of the lesser known but truly unique festival celebrated here. This festival, which usually occurs at the end of February or early March every year, has been celebrated by this temple annually since the early 1900s.

So what is Masi Magam?

Masi Magam is a Hindu festivals popular with Tamils and is celebrated when the Moon is in the Magha/Magam nakshatra (star/asterism) during the Tamil month of Masi (Feb - March), hence the name Masi Magam. The Magha star is α-Leonis (Regulus) in the Western constellation of Leo and in Hindu astrology this star is associated with power and royalty.

On this auspicious day, it is said that prayers done is very efficacious in removing afflictions in life, particularly those associated with ancestors (pitru dhosa) as the Magha star is controlled by Ketu (lunar descending node) which governs past actions and ancestors.

Temples in Southern India (as well as Southern Indian temples of the Tamil diaspora like in Malaysia) will usually hold temple festivals i.e. Thiruvizha on this day where the temple idols will be paraded out on temple chariots and taken for a ceremonial bath in a body of water (Theerthavari). Devotees will then take a dip in this body of water as it is believed to be blessed thus capable of relieving past afflictions and wash away bad karma.

So now we come to Theppa Thiruvizha... instead of parading the idols in chariots, the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple in Penang does it by boat, hence it is called a Theppa (i.e. a float or decorated boat) Thiruvizha! This unique way of celebrating the festival here calls for a specially built, beautifully decorated and brightly lit boat that will carry the deity out to sea in the evening as the sun sets, with fireworks going off before she is given the ceremonial bath out at sea.

It is, I believe one of the only temple in Malaysia to carry out a Theppa Thiruvizha for Masi Magam. And to add to the stunningly lit float that stands out against the darkening evening sky, devotees also release floating lamps onto the water, and the sea in that area magically transforms into this mesmerizing sparkling sea of lights.

In the past, this festival at Teluk Bahang Penang usually attracts up to 40k devotees and tonnes of photographers all wanting to participate and catch a glimpse of this amazing event. However, the number of participants are very much less this year, and there wasn't much of a crowd at all since we are still in the pandemic. In fact you could even count the number of photographers present with both hands!

2022 actually marks the 115th year that the temple has carried out the celebration in this unique fashion, and despite the various restrictions presented by the Covid-19 SOPs and the current Omicron wave, I must say they have managed to pull it off very well to keep this tradition alive.

So next time you are in Penang around February - March, do check out the Masi Magam Theppa Thiruvizha here.

Happy New Year 2022

So here's a toast to 2022 and hoping for the best, despite the fact that the new year didn't quite come with a bang, but more like a slow glow of an LED lamp.

I guess we just have got to keep looking on the bright side...

To my friends and readers, the next major festival update would be Thaipusam, which falls on January 18 this year. So stay tuned!

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).

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 Day The Music Died... How the 'New Normal' has Affected the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2020

Today is exactly 7 days to the eve of this year's Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and as the festival draws near, one cannot help feel a little disappointed as nothing much is actually happening due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Malaysia, the decision was made by the the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple management on the 16th of September to cancel this year's festivities altogether, although the temple will still be open for worshipers. For me, the once in a year 'life' of Ampang New Village has literally being 'silenced' by this decision.

And that means there will be no loud Chinese opera music from the temple this year, no clanging of temple bells and lion dance troupes bashing cymbals and drums on the eve of the festival this year, no loud announcements from the temple of people looking for their relatives etc....

Looking back at one of my post from 2019 when I said that the festival has always been Same same but Different (click to read that post in 2019), little did I know that I would be be proven so wrong this year, with the festival turning out to be very, very different. Perhaps I should have taken back what I have said about the festival being a 'repeat year in year out'.

Perhaps all we can hope (and pray) for is that in 2021, the festival will return to normal, whatever normal might be then...

So here's a list of a few other things that we will be missing this year at Ampang without the Nine Emperor Gods Festival...

• Massive traffic crawl from Jalan Ampang leading to the temple.
  
• Friendly old aunties staying in the dorm (will miss seeing them having aged one more year)
  
• The crowd formed by devotees dressed all in white during the Feeding of the Heavenly Armies (Ko Kun)
• The stalls lining the roads leading to the temple and in the temple courtyard
• Processions for the invitation of the Nine Emperor Gods and Finance Minister
• Bridge crossing and fire walking and...
  
• Cheryl Hoffmann... she has gone back to be at her daughter's wedding (Congrats!!!)... I hope she will be back to join us in 2021
  

Next post - Covid-19 and the cancellation of Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Klang Valley:

• No Go for Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2020 in Ampang and KL

Previous post in this countdown series to Nine Emperor Gods 2020 series:

• Fire and Purification - The Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Fire and Purification - The Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Just 10 more days to Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2020 - so here's a take on what happened during the festival in 2019.

Fire walking, which is associated with purification and the renewal of cosmic energy, is a common practice at Nine Emperor Gods Festival as a rite that allows devotees to be blessed and energized with the power of the divine Heaven. Seen here is a form of fire walking, called Crossing the Fire Gates (过火门), that was carried out at Jinjang Nine Emperor Gods Festival in 2019.

Next post in this countdown to Nine Emperor Gods 2020 series:

• The Day The Music Died... How the 'New Normal' has Affected the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2020

Previous post in this countdown series to Nine Emperor Gods 2020 series:

• Nine Emperor Gods Festival: Bizarre Body Piercings When the Spirits Descend...

Till We Meet Again - The End of the Hungry Ghost Month

As the Hungry Ghost Month for 2020 draws to a close, we bid farewell to the roadside offerings of food and joss paper, and of the taboos of the month... It was indeed a very different celebration this year under the 'New Normal', and I have only managed to see one large Phor Thor at Sunway Mentari (and even that was scaled down) when in previous years, the problem was more of trying to politely decline friends' invitation to see and shoot the Phor Thor in their area.

 

Of course the best part of a Phor Thor or large Hungry Ghost celebration, besides the prayers, food offerings and trances is the burning of the King of Hades (Da Shi Yeh) to send him and his officials off, together with all the joss paper and spirit tablets of the departed at the end of the celebration. Picture below is the Da Shi Yeh from Sunway Mentari Phor Thor catching fire as they set him alight on the last night of their celebration.

 

So hopefully next year thing will be back to normal, and we shall be able to attend more large Hungry Ghost Phor Thor celebrations... 

Sending the Nine Emperor Gods Home - The End of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Ampang

As all good things must come to an end, so after nine frantic and energetic days of  trances, vegetarian meals, rituals and prayers the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2019 comes to an end. Here at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple, the Nine Emperor Gods was sent off at 3.30am in the wee hours of the morning on the tenth day of the festival. Whilst the crowd wasn't as large as the invitation ceremony (probably due to the ungodly hour), the atmosphere was still very much charged with the religious fervour of the festival.

So long, farewell... devotees from Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple sending the Nine
Emperor Gods off at the end of the festival.

Exhausted and drained, it was a rather solemn and quiet affair as devotees escort the Nine Emperor Gods on the journey back to the river, and with hope and certainty that next year we will meet again...

Dates for Nine Emperor Gods Festival in 2020:

• Eve of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival - 16th October 2020
• 1st Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival - 17th October 2020
• 9th Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival - 25th October 2020

Click here for the 1st post in the series of 2020 Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown post.

Crossing the Fire Pit - Kuala Pilah Nine Emperor Gods Temple

Yesterday, on the 6th day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, Cheryl, Kirk and I decided to head down south to Kuala Pilah Nine Emperor Gods Temple (Si Thian Kong -  西天宫) as we found out that the Thai mediums which the temple had invited were going to do their fire crossing that night.

Of course we left for the temple early (3pm) from KL in anticipation that there will be quite some activity late in the evening before the actual fire-crossing ceremony, which usually happens at night.

One for the show...performing for the Nine Emperor Gods.

We managed to catch the opera troupe perform a ritual performance for the Nine Emperor Gods in the evening, before the Thai mediums went into trance and was performing many self-mutilation acts like tongue cutting and hitting their backs or stomach with knives and axes to draw blood to empower talisman for the devotees.

Cutting... Drawing blood for talisman.

I Believe I Can Fly!

Spray... When things get too hot to handle!

Run, run across the fire pit.

I will carry you through...

But the best part was the fire-crossing ceremony, as this type of fire pit made by burning wood into embers that is typical of Thai mediums is usually very much hotter than the ones done with compressed charcoal bed typical of Chinese temples in Malaysia.

Having crossed this type of fire pit before in Jinjang, I know that speed is essential and that mediums and people crossing it will end up running or literally flying through the hot embers.

At the end of the day, the local folks and Sing Sua Sifu kept us company with food and drinks until the wee hours of the next day, and it was truly an exhausting but fun trip.

It is a wrap...

Lighting Up Kek Lok Si Temple for Chinese New Year

The lights of Kek Lok Si Temple in the blue hour during Chinese New Year

 

Come every Chinese New Year, the famous Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss) in Air Itam, Penang will be lit with lanterns and LED lights, turning it into a sort of light display wonderland. This yearly tradition no doubt attracts a lot of tourist and photographers wanting to capture this beautiful light display.
 
The lights of the temple will come on with the following schedule:

• January 24 to February 8 2019 :  7.30pm till midnight
• February 9 to February 21 2019: 7.30pm till 10pm

 
In my opinion, the best times are during the blue hour, which last only 15min or so, plus at that time, the lights are just being turned on in stages, so you will probably have at most 10 mins to shoot the lights in the blue hour. It is best to go before dark and sort of scout out which angle you prefer, and you might need to go on several occasions to get a good sky. I was lucky to get some clouds this time around.

Parking space at this temple are available at three different levels, the first and the lowest actually consist of three tiers, and the entrance is just past the shops as you turn in to ascend the road up the hill. The second is a smaller car park with an entrance arch leading to the Goddess of Mercy Hall, and with a good view of the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. The final parking area is somewhat limited and is located at the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) statue area. If you park there, it is some distance up the hilly terrain and you would have to take the tram down to the main temple to view the main temple complex.

Tips On The Run - shooting Chinese temple fairs and deity celebration

I have been doing a fair share of photographing Chinese temple fairs and processions in the past few years. It all started with trying to photograph the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Ampang, and that end up becoming a staple part of my photography, ie doing temple celebrations of deities birthdays, temple openings and various processions associated with temples such as Nine Emperor Gods or Hungry Ghost Festival

Leading the way... the Nezha medium leading the procession with firecrackers along the streets
of Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. You need to be up in front and running with them to shoot him in
action, so good shoes and comfortable clothing is essential. And a bit of courage to face the...
flying firecrakers

Even though it sounds easy, photographing such events are not as simple as it seems. For one, there is the issue of access and boundaries, since they are conducting a religious rites and we should be respectful. Next is the official videographer/photographer, courtesy dictates that he or she would have priority. Then there is the eager crowd, hell bent to get in on a bit of the action. Lastly, the pace of the events and also the locations or spots than you can shoot from. Of course the final million dollar question is what you want to get from shooting these events: Is it the people, the action, the colours or rites?

So there are a few things that one should be ready for when going in to shoot such events. So I have listed down 7 tips that can help in getting the shot that you want:

1. Know the event and timings and go early - they usually start a little later than the stipulated time, but once in a blue moon, they will start early. Also good to be there before the crowd comes.
2. Bring water and candy if the event goes on for a long time (like a long procession) If you don't mind food from the temple, you can usually get at least water and candy from most of these events, or they would have F&B outlets.
3. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and bring a towel to wipe sweat or rain.
4. Spare batteries and spare cards
5. Temple joss urns are good spots to shoot - the combination of smoke, fire and people.
6. Paper burnings at the end of the festivals/celebration are great for fire shots, just watch where you stand and the heat
7. Be polite and respectful as it is their celebration and ritual, even when others are not respectful; you do not want to be labeled as the bastard that disrupted the ceremony.

So there you go, seven little things to consider and most important of all, enjoy the experience. After all, what is the point of shooting it if you yourself, the image maker, didn't enjoy the festivities; you can't expect those who view your images to like it if you don't, right?

Below are a few photos taken at the recent Monkey God birthday celebration in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

Offering of prayers at temples along the procession route for the Monkey God Festival in
Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

Burning the talisman to end the
trance session.

Minding the joss-urn at the Monkey God temple
in Setapak.

Heave ho... Carrying the deities on palanquins for a walk.

I whip my (flywhisk) hair back
and forth.

加油。。。加油。。。 (Come on)

加油。。。加油。。。 (Come on, come on - literally meaning add
fuel) 60mm, f/6.3, 1/80s, ISO1000

The photo above was taken at a Datuk Kong temple celebration in Klang, Selangor Malaysia. The bed of charcoal was lit for a fire walking ceremony in conjunction with the deity's birthday celebration that ran for three days.

Fire Me Up

Firing up a hot air balloon at Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2016. 27mm, 1/50s,  f/5, ISO800