Landscapes of India - Kashmir

Kashmir - the Fields and Hills are Alive.... 

Faces of Kashmir - Gulmarg Sleigh Puller

Yes, in Gulmarg Kashmir, they use human power to get tourist on sleigh across the snow fields to the cable car station. He was pulling my sleigh and took a break as the rest were far far behind... Looks like I am not that heavy. Even so, he was huffing and chuffing away, not an easy job.

Faces of Nepal - The Souvenir Seller

The trinket/souvenir seller in Kathmandu Durbar Square... the hopeful look of making a sale for
the day.

The Spirit that Remains.... In Memory of Rev RS Hutchings and the School that He Founded - PFS

Two hundred years ago, the foundation of a school was set up by the Rev Robert Sparke Hutchings (born ?1782- died 1827), who was the chaplain of the Prince of Wales Island then. The school was the Penang Free School, which should be celebrating its 200th years anniversary in 2016.

I managed to visit the grave of Rev R.S. Hutchings at the old Protestant Cemetery at Western Road, Penang in July this year, both to catch a glimpse of his grave and to reminisce the spirit of the school that he founded. 

 

The tablet on Rev. RS Hutchings's grave, the inscription being dedicated by his loving wife,
Elvira Hutchings nee Phillips. Note the error on the tablet, where her name was inscribed
as Elrica Hutchings.

Personally I feel that the school had died in 1993, with the uncalled for meddling on the matters of the school by the people in power. And thus, for me, the school beyond 1993 only existed physically, without the true founding spirit of the school, and hence it never saw its bicentenary celebration this year.

 

May the spirit of Penang Free School lay at peace with its founder, Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings... RIP.

The Heat Is On - Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Jinjang

Runing through the flames

Huat (發) ahhhh.... or is it Hot ahhhhh!!!!

Live view of the piercing action....

The Nine Emperor Gods Temple in Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur holds nightly events throughout the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. The temple can be located by typing in your navigator the name Pak Thian Kiong Temple, so it is easy to find.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - What We Love and Hate About The Festival No.3

Q: What do we love-hate about the festival?

A: The offerings... on one side, they are so cute, colourful and at times taking up whatever empty space that there is in the temple. On the flip side... looks messy and seems like a huge waste of paper, food etc.

The floor filled with offering buns, joss-paper, rice and fruits at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - What We Love and Hate About The Festival No.2

Q:What do we love-hate about the festival?

A:STINKY TOFU!!!! For every 10 people that love this stinky tofu, another 10 hate it to their guts. Almost at the same level with durians. A must eat food (or must avoid food to some....) popular during this festival in Ampang.

Stinky tofu sign along the street leading to the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - What We Love and Hate About The Festival No.1

This is the next three of the series; the love-hate relationship in the festival. There are some things that we love, and hate as well about this festival in Ampang, and in no particular order, here is No. 1

Q: What do we love-hate about the festival?

A: Smoke! Incense smoke. We love it cause it is so pretty to shoot, so ephemeral and temporary. It gives the atmosphere that we associate with the festival and brings about a sense of the divine being near.

Q: Why you hate it then?

A: Cough cough and teary eyes. Stay too long and you might get chemical conjunctivitis or breathing difficulties. Plus all your clothes will have that horrible scorched smell. And the grossest part is.... try looking at your booger after being in the smoke for a while.

It is a smoky affair during the Nine Emperor Gods
Festival at Ampang.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - What We Love About The Festival No. 3

Q: What do we love about Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival?
A: Friendly faces everywhere! 

Everywhere you turn, there is a friendly,
familiar face that greets you

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - What We Love About The Festival No. 2

Q: What do we love about Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival?

A: The lions! Who doesn't love to touch, feel, errr molest the lions during a lion dance performance. And at the festival, no one, young or old, can resist the cute, playful lions prancing through the temple during one of the procession days.

A 'Michelangelo Creation of Adam' moment by the kid and the lady as the lions passes by.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival - The 'What' Series: What Do We Love About The Festival No. 1

So the Nine Emperor Gods Festival had begun, and to kick it off, I will start a 'What Series' with What We Love About the Festival Q & A. So here is the first installation of the series:

Q: What do we love about Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival?

A: Yellow strips of cloth and talismans!!! Who doesn't notice the bright (and rather gaudy) yellow strips that goes with the talismans that is given out when you give a donation that is almost synonymous with the festival. You tie them around your wrist, or on your bag and even in your car. Plus you get a bunch of talismans that looks almost like calligraphic art pieces.

Stacks of yellow cloth strips and talismans waiting to be given away to devotees - for a
token sum, of course!

The Royal Invitation - Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2016

Off in a hurry to fetch the Emperor!

The eve of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival sees devotees from Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple off to invite the Nine Emperor Gods from their 'secret' location. This age old tradition sees devotees in white, priests, mediums in trance, lion and dragon dance troupes, palanquins carried by men and decorated motorised floats go down the old Ampang town on the way out to the invitation site.

Dragons whizzing through the temple.

Off we go to fetch the Nine Emperor Gods

The Nine Emperor Lamps were consecrated with fire before being raised up to indicate the Nine
Emperor Gods Festival is ongoing here.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2016 begins...

The power of talisman... Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple lantern pole.

The pole is up, and the festivities begins at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple.

Waiting for the Emperor's Return - Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2016

Today is the day we wait for the Emperor's Return...

The now empty passageways and prayer halls will soon fill with devotees seeking the blessings
of the Nine Emperor Gods.

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 1 More Day

Q: I went to one of those Nine Emperor Gods temple and OMG I saw what looked like shrunken heads on sticks being worshiped at an altar. Like are they some headhunter shrunken head worshiping cult???

A: LOL, those are not shrunken heads, even though they look like it. Those heads on sticks represent the Five Directional Generals that guard the space/temple. They are found in Taoist/Shennist temples and is part and parcel of the many rituals that go on in these places.

1 MORE DAY

Tomorrow (Friday 30 Sept 2016) is the eve of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival for 2016. In many temple that celebrate the festival, tomorrow will be the day that they raise the pole for the 9 lanterns that represents the Nine Emperor Gods presence on Earth. So this is the last of the countdown series for Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2016.

This post is a tribute to Cheryl J Hoffmann,who had inspired me to take photographing Nine Emperor Gods Festival to the next level. And on that note, if you need info on the schedule for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Ampang, do check out her site, and be inspired by her photos and stories of this festival:

Nine Emperor Gods Festival by Cheryl Hoffmann @CJH Photography 

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 2 More Days

Q: I see a lot of yellow lanterns being used, as well as items coloured yellow. I thought Chinese love red stuff?

A: Whilst red is an auspicious colour, yellow is the colour of the Emperor, a royal colour so to speak. Hence the use of yellow for everything Nine Emperor Gods.

Q: OMG, why do they have such bizarre piercings? I mean things like bicycles, ceiling fans and samurai swords???

A: Ahhh, you must have seen those Thai spirit mediums. They do the piercings with such bravado and theatrics that makes Thai Nine Emperor Gods Festival (particularly Phuket) attract so many people who come to see the spectacle with their own eyes. Some temples over here do invite them over, and towards the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia, they are more common, the bizarre piercings and body cutting.

2 MORE DAYS

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 3 More Days

Q: When is usually the best time to visit this festival

A: If you want to see the crowd, people and activities, night time are usually the best, or whenever they have specific prayers or a procession. The timing for these activities will differ from temple to temple, and it is best to find out from the temple or their webpage/Facebook.

3 MORE DAYS

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 4 More Days

Q:Why does he go prancing about around the temple and dancing on the stage?

A: The spirit medium is possessed by the Nine Emperor God, and he goes around inspecting and blessing the grounds of the temple to ensure all is well. And yes, he does have some pretty awesome moves; Heaven must have a dance club that really rocks.

4 MORE DAYS

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 5 More Days

Q: I see that the devotees go off in a procession at the beginning of the festival with mediums, urns and whatnot, where on earth are they headed to?

A: They are off to invite the Nine Emperor Gods to the temple. They don't come flying in on Air Force One or some chartered royal jets; but have to be invited from a body of water, be it the sea or river or lake.

PS - A friend of mine says even monsoon drains are used... Looks like the Emperor can't be picky in this modern age, ahahahaha.

5 MORE DAYS

Nine Emperor Gods Festival Countdown - 6 More Days

Q:What is that pair of red wooden block that I see them throwing around, the ones with one side rounded and the other side being flat.

A: They are a type of divination blocks called jiao bei.

Q: So what answers do they get from throwing those blocks?

A: Put it simply, a YES, NO or LOL (yes seriously the gods do laugh at the questions asked).

6 MORE DAYS