九皇大帝千秋

It was one of the busiest times of the year for Taoist temples here in Singapore as they gear up to celebrate the "Nine Emperors' Birthday". This is one of the annual events that captivated my interest as my parents and relatives spoke fondly about the week-long event with high regard. So, this year, I decided to head to temple near my place and to capture some images!

I was actually informed by S of the actual dates of the event. He showed me a sort of timetable that was made up by this guy "K", and I was like "why not?" I have always been interested in the "Sintua culture" anyway.

We headed to HGDMG (along with my parents; that was awkward) on the first day of the festival but was disappointed to find out that the procession had left and it would take them a full three hours to actually get back to temple. Deciding not to waste the trip there, my parents decided to go make some offerings while S and I lingered around the temple to take a few pictures.

There were actually really interesting decorations that were scattered around the temple. Usually we would only see these decorations lined up on the streets of Chinatown during Chinese New Year or Mid-AutumnFestival.

These are the "heavenly lamps". According to my dad, they have a huge significance in Taoism culture and shouldn't be a force to be reckoned with.

One of the highlights of the "Nine Emperor" festival were the dragon boats that are supposed to be burned on the last day. Devotees are given the opportunity to write their names on the boat as a form of blessing in exchange for a small amount of donation.

After my folks were done with praying, they informed us that the temple near my place had a much grander set-up and urged us to check it out. Being the curious youths we were, we decided to go take a look. I haven't been to the temple except once during the previous Chinese New Year with my family,  so it was quite fascinating to visit the temple again without a holy intention.

The first thing that caught my eye when I visited was this figure of "Zhong Tan Yuan Shuai" or more commonly know as Ne Zha; as he was sitting in the middle of the enormous tentage-covered area.

Another significant feature of the festival were the sedan chairs that would be used in processions and paraded around in several temples across Singapore. Sedan chairs were used to ferry people of esteemed ranks and riches in Ancient China, and the Taoists believe that these sedans contain the spirits of the deities.

There wasn't much going on, so me and S left after awhile. Yearning for more photographic opportunities, we inquired about the days where there would be more excitement and one of the volunteers told us to visit again in 2 days where there would be various temples visiting, and where the sedan chairs would be paraded.

So... We visited the temple again two nights later!














I wasn't able to capture much due to the massive amount of human traffic, and also partly due to my inexperience of taking part in such events. I was not sure if it would be disrespectful to go closer to the sedans to take pictures... Still, I was pleased with the few shots I have and left; to only return the next afternoon alone! HAHA! (Yes, I can be quite mental at times)

A traditional Chinese opera stage and act was going on when I went and it was surprisingly empty so I decided to snap some pictures.

The actress posed like that midway and her counterpart was kinda stunned.

Fun fact: These whips you see are called huat sohs. They are generally used to scare wandering spirits away.

More sedan chairs. This one is slightly more traditional than the rest without the LEDs and all.

The goat mascot you see in this picture is actually one of the main characters of a popular Chinese cartoon. I was kinda surprised when I saw him praying at the altar along with the lion dance troupe. It was a fresh sight alright!

What this guy is doing is called "Bo Un. It means to replenish you luck. The chop is usually stained with "zhu sha", a reddish ink material that the Taoists believe is sacred OR with the blood from a "ki tong" in trance.

I stayed on till the evening and was about to leave when another temple arrived. It was then where I saw this guy who actually lingered for quite a while as well and I decided to go say hi. Turns out he was K! After chatting for awhile, he informed me that another temple was arriving in 2 hours so I decided to wait around a little longer. It was intriguing to see youths getting involved in the cultural scene these days, so we had a long chat about photographing the event and how we got interested in the festivity, and apparently he has been shooting such events for more than 5 years! Unfortunately he was photo-shy so the picture above is the most you will ever see of him! Unfortunately, the other temple called the visit off, and so we called it an early night. K invited me to join the temple for a procession the next day but I was unable to make it due to work, but I decided to go for a short shoot in the night. I am actually glad I went because the nine sedans were out for the procession and were paraded around when they returned. It was amazing to see the sedans of different shapes and sizes bursting with life through the movement of the "kio guan" or sedan members, and the bright colours of the LED lights that they were adorned with. A few days later, me and S went to photograph the last day of the event and it was truly an eye-opening experience for me. We reached an hour earlier and there was already a huge crowd gathering!  Chinese Mochi!!!  Ninja action time! And so that marked the end of a week long event. It was a tantalizing few days for me; days that were dripping with culture, bright lights and zealous individuals who took time out to celebrate an age old tradition.