Devotee with a metal rod through his cheeks seen at Tow boh Keong Temple in Jalan Hong Kong.
DRIVEN by a deep sense of devotion and gratitude, 30-year-old Alvin Loh endured having a six-metre-long skewer pierced through his cheek during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in George Town, Penang.
This act of sacrifice, performed while in a trance, was a personal offering in return for the protection and well-being of his family.
In addition to piercing his cheek, he also had four smaller skewers, each measuring about 1m-long, pierced through the skin on his back.
Loh, who has been participating in the ritual for the past decade, said it was him showing gratitude after his mother recovered from a serious illness.
The process of getting pierced through the skin.— Photos: LIM beNG TaTT/The star
“My mother was sick and I sought blessings during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.
“Miraculously, she recovered, so I decided to have myself pierced for the first time.
“Since then, I’ve been doing it annually for the family’s protection from harm,” said Loh at Tow Moo Keong Temple in Lebuh Noordin.
Fu Yin Guan Association chairman Kenny Soong, who was in charge of coordinating the temple’s procession this year, said 14 devotees had skewers pierced to ward off malevolent spirits and seek divine blessings.
He said a “Gate of Peace”, a symbolic archway or entrance, was erected for devotees to pass through as part of the ritual to seek protection, peace and blessings from the deities.
Devotee with a metal rod through his cheeks seen at Tow boh Keong Temple in Jalan Hong Kong.
“It represents a gateway to spiritual cleansing and safety under the protection of the Nine Emperor Gods,” he said.
Hundreds of devotees clad in white gathered at the temple to join the procession and send off the “Emperor Boat” to mark the end of the 10-day festival.
The two-hour procession accompanied by decorated floats took them across the city before sending off the boat at sea near Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Similar celebrations and processions were held by other temples such as Tow Boh Keong Temple in Jalan Hong Kong and Kuan Im See Temple in Burmah Road.
Devotees from Tow Boe Keong Temple taking part in the George Town procession to mark the last day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.
The boat from Jelutong Tow Boe Keong was hoisted with a crane and dropped into the sea at Karpal Singh Drive, while on the mainland, the boat from Tow Boo Kong Temple in Jalan Raja Uda was towed out to sea in Pantai Bersih.
The Nine Emperor Gods Festival, observed by Taoists, is dedicated to the nine sons of Tou Mu, the Goddess of the North Star who is believed to control the Books of Life and Death.
Devotees believe the gods came through the waterway and processions are usually held from temples to the river or seashore as a symbolic gesture.
During the festival, devotees adhere to a vegetarian diet to purify their body and mind, seeking spiritual cleansing and alignment with the gods through abstaining from meat and impure substances. — By LO TERN CHERN
