Keeping tradition alive: Ong praying and making offerings to the Kitchen God at his house in Muntri Street. — KT GOH/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: For generations, Zhao Jun (the Kitchen God) at the back of Chris Ong’s house in Muntri Street “watched” and “heard” everything in the house.
It also kept the family safe and blessed.
To honour the deity, 63-year-old Ong, a fifth-generation Penang-born baba (Straits Chinese), keeps alive the annual tradition of sending off and welcoming the Kitchen God.
Ong said the deity’s icon was believed to be as old as the house, which was built in 1890.
“I grew up in my ancestral home along the same road and spent my first 17 years there.
“In 2006, I bought this present house a few doors away, where the beautifully crafted plaque and altar were already here.
“Being a collector of old items, I preserved it, as sustainability is part of my philosophy,” he said yesterday.Ong, who is currently a hotelier, said unlike most families, who would make offerings and send the deity off in the morning, he preferred to do it later in the day.
“I want it to spend as much time in the house as possible. Then, hopefully, it will give the Jade Emperor a fair and equitable score on the report card,” he said.
With a passion for restoring old properties and heritage houses, Ong said such practices were an intangible cultural heritage of George Town that locals should maintain.
“The ritual is about trying to get people to have a sense of decorum in the house.
“Here, they have to be mindful of what they do or say,” said Ong, who made offerings in the form of fruits, meat, and cakes as well as joss paper and a ‘ticket’ for the deity’s departure.
According to Chinese belief, the Kitchen God reports events in the household during the past year to the Jade Emperor when he ascends to heaven.
His return is welcomed on the fourth day of the first lunar month.
