2011 Nine Emperor Gods Festival Starts next week!

It’s time to get the dates on your calendar so that you don’t miss the events of 2011! This year’s Nine Emperor Gods festival begins with a procession to collect the Emperor. The procession takes place the evening of Sept 26th – that’s Monday. In Ampang, the procession starts at about 8pm from the Kau Ong Yah Lam Thian Kiong Temple at about 8pm and returns, in a raucous parade of lions and dragons and devotees, to the temple at about midnight. I will miss the Ampang festivities this year – but I will be in Penang at a lovely, small Nine Emperor Gods Temple on Hong Kong St. I will be blogging from there, so stay tuned for updates on the Emperor from Penang! Meanwhile, if you are a newcomer, I suggest that you browse back through the posts from last year and that will help you get acquainted with what goes on in Ampang. I’ve posted a schedule of events at the Ampang temple in a list on the left here. Hope that helps my KL friends. Enjoy!

Kau Ong Yah pays a visit to Ampang last May!

A few months ago the Kau Ong Yah Lam Thian Kiong Temple of Ampang held a 20 Km radius Ancestor and Thanksgiving ritual. It was a beautiful ceremony over several days in which the temple fulfilled its obligations to the Lost Souls roaming about the Ampang area. The festivities were complete with a special visit by Kau Ong Yah, resplendent paper mansions and a huge burning. Here are some of my photos.  This was just one way that the temple is preparing for this year’s Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

Goddess of Mercy

Homes for the Lost Souls – with all the luxuries!

The heavens participated one evening with a great lighting show.

Koh Ong Yah was in residence during the ceremonies

Paper Gods carried to the open lot for burning

Some familiar faces around to help out

It all made for a huge symbolic fire.