Other Photographers Show Their Stuff

Oh how we pine for those bundles of Joss Sticks.  So, to help those of us still looking for a Nine Emps fix – I’m passing on some work by some other photographers.  The photojournalists (of course) were the first in.  But the other photographers have been busy for the past week, editing and posting.  The photos below are the property of the photographers and are copyrighted.  Thanks and kudos to them for giving me permission to post them here.

You can start with a visit to my favourite Nine Emperor Gods blogger, Sien Liew and his up-your-toot-blogspot.  I think his blog should be called “The Reverent Irreverent” or maybe the “Irreverent Reverent.”  He makes me smile.  Be sure to read the captions.  Sean’s blog combines entertainment, religion and photography.  Who could ask for more!?!

The next place you should go is to Rahman Roslan’s blog.  His work always knocks me right off my chair.  I love what he did in the few hours he was at the festival on the Ninth day.  Check out how he sees the light and how he captures the essence of the place.  He’s a photojournalist extraordinaire.  The B&W is quite effective at a festival that screams colour.  You can check out his work on his blog here: http://rahmanroslan.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/nine-emperor-gods/

Then check out Raja Indra Putra’s photos on his FB.  This is a photographer who really should have a blog. Ripi is a great street photographer, who is always insightful.  He sees a lot of things differently than most of us.  Gotta love this stuff.  He says this is his first trip to the Nine Emperor God Festival but it’s hard to believe that when you see his work.  He is wise beyond his years!  When you go to his albums here and here, be sure to tell him that he should have a blog!  I hope those albums are public.  If not, friend him and let him know he should have a blog. 🙂 He’ll thank me for that!

I recommend that you have a look at Matt Brandon’s blog for some shots from Penang.  Matt thought I could embed his slideshow in my blog, but he doesn’t know me very well!!  And his blog/website is very upscale (read secure) in keeping with his photography, so I had to resort to grabbing an image. Matt is new to the world of the Nine Emperor’s so it is interesting to see how he applies his photography skills to the colour, lights and drama that is the festival in Penang.  I think you will get lost in a lot of his other portfolios when you open up his site. Exquisite work.

And if you are still hungry for images, go to Yee Loon’s Facebook album.  The dozen photos posted there leave us asking for more.He has been photographing at Ampang for awhile now, has developed some good access and personal relationships and you can see in his photos that he plans ahead and anticipates well.  That’s an important part of photographing something like this and Yee Loon does it well.

And here’s one last one, for now.  Fresh, enthusiastic, inspiring.  A young couple, traveling the world, had an incredible experience at the Nine Emperor Gods festival in Ampang.  Check out the post on their blog to see how much fun they had with red turtles.  Given the enthusiasm for exploring, it’s easy to think that they have many more rewarding adventures ahead.  Just another reason to love the Nine Emperor Gods festival.  And I love this because they had a look at my blog before they visited the festival and thanked me for the information!  Rewarding.

Oct 22 (Day 8 Bridge Crossing) and Oct 23 (Day 9 Firewalking) at Kow Ong Yah Ampang

If you thought Day 6 rocked at the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Ampang, hold on to your hat as we head in to Day 8 and Day 9.  The next two days are all about bringing the cosmos back into balance through special ceremonies.

You might want to look at this post on my website instead.  If so, find it here: cheryljhoffmann.com

Check the schedule in the side bar for start times.  Photographers should come early.  These are photos that I took in 2010 of the festivities in Ampang.  They will give you an idea of what you will see there during the last two days of the festival.

DAY 8 – Bridge Crossing.  See my post from two years ago about Day 8. On Day 8 (Monday Oct 22) the bridge walking ceremony starts at 8pm – a time when the community can participate in a ritual of cleansing and blessing.  It is the day of bringing “yin”, our watery side, into balance.  Kow Ong Yah sits at the end of the bridge on a chair of nails and blesses the devotees as they cross.  I love this event, because Kow Ong Yah wears his beautiful yellow robes and  his hat with the long pheasant feathers and it looks really awesome.  It’s a great time, because everyone gets to participate, unlike the fire-walking that is restricted to men only, and then only some men as well.

Here is what it will look like this afternoon with the vendors moved out from in front of the temple:

If we are blessed with a clear sky tonight, photographers should watch for the lovely combination colours and silhouettes.

Tonight everyone can cross the bridge, even those who haven’t kept a strict vegetarian diet.  Don’t be shy!  It brings luck if you cross.  The mediums go first and bless the way.

DAY 9 A day of inspecting the grounds, feeding the army, Firewalking, and the glorious send-off procession. Today is about “Yang”, about balance and about the mediums acting on behalf of the community.  The gods show up and the day is action packed and packed with visitors.  See my post from 2010 on Day 9 at Kow Ong Yah in Ampang.

Preparation of the fire pit starts early.

The mediums are in full swing all day!  Here is Kow Ong Yah proving his worth.  I love this photo for the guys in the background, as well as for the energy! 

If you come early, you can watch the preparation of the fire pit. The area is fenced to keep people back as it gives off a lot of heat in the early stages of burning.

Sorry, no female photographers allowed inside the fence.  And also it takes press credentials to get inside for the fiery close ups.

Never mind though.  If you are inside the fence, you don’t get to photograph all that goes on outside the fence ie – the feathers again!

As I once heard Joe McNally say – Don’t complain about lack of access.  Make it work.  Be grateful for being there and the opportunity to make images. Of course he said it with a story and much more poetically!  From outside the fence, I shot this, and many more, in 2010. 

The festival quiets down a bit after the firewalking and the crowds disperse.  But a lot still happens after that and into the wee hours of the morning.  The opera troupe comes to perform important rituals at the altar in front of the temple at about midnight.

If you are really keen (and you should be!) stay around for the procession to send the Emperor back to the heavens.  It leaves the temple at about 2am.  Despite the late hour, this procession is attended by thousands and is RELA’s last chance of the festival to boss us around!

Everyone is pretty tired at the end of the nine days but the send off is a joyous celebration of blessings received, as the Emperor heads off into the night to return to the heavens.

I hope to see you there to share in all of the excitement!  Cheryl

Day 6 Rocks Ampang

From Kow Ong Yah swinging his sword about on the Opera stage to rituals of thanksgiving and dormitories full of loving friends, Day 6 at Kow Ong Yah temple in Ampang was a real feast for the senses.  There were gongs and fires and whistles and smoke.  There were traffic jams and lines for food.  A friend asked me the other day what I do in Ampang when I visit.  Well, yesterday was a great example of just how enriched my life is by this festival.  I chased the mediums through the temple grounds and tried to photograph birds being released to the heavens.  I talked to devotees and shot some portraits. I was inspired and challenged and exhausted and loved every minute of it.  I also liaised with many photographers and encouraged them to send me links to their photos.  We know that there are many ways to shoot this festival and all of you are welcome to post links to your own work here.  We can use this as a community portal – a digital version of the festival lantern pole that reaches to the skies.

So here are a few photos from yesterday.  There are many more I could share but will save them for a quieter day.

Let’s start with food.  Not only did the ladies in the kitchen prepare 3 meals for the hundreds of devotees at the temple, they also prepared 100 buckets of food to ceremonially feed the armies of the generals that protect the festival grounds.  The woks were full all day.

Members of the committee also chipped in.  Here my good friend Koh Ping and Mr Low Ching Poh help to serve food to devotees in the early morning.

Later in the day, I was treated to a delicious bowl of noodles mixed with some yummy black vinegar.

Is that enough about food?  But let’s not forget that other Malaysian passion – shopping!  

There was all that and more, including some important rituals throughout the day.  The mediums got started at the main altar with a show of strength and control.  The gods had arrived to inspect and protect the festival.

Kow Ong Yah made his way throughout the whole grounds, visiting the four corners, the altars, the kitchens and the dormitories.

 

This is an exciting time for the devotees who get to pay their personal respects to the Emperor and also receive his blessing. 

It didn’t rain all day in Ampang although we could hear the thunder booming.  The evening sky was as glorious as the colours of the festival. 

In one particularly joyous moment, members of the opera troupe brought their baby god to the main altar so that it could be part of the ritual ceremony of the evening.  

On the evenings of  days 3, 6 and 9, special prayer items are passed, person to person, from altar to altar in a ceremony that I like to call “the round and round”.  

As the crowds came back in to the temple after the ceremony, joss sticks and smoke filled the space, bringing tears to our eyes.  Meanwhile, the medium offered believers the advice of the god.

Late in to the night, crowds gathered to watch the opera performance.

It was quite a show of glitz and glamour!

And with that, I headed out in to the massive traffic jam, and drove the wrong way along the road marked “laluan sehala” just for the fun of it.  I could barely pull myself away.  Headed back up there now for more!

What to Expect on the 6th Day, October 20th

Let’s start by hoping for some blue sky for a little contrast!Saturday, October 20th is the 6th day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.  In Ampang at 2pm, the mediums will invite the gods to the temple to help perform the ritual ceremony of feeding the armies of the generals that are protecting the camp.  Buckets of food are prepared and presented, while hundreds of devotees watch over the proceedings.  Then Kow Ong Yah will inspect the grounds, starting with the 4 corners.  He will then make his rounds through the dormitories to the joy of the women staying there.

Here are a few photos from a couple of years ago, when I was there.

And here are two photos that I found while looking for these of Day 6.  Because they brought a smile to my heart, I wanted to share.

Nine Emperors in Johor Bahru

Words come easily to describe the Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Sam Siang Keng temple in Johor Bahru.  It is a place of gentle kindness and warm hospitality.  It is above all a feminine place, where the Goddess of Mercy reigns and women are her conduits into the community.  I was impressed with the simpleness and openness of the festival here.  There is no mention of secrets and mysteries.  They don’t even hold their special events at night.  It all takes place during the daylight hours!  It is well organized and visitors feel at home and comfortable in their prayers.  I was met by a whole team of volunteers who cheerfully showed me around, shared stories and photographs and answered my many questions.  Every five years a delegation from this temple goes to the temple in Ampang and brings back ash from the Emperor’s urn to JB.   Check out their Facebook page.

As many already know, the priestess of the temple is Wee Ah Moi, who is now in her eighties.   Her diety is Miaoshan who comes to her to help people who are suffering.   Her smile and gentle manner are magnetic.  I feel so fortunate to have met her and to have been graced by her calm presence.  Her mother was also a medium at this temple and it was when Ah Moi was 18 that she was chosen by the goddess to serve the community through her special abilities.

All those around her are nourished by her strength.  The people I met at Sam Siang Keng exemplify the kindness and compassion that are at the heart of both Guan Yin and Wee Ah Moi.  The priestess goes in to trance each afternoon during the Nine Emperor Gods festival, offering help to those in need of guidance and encouragement.

So, what did I see at Sam Siang Keng that caught my attention?  Well, the most exciting thing for me were the statues of the Nine Emperors that grace the main altar.  I was told that they are new this year!  It is so wonderful to see them represented and when it is quieter there I will go back and photograph them individually and learn about the qualities of each one.  I was also told that each year a different emperor brother comes to the temple for the festival.  According to the priestess, this year it is the Ninth brother who is there.  Here is the main altar.  Ninth brother is on the far left.

The Jade Emperor is in the middle at the back.  The Duomo sits in front of him.  The large statues at the back on the left and right are the dieties of the sun and the moon.  No yellow curtain in JB.  It’s all there for those to see.  The old, symbolic urn with the pomegranate leaves, that represents the Duomo is also in the open.  It sits outside the temple in a special place where she can watch over the boat that will transport her emperor son back to the heavens.

Notice the yellow flag in the hand of the man praying.  Here is a photo of people praying at the main altar. Because it is a Guan Yin temple, only those who do not eat any beef, ever, are allowed to kneel before the gods and ask for a flag. Only those granted a positive answer from the gods are given a flag.

So many things are done at the temple in a special way.

Here is the bridge of cleansing that sits at the temple entrance for the whole 9 days of the festival.  

People cross it and paper money is waved over them as they cross.

Of course yellow is important here too.  Here a man in the office notes donations of packets of rice and spices that will go in to the boat with the Emperor when he returns on the last day.  And below, a team makes the ribbon flowers and attaches them to the chairs that will hold the statues of the Nine Emperors and the Duomo during the procession on Saturday, Oct 20.

As I mentioned earlier, the special events during the festival at Sam Siang Keng take place during the day.  Wee Ah Moi goes in to trance in the afternoons.  The procession will take place on Saturday at noon and the return of the Emperor to the sea happens at 3pm on the last day, and not at night as is the usual in other temples.

One of my favourite things about Sam Siang Keng is an altar that doesn’t have too much to do with the Nine Emperors, but has always interested me.  This is the altar to the Datuk – that very Malaysian of Chinese dieties.  In this case, they worship Datuk Awang and his sister who sits beside him.  This is quite awesome and makes me want to photograph Datuk shrines all over Malaysia and do a book about them!

My visit to Sam Siang Keng was so pleasant because of my hosts there.  They sat with me and told me their stories, they showed me around the temple and blessed me with food and a coveted temple shirt, as well as a book on the history of the temple.  I will be back as soon as I can.  Maybe for the send off on Tuesday!

Sharing the fun and the blogs and the photo tips!

Today is a sharing day.  The joy in this photo has to bring a smile to your face!  Was everyone having as much fun as we were?

I haven’t been to the Ampang temple for two days but I can tell by the posts out there that a few of you have been!

Blogger Sean Liew shot some video at the Nine Emperor Gods Temple yesterday.  Day 2 is a very fun day that includes an evening procession to invite the Finance Minister to the temple.  Check out the post here: http://up-your-toot.blogspot.com/2012/10/nine-emperor-gods-ampang-2012-day2.html#links

I was in JB yesterday at the Sam Sieng Keng Temple for their Nine Emperor Gods celebration. Check out their Facebook Page here.  I will post some photos from my visit there soon.  Meanwhile you can check out Nat Geo photographer Justin Guariglia’s photo of the lovely Taoist priestess at the Sam Sieng Temple.  Then you can see mine tomorrow!

If you are looking for more info on the festival and some good photo tips from a pro, TV Smith shares his wisdom on his blog www.tvsmith.my/nine–emperor–gods–festival–2012

And here is another good photographer (Tennyson) posting some photos.  You should have a look.

A young photographer, Oh Bengkooi just sent me two face book albums, so have a look here and here.

And please send me a link to your photos and stories.  It’s like the lucky money in the ang pow – use it to buy rice, share the rice with friends, and your luck will grow.

Cheryl

An Evening’s Invitation – and lots of photos

If you are a photographer, you need to be here!  If you love color, you need to be here! If, like me, you love high energy and friendly crowds and just plain fun, you need to be here! Don’t just take my word for it.  Check out Sean Liew’s blog for great photos and entertaining comments on yesterday at Kow Ong Yah Ampang.  I handed out a lot of cards yesterday to a lot of photographers and asked them to post their photos and send me a link.  Let’s share the joy of this festival.

I hope that you enjoy these selected images from last night when the festivities got underway with the grand procession to invite the Emperor to the temple.The excitement started building at about 5:30pm with the arrival of the dragons and lions.

Then the temple gods went for a ride in their beautiful sedan chairs accompanied by cheers and shouts to encourage Prosperity and Good Health.

Thousands of people joined the procession through Pekan Ampang.

On the banks of the Klang River, the Emperor was invited from the Heavens and escorted securely through the night back to the temple.

The fantastic glow of flourescent light!

The devotees prostrated themselves upon the arrival of the Emperor.

Fireworks seen through the feathers atop the monkey god’s head.

Mediums announced the arrival of the Emperor with unselfish acts of strength.

The umbrella was guided gently into the temple.

The devotees broke through the RELA line, impatient to be the first to pray to the Emperor.

Meanwhile, the Amoy opera got started across the street.  Monday evening will be their first full-scale performance.

By midnight, many of the devotees had called it a day, rebuilding their energies for an early morning start.

Getting Ready At Kow Ong Yah, Ampang

Sharing photos of the Nine Emperor Gods festival is one of the highlights of my year.  That may seem silly but it’s the truth.  So here we are again!  I hope that you enjoy the 2012 blog.  I invite you to contribute to our knowledge of the festival.  Leave a comment or a link to some of your stories and photos and I will post it.Such a treat to go to the temple today, meet old friends and be part of the quiet buzz of traditions.  The vendors and the devotees will start arriving tomorrow.

I was very pleased to see that they have finally covered the gaping hole in front of the opera house. Now of course we have to be careful that we don’t trip on it, but it is much less hazardous.  And the area is fenced off so the patrons will have a seating area.  I guess that the opera troupe will arrive tomorrow too.

The office was the beehive today .  Lists of responsibilities are posted on the wall and the management of donations of rice and oil has begun. 

It was good to see Mr Lim there, with his lanterns and his grandsons helping to carry them in.  For me it felt like we were really ready to go when then lanterns were hung.  See my post on Lim of the Lanterns in 2010.

There was already food preparation for this is Malaysia!  Don’t forget to keep vegetarian if you are coming to the festival!

Last but not least, the prayers have begun.  The altar is ready for the Emperor.  The place is so beautiful now, without all the smoke that comes with the festival.

The altar to the Five Generals boasts freshly painted horses… and the dragons and phoenixes on the rooftop wait expectantly.

Watch Sean’s view from above

Watch Sean’s blog for these great views from on high! http://up-your-toot.blogspot.com/

Schedule for Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2012 in Ampang

I have posted the latest schedule of events here:  http://cheryljhoffmann.com/category/9emperor/

The procession to pick up the Emperor is Sunday evening October 14th.  Come join the fun.