PRAYER…Devotees taking part in the mass prayer session to pay homage to the Jade Emperor.
THOUSAND of devotees of all ages thronged the Peak Nam Toong Temple at Taman Fortuna here, on the eve of the Jade Emperor’s birthday, on Thursday night, to pay homage to the deity.
It was a ‘grand-and-spectacular’ occasion due to a well-organised mass prayer ceremony conducted by the temple’s committee. This was the third consecutive year that the temple organized such an occasion, to pay homage to the Jade Emperor or Yu Huang Da Ti in Mandarin and Thi Kung in Hokkien.
Leading the elaborated mass prayer ritual was Datuk T.C Goh, the honorary advisor to the temple who was joined by his wife Datin Joanne Ho. Also in attendance were former Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Yong Teck Lee who is also President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), its Information Chief Chong Pit Fah, Lee Hing Boo, Chairman of the temple, and its Organising Chairman, Foo Hoe Weng.
The Jade Emperor’s birthday falls on the ninth day of the 1st lunar month hence, the devotees would usually throng the designated Chinese temples which house the Jade Emperor, or set up their own altar and offerings at home, on the eve of the Jade Emperor’s birthday.
And at the stroke of midnight, they would start praying and making offerings to the Jade Emperor, to pray for a year blessed with good health, peace and harmony, and prosperity.
MASS….Goh (1st row, 3rd from right) leading the mass prayer session; standing next to him on his left is Yong.
Among the offerings displayed on the tables were roast piglets, rice wine, and Hokkien delicatessens like ang koo kuih (red tortoise buns) mee koo kuih (bean paste cakes), and huat kuih (prosperity cakes), besides flowers and fruits.
Prior to the commencement of the mass prayer session, the devotees were treated to a host of entertainment programs on stage that was catered by the temple.
When approached later, both Lee and Foo were delighted to note that this year’s Jade Emperor celebration was better organized than previous year, coupled with a marked increase in the number of devotees who took part in the mass prayer session.
“Even the numbers of roast piglets offered by devotees have increased from 15 last year to 33 this year,” Foo noted.
Lee promised that the temple committee will continue to improve the organizing of such events in future.
He explained that the Jade Emperor’s birthday is especially a significant day for the Hokkien community as, the deity is highly-revered by the community not only as “the ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell”, according to Taoist mythology, but more importantly he was their savior.
According to ancient Chinese folklore, Hokkiens in Fujian province, in China were spared from extermination by demons following an intervention from the Jade Emperor. The Hokkiens who sought refuge in the sugarcane plantations emerged unharmed nine days later after the Jade Emperor defeated the demons. In appreciation of his intervention, the Hokkiens thus offered him the sugarcanes, and that day happened to be the Jade Emperor’s birthday.
Ever since then, the Hokkiens had continued to observe the tradition of paying homage to their ‘celestial hero’ – the Jade Emperor.
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