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Nine Emperor God Festival at Lebuh Carnarvon

Written by Nicholas Chan on October 15, 2008 – 2:09 am -

Last Tuesday was in fact the Chinese celebrated the Nine Emperor God Festival on the 9th of 9th Month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. People were eating vegetarian food for a week for that festival and I joined in on the last day.

I never know about the parade and celebration in town until that day. I should have know about this earlier. In town, at Carnarvon Street, there’s a little parade at night. It’s from Hong Kong Street to Weld Quay where it is to send the god back to the sea.

There’s a lot of decorated flower car, peoples and tourist flows in to join the crowds too. I was there just to take photos and see what it is look like.

There’s a part where the spirit of god possesed the person’s body and some were pierced with a long steel thing on their cheek. It’s longer than what’s they do on Thaipusam but the best part of this, some even jump around during the parade. They have to hold the long steel thing all the way to the end point of this parade at Weld Quay. It’s heavy, they have to hold it with their both hands while walking on the parade.

According to what my friend told me, if one did not take vegetarian during the Nine Emperor God Festival, the possessed person with God spirit will chase him. I went to take vegetarian in the afternoon on that day. Haha.

At some part, peoples carrying the I-don’t-know-what-it-is-with-little-god-statue started running like crazy. People told me that they were possessed but from what I see, it doesn’t look like they were but believe it or not is up to you.

It started from Hong Kong Street, down Carnarvon Street and take a U turn. After the standing there to see them make the U turn, I went back home because it’s getting late and the I got school on the next day. I didn’t join the parade.

I’ll be there again next year. It’s really fun and what’s after this was traffic jam where all the people that join the fun like me goes home.

Tags: carnarvon street, chinese tradition, Event, georgetown, god, nine emperor god, nine god emperor, Penang, penang chinese, penang event
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