Giant joss sticks lit to mark deity’s birthday

GEORGE TOWN: Three giant joss sticks costing almost RM100,000 were lit up at the century-old Hean Boo Keong Temple in Lorong Kenari 8, Sungai Ara, in conjunction with its deity’s birthday celebration, which is usually held in a grand style every 30 years.

Temple committee treasurer Loh Soon Kong said the joss sticks, measuring 11.6m and weighing at least a tonne each, were ordered back in March, but they were only delivered on Sept 30.

“The joss sticks with motifs of dragons and deities were made by artisans in Taiping and had to be hoisted up with a crane due to the immense size. We light them up tonight and each joss stick is expected to burn for four days or longer.

“The middle joss stick was bought with public donations while the other two were paid for by two well-wishers.

“The joss sticks are the tallest we’ve ever had, as the ones we had in 1991 were only 7.3m (24 feet),” he said yesterday, adding that there will be a procession, too, as part of the festivity.

Loh said the procession, which was actually organised in 2021 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will have more than 20 floats belonging to various associations from the southwest district.

“This will be the fourth time that such a big procession will be held after the ones in 1931, 1961 and 1991.”

The purpose of the procession, he added, is to take the temple deity for a 40km tour of the district.

It will start at 8.30pm today from the temple and proceed to Gertak Sanggul via Bayan Lepas and Teluk Kumbar, before returning to the temple.

Loh said the century-old temple has been a hive of activity for the past week, and they have had more than 10,000 devotees coming over to pray, adding that the next such procession will be in 2051.

“We also have another temple of a similar size located off Jalan Kenari near Emperor Villa, which is a popular rest stop for hikers, especially on weekends.”

The temple venerates Xuantian Shangdi as its primary deity, portraying him as a formidable god with mastery over the elements and extraordinary magical abilities.

He is specifically recognised as the god associated with the northern regions and holds a special place of reverence among martial artists.

Xuantian also serves as the patron deity for the regions of Hebei, Henan, Manchuria and Mongolia, and is usually depicted with a snake and a tortoise.