Archive for the ‘Thailand’ Tag
At the Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival some years back
Started early at 5.30 am, we walked to the Ban Keow Temple about a km away. Tut tut is lesser in Phuket as compared to Hatyai. Armed with goggle and cotton-wool as earplugs we are ready to shoot … even with fire-crackers thrown over us.
Photo courtesy of Bertrand Linet Fotografia
SP Lim
Note: The Festival shall be held this month of October, 2017.
2017 Phuket Vegetarian Festival will begin at 9:00 AM on Friday, October 2 and ends on Saturday, October 28
All times are in Malaysia Time.
Ready to take photographs of the Final Night of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
At the Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival some years back. No guns control but only imitations were used.
Started early at 5.30 am, we walked to the Ban Keow Temple about a km away. Tut tut is lesser in Phuket as compared to Hatyai. Armed with goggle and cotton-wool as earplugs we are ready to shoot … even with fire-crackers thrown over us. Photo courtesy of Bertrand Linet Fotografia
Penang Kew Leong Yah Festival 2017
This year’s 9-day Festival of Kew Leong Yah in Penang will kick off on October 20th. 2017. There will be a Procession of over 80 Floats following a 8-Km route starting from 6.00 pm on October 22nd. 2017. On the final day of the Festival on October 28th. 2017, a Farewell Ceremony will be held at Weld Quay, Penang to send off the Deities into the sea.
SP Lim
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The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The new show of the Thai Teochew Opera for the last year as they are not coming to Penang anymore due to our low RM and no enough payment after conversion. It was the show on Wednesday 4th October, 2017. Sad, sigh as it is one of the FINAL Acts for season. Our local people cannot pay such new sum asked by the Thai Troupe anymore due to the poor present current economic situation in Penang. I never ask the price like for a performance in a day or 2 performances a day of this Thai Teochew Troupe but I heard is around RM5,000 to RM6,000 per day usually limited to one performance. They are the better performers with lavish, updated and colourful intricate costumes.
I am hoping to docu-photograph the final performances of this better Thai Teochew Troupe in Penang for future historical records.
SP Lim
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Final Act of the Thai Teochew Wayang in Penang
The Wayang Photographer as featured in the local Chinese Press.
The Wayang Photographer as featured in the local Chinese Press.
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Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Our part of the Malaysia was badly hit by heavy rainfall a week ago with many low-lying places flooded. My house was unaffected as it is on slightly higher level. However, rain continued to fall on and off – sometimes heavy rains causing a lot of tension and anxiety.
So, last night of Friday, 22 September, 2017 I wrote on Facebook … ” Rain stopped for some time, so maybe go photo-shooting tonight … ” of which I did but quite late at 9.30 pm breaking the monotony of just staying at home and watching TV.
SP Lim
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
Twa Peh Kong’s Teochew Wayang starts
I was told and heard from the Manager of this leading Thai-originated Teochew Sai Yong Hong Wayang Troupe personally that it shall be performing for the last year in Penang due to economical reason/s. Owing to the low exchange rate of Malaysian Ringgit (RM) to Thailand’s Baht, it is grossly unprofitable to come to Penang to perform even at a higher rate of RM5,000.00 per night’s performance. It is furthermore more profitable to perform in Thailand as the Thai richer Wayang fans will give generous amount of cash to outstanding performers during the performance itself. As the Malaysian audience are usually wage-earners, such cash rewards were practically non-existent locally.
So what you are seeing of these photographs shall be the final few photographs of their performances in Penang as I shall try to catch more moments of their final performances in Penang.
SP Lim
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Prayers to the Moon Goddess
On a moonless Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival Night on Thursday, September 15, 2016 by the Wayang Chinese Opera Troupe from Thailand, the Prayers to the Moon Goddess began with the lighting of the joss sticks.
SP Lim
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Prayers to the Moon Goddess
Mid-Autumn Festival
The festival is intricately linked to legends of Chang E, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality. According to “Li-Ji”, an ancient Chinese book recording customs and ceremonies, the Chinese Emperor should offer sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the day called “Mid-Autumn”. The night on the 15th of the 8th lunar month is also called “Night of the Moon”. Under the Song Dynasty (420), the day was officially declared the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Because of its central role in the Mid-Autumn festival, mooncakes remained popular even in recent years. For many, they form a central part of the Mid-Autumn festival experience such that it is now commonly known as ‘Mooncake Festival’.
Inserted from Wikipedia by SP Lim
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Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand ~ The Buddha
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
Phra Mahathat Chadi Phra Phutthammaprakat, Betong, Thailand
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My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night.
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night.
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night.
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night. ” The Cunning and Ambitious Prince “
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night. – “The Eunuch”
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night. ” The Prince – Usurper to the Throne of Chinese Emperor “
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night. ” Father of the Prince-in-law – married to the Princess “
My Wayang or Chinese Opera Photography started from last night. ” The Princess “
This famous Teochew Opera or Wayang Troupe from Thailand is known as
SP Lim
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Somewhere in Phuket, Thailand
Phuket, Thailand
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Flash-back to 2013 : Tonight was the Craziest Night in Asia at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival
Tonight is the “Craziest Night in Asia” as noted by Bertrand Linet at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival with the Kew Leong Yah Processions. Reminded me of 2013, when I was there with Bertrand and friends in Phuket. Do take care Bertrand Linet and Chua Boon Keat currently in Phuket. They are experiencing this now (night of Wednesday 21st October, 2015)! Tonight is the final night of the 9-days of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. It is also the final night of the Kew Leong Yah Festival in Penang too and Processions are happening throughout the Penang Island. I had missed the photo-shooting of the local Penang Temples of the Nine Emperor Gods or Kew Leong Yah (in Hokkien dialect) as I had recently attended my uncle’s funeral. This is considered as a taboo.
SP Lim
From Wikipedia:-
The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Nine Emperor Gods: Chinese: 九皇爺; pinyin: Jiǔhuángyé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Káu-ông-iâ; Cantonese: Kow Wong Yeh) is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and also the Riau Islands.
Celebration in Thailand
In Thailand, this festival is called thetsakan kin che เทศกาลกินเจ, the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout the entire country, but the festivities are at their height in Phuket, where about 35% of the population is Thai Chinese. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed.
In accordance with the traditions, many religious devotees will perform ritualized mutilation upon themselves and one another (with the consent of, context and understanding of all involved and the practice itself) while under a trance-like state, including but not limited to: impaling through cheeks, arms, face, legs, back etc., with everything from as small as syringes to as large as is agreed upon between all members; partial skinning (the skin is not removed, just cut and flipped over); slashing of limbs, chest, stomach and especially tongue with swords, axes and knives; bloodletting; removal of tissue (normally limited to cysts) and intentionally wrapping or standing near fire crackers as they are lit.
This is done without anesthetic, always inside or near the temples surrounded by other devotees with only iodine, petroleum jelly and surgical gloves as precautionary measures. Despite this scenario, many of the same people performing the rituals are also the people who will care for many of the people in their recovery. The actual impaling is done by doctors and physicians in the community, is planned out for weeks if not months in advance and medical teams are present in and around temple grounds for the entire time of the festival, with spectators frequently needing more help than the devotees, who remain in a trance during this process and are monitored through the entire event in case they should drop out of concentration, in which case they are immediately taken to medical professionals regardless of the circumstances to minimize post trance bleeding.
To this effect few people ever need to have prolonged medical treatment, and although in the weeks after the festival many people will be seen covered in bandages, scarring is uncommon, stitching, even on individual devotees who impale their cheeks, is rare, and return to daily activity for the devotees occurs shortly after the completion of the ritual, frequently before the festival ends unless performed on the last days, much sooner than before the bandages themselves are removed.
The purpose of this practice is a mixture of veneration for their gods and ancestors, to display their devotion to their beliefs and the trance itself, which although anecdotal in nature to what is experienced, has a profound impact upon demeanour for days or weeks after, frequently with devotees appearing exceptionally calm and focused in their day-to-day activities after the festival is completed.
Jeh
The characters เจ as often shown on stickers or flags to indicate that food is vegetarian. The characters have been stylised to be more reminiscent of Chinese writing.
During a period of nine days, those who are participating in the festival dress all in white and ghin jeh กินเจ, which has come to be translated as abstinence from eating meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products. Vendors and proprietors of restaurants indicate that jeh food is for sale at their establishments by putting a yellow flag out with the word เจ (jeh) written on it in red. However, technically, only food prepared in the sacred kitchen of the Chinese temple (in Thailand, called sarnjao ศาลเจ้า or um อ๊ำ) is jeh, as it must undergo a series of rituals before it can be given that name.
Masong
Masong ม้าทรง are the people who invite the spirits of gods to possess their bodies. Ma ม้า is the word for horse in Thai, and the name masong refers to how the spirits of the gods use the bodies of these people as a vehicle, as one rides a horse. Only pure, unmarried men or women without families of their own can become masong. At the temple they undergo a series of rituals to protect them for the duration of the festival, during which flagellation and self-mutilation is practiced. The masong tradition doesn’t exist in China and is believed to have been adopted from the Indian festival of Thaipusam.
The festivities in Phuket include a procession of masong wearing elaborate costumes who pierce their cheeks and tongues with all manner of things, including swords, banners, machine guns, table lamps, and flowers. While the face is the most common area pierced, some also pierce their arms with pins and fishhooks. Teams of people accompany the masong to keep their wounds clean and to help support the heavier piercings. It is believed that while they are possessed the masong will not feel any pain. They can also be seen shaking their heads back and forth continually, and usually do not seem to “see” their surroundings. At the temple during the festival there is also firewalking and blade-ladder climbing. While large crowds of people gather to watch, the entranced mah song distribute blessed candy and pieces of orange cloth with Chinese characters printed on them yang ยังต์ for good luck.
Inserted by SP Lim from Wikipedia
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The Legend of Local Thai Taoist Diety – Lim Khor Neoh … Part 3
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The Legend of Local Thai Taoist Diety – Lim Khor Neoh … Part 2
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S. P.'s Space of 6 T's - Tastes, Theatre, Thoughts, Time, Travels, and Treatments ...... 