The burning of the Tai Su Yah paper made statue

Well ! Burning of paper statue of the Tai Su Yah (King of Hades and believes that, this is the tallest in Malaysia) in the Bukit Mertajam had been completed in the day before. Many local people with camera had been witness this great event.

The road infront of the old market had been closed for this purpose in the evening. Many devotees gathered in the area of erected of Tai Su Yah. The devotees prayed with grandly.

Then the Tai Su Yah had been carried by the devotees and reach the area of burning. They threw all the gold and silver paper towards the Tai Su Yah with happily and devotely. They started the fire then with a minimum times, the paper idol of Tai Su Yah had been burnt until became ashes only.

The local people believes that, if the Tai Su Yah paper idol fell to the direction of the Northern side of the road, then the business will be good at that area for that year.

The ashes will be cleaned after the paper was fully burnt for the next day. Of course the fire brigade will be always standby during the ceremony of burning.

Mother of the whole universe - The goddess Kali Ma

In the ghost festival month, one evening coincidently I found an interesting event in Taman Selasih, Kulim when I went back home after dinner.

A group of ethnic Indian are preparing this praying event at the road side. I got down the car and ask what was the event about. They were very kindly and told me, they were praying for the Goddess Kali Ma and had a small parade. So I stayed for sometimes to watched the events.

Although it was in the evening but still cleared in vision. The statue Kali Ma is a great protector and in fierce form, ten-armed and holding different kind of weapons. The body complexion was black but some said blue. She had fangs out of her mounth. Her red tougue was lolling out too. Anyway, local people told me she was loving and kind. There were horses and lions statue on the parade car too.

I saw many coconuts on the road and arranged in pyramid shape. (Used in the prayers)

They also built the hut which covered by the leaves and trees....Have a look ! It was how they made the fence and decorated with the beautiful folding leaves. In the hut, there were some tables and chairs. Even there was a counter for the free foods but would only distributed after 7.30 pm.

An Indian man came to us and invited us to pray and waited for the small parade.

Sunset....they were praying and chanting. Then some youngsters started to freely dance in a few session. They enjoyed in dancing.

Not long after that, a group of Indian musician played the traditional music and sang the Tamil language songs. Of course the youngsters dance again when the rythm of the music played. Drum sound made the core.

More and more people gradually came for prayers and they quee up to take the free food and drinks. All the Indians people mostly wore the beautiful costumes. A few Chinese participated too.

Then we just when back home without seeing the parade car because it is getting darker. Somehow for the coconut on the road, they said they will break them when the Goddess parade car reach. They will clean up the place after prayer finish.

Fasting month

Malaysia is an Islamic country. Muslim and muslimat will start the fasting or here called as Puasa in the bless month of Ramadan (9th month in the Islamic calendar). The purpose to worship and do the ownself purifying.

The first fasting day for this year was August 1st,2011.

All the muslim need to fast when they reach puberty. They started to take the foods before dawn and will started to take the food again after sunset. In between of the fasting hours no drinking, eating, smoking or having sexual intercourse.

Mostly housewife will cook and family members will eat together before dawn.

Before the sunset, mostly the housewife will cook for the family. However now many working housewife will lack of the time to do the cooking and they started to buy the foods from the temporarily food stalls. Everywhere also can buy the food for buka puasa (break the fast). Very convinient to get the food for the muslim in Malaysia now. Some even choose to break the fast in the restaurants in Pizza Hut, MacDonald, KFC, Kenny Rogers...etc

Dates are very popular and no shortage of this dry foods for the fasting muslim, they can get the energy back very fast.

Anyway sick people no need to fast and so do the children. Somehow the parents will let the children try, if they willing to do. Mostly the parents will monitor them closely, if they cannot stand, then it is fine for the children to stop fasting.

Well ! Some people even stop at the emergency corner on the Penang bridge and sit there and break the fast with eating rice. Anyway it is dangerous to break the fast there. Why not choose the proper place ?

Grand praying to ancestors

Before 15th July for Chinese lunar month calendar, local chinese will did the ingots made by paper and bought all the clothes, shoes, cloth, money, coins and others items made by paper.

All these will be burnt on this day and they believes that the relatives in the hell can received the items which had been burnt for them. Well ! Well ! It is really an art too...

The local people tried to pay respect to the ancestors before noon. In the morning, they tried to clean the altar and changed the water, oil lantern and offered the fresh fruits.

Then mostly they will prepare the table and served with wine and tea, rice in bowl and a few dishes and some cakes which had the raising elements, it means the wealth in the family can be growth and growth. From this table you can see quite some pairs of the chopsticks. The local people believes that the ancestors will invite some departure friends of his and her will come and join to take the food together.

Before anything started, the family members will invite the ancestors to come into the house by joss sticks. Then the joss stick will be put into the incense pots.

In between everyone is waiting for the ancestors to enjoy the food. Amazingly, flies were sticked on the foods...anyway cannot killed them, some of the local people believes that these were the spirits which turn into this flies to take the food.

After sometimes, coins were used to throw to the air and let it fell to the floor. If 2 coins also in the same pattern then it means the ancestors already finished the meal. If no, they need to wait again, then they will repeated the process of throwing the coins.

After got the same pattern of the coins then all the paper made items will be burnt for the ancestors. Before burning the wine and tea will be pour out round the paper made items. It was to believe that the money will only took by the keen relatives and not others.

Then the family members will eat the foods which offered to the ancestors. Of course need to transfer the offering plate to other, cannot use back the offering plates to take the foods.

See Kuih T'ng

See Kuih T'ng is a sweet drinks. The stall also always beside the Loh Bak stall. Mostly the hawker sell this drink near to the opera show stage.

The ingredients such as gingko nuts, lotus seeds, pong dai hai, sweet potato, sago, sweet barley, sweet kidney beans, longan.

All these ingredients will be put into a bowl and put in the longan soup.
All will cut into small pieces and looks very colourful.

It can be serve either in hot or cold (put in a few ice cubes).

The cost of a bowl is about RM2.00-RM2.50.

Loh bak

This is what we so called as Loh Bak in Hokkien. In the July ghost festival, the food stall which near to the opera show always has this dish. Local people like this very much.

The Loh Bak stall has variety of ingredients : such as bean curd, loh bak, shrimps fritters, fish ball, yam..etc.

You can select from the ingredients which put on the stall in the different trays. Then the Loh Bak hawker will deep fried it again and cut into small pieces. They will put all in a plate and sometimes put some pieces of cucumber on the side of the plate.

Mostly they served the dish with two kind of sauces, one is chilli sauce and the other is five spice dipping sauce (suitable for one whom cannot take the hot chillies)

Currently the price is a bit expensive, sometimes small plate also cost you few Ringgits.

Moho Kuih

Moho in the Chinese Hokkien dialect. Kuih is a cake and it is a Malay word. Combination between Hokkien and Malay word ?
This is a Moho Kuih.
The local Chinese will make or buy this Moho Kuih and put on the altar and pray to the ancestor in Cheng Beng festival (清明节) or Ghost festival (中元节).

If the Moho kuih were put on the altar in the house and temple and pray, then the local people will eat the offerings after prayed. If any items of praying were put outside and back of the building then mostly they will not eat the foods which had been offered to the spirits.

The Moho kuih is being make by rice flour. Some just make in plain and some add the brown sugar to make the colour and taste. After eat this Moho kuih, you will mostly have it caught in the teeth. So just clean them !