By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Mar 12: The Hong San Si Temple on Wayang Street was crowded this morning with locals, tourists from West Malaysia, and foreigners who came to watch the procession of two Chinese deities’ arrival for the temple’s celebration of the ‘xiong gong’ or also known as ‘Seng Ong Kong’ deity’s birthday tomorrow.
The ‘Seng Ong Kong’ deity from Sabah arrived at the temple around 10.30am, while ‘Mazu’, a deity from the Ching San Yen Temple (also known as the Muara Tebas Temple), arrived around 11.30am.
Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees arrived at Hong San Si Temple as early as 8am, burning incense sticks, praying, and making food offerings, before the welcoming procession for the two Chinese deities began.
Furthermore, at around 10am, the Kuching Zonghe Association distributed 500 packs of rice to several organisations, including Sarawak Hun Nam Siang Tng, Sarawak Tongxin Shantang, New Century Lions Club of Kuching Emerald, and Rumah Kanak-Kanak Batu 12.
Long firecrackers were lit to kick off the welcoming procession featuring dragon and lion dance performances by various troupes.
The Hong San Si Temple is dedicated to Kong Teck Choon Ong, a tutelary deity revered in the Shishan town of Nan’an in Fujian, China, and known as ‘Seng Ong Kong’ among the Hokkien.
The celebration of ‘Seng Ong Kong’’s birthday tomorrow (Mar 13) will feature one of the largest processions in Sarawak.
Additionally, the crowd-drawing spectacle of the ‘Seng Ong Kong’ procession is one of Kuching’s major cultural events. — DayakDaily
