The First Step To Receiving An Answer Is Being Brave Enough To Ask A Question
Got parade? Ok bah, go see.
From KK, Lido, Lintas, Foh Sang, Damai?
Sure will rain this week?
No one has seen the deity’s face?
Why got lollipop?
Is he in trance?
The endless list of questions.
The clanging of cymbals.
The swishes from the whip.
Too many questions. Too many wonders.
Nine Emperor Gods Festival or Jiu Wang Da Di (九皇大帝)
The Parade Begins
The festival actually starts days earlier with temple preparations and prayers, but on parade day, everything happens later in the afternoon. Devotees from different temples around Kota Kinabalu gathered at Padang Merdeka for the launch before the grand procession began.
By the time I reached the Padang, you could already sense the energy in the air the chatter, the smoke, the gongs and drums tuning up. Each group getting ready with their banners, palanquins, and other accompanying essentials.
Chants of “Heng ah! Ong ah! Huat ah!” (Fortune, Luck, and Wealth) were repeatedly echoed.
This year, I noticed details I completely missed last year.
Last year I watched the parade at Damai, quite different vibe. I actually thought all the palanquins came from the same temple. But being at the Padang this time, I realised each group represented different temples, wearing identifiable T-shirts, each carrying their own deities. Maybe it was the same last year but I just wasn’t observant.
Why So Many Palanquins?
That was one of my biggest questions.
Each palanquin apparently represents a different celestial emperor. The Nine Emperor Gods (Jiu Wang Da Di) are believed to descend from the heavens to bless the earth during this period.
The palanquins, usually in bright yellow or gold, are decorated with calligraphy, lights, and flags. Some even carry an extra one for Dou Mu Yuan Jun (斗母元君), the Mother Goddess of the Nine Emperors. (I still can’t tell apart the different deities!)
Different temples, different energies, moving in rhythm. The sway of the palanquins, the chants, the cymbals, and drums all beating together. The whip! Swishes from the whip leads the path, with symbolic intention of purification, authority, and protection. Ward off evil spirits. The sound of the whip is believed to drive away negative energies or unseen entities and cleanses the path before a deity procession or ritual. Basically, the whip’s crack symbolically clears the way of impurities. (Maybe if we cannot bring back rotan to school, we should have gate whipping ceremony every morning).
The Trance
Then came the Tang Ki aka spirit mediums.
You can witness the transformation. Tthe shaking, the change of expression. Some channelling Sun Wukong the Monkey God, some Nezha, the youthful warrior spirit. Others even embody Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, in a form that subdues evil.
When they’re in trance, it’s said that the human becomes a bridge between heaven and earth. Through them, blessings are given, bad energies are cleansed, and divine protection flows to the devotees.
Fasting, Purifying, Devotion
For the full nine days of the festival, devotees follow strict vegetarian diets, wear white or yellow, and dedicate their prayers to health, peace, and prosperity.
The celebration begins and ends by the sea, where devotees welcome and later send off the Nine Emperors, who are believed to travel by water. Lanterns and incense light up the shores even under the rain.
And yes, it almost always rains. People say the rain is heaven’s way of cleansing the earth as the gods descend. (this evening, no one is afraid of masuk angin due to kena rain).
The Mystery of the Unseen Gods
No one has ever seen the faces of the Nine Emperor Gods. They aren’t portrayed as human figures, but as celestial beings. Manifestations of the Nine Stars of the Northern Dipper.
That’s why in temples apparently you won’t see statues of them. Instead, you’ll find golden scrolls, oil lamps, or thrones covered in yellow cloth. Symbolic of their divine presence.
Their mystery isn’t about secrecy. It’s about faith to believe without seeing. (Can you? Most religions are…)
Marking the calendar for 2026
The parade was just a small glimpse of the whole festival, but it already left me with so many thoughts and even more questions.
Maybe that’s the beauty of it. To stay curious, to learn, and to respect what we don’t yet understand. So yes, the first step to receiving an answer is really just being brave enough to ask a question.
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