10th day of Chinese New Year

it's the 10th day of chinese new year. since i'm on a roll on blogging about festivals celebrated during this period, this blog will bear the same content. if you are sceptical or find all this mumbo jumbo too hard to swallow, just browse away..

if not, here goes another festive blog. and since it's the 10th day, it's the birthday celebration of the earthly deity (tei chu kong). it's the deity worshipped on the small altar on the floor in most taoist chinese household. the deity is not a high ranking officer, but dwells only on land as guardians of the land.

when the chinese first landed in malaya (before christianity spread to the region), all the household will have this altar, as they believed that it will protect the occupants of the house. accordingly, this altar holds not only one deity, but five, from five different directions (north, east, south, west, and centre). therefore, normally five cups of tea and five joss sticks are offered on this altar. eventually, they are worshipped as a collective unit.

unlike the high ranking officers, the earth deity is not selected by the heavens. they are the spirits of the earth (like the elementals of greek mythology). they roam around the earth and finally settle down in locations where they are not disturbed. however, when humans moved out of their caves and into they open, the range overlapped. hence, to appease these guardians, special altars are set up to honour them. honouring them will bring peace to the household, protect from pestilence, and apparently, bring riches too..

offerings to this deity include pumpkin, gourd, garlic and coconut. the usual 'huat kuih' and 'ang koo' is also a must. joss sticks, candles and special joss paper are also prepared for the deity. however, all offerings must be in fives. however, due to the fact that it's a lower rank official, there isn't much of a celebration for them.

just an extra bit, it is believed that children and pets are sometimes spotted playing with the deity. according to my parents, i've also had similar experiences. apparently, i've disturbed this deity (in my old house) when i was young, and not once. then, i will end up crying the whole night until my parents come up to negotiate with the deity. i still have those images in my head, as i know that it's happen. it was an awful lot of crying from a mischevious young boy.

as to my parents negotiating..hmm, my parents are special too. they have these guardians behind them that helps them out. they are specially worshipped in my house. coincidentally, they share the same birthday with the earth deity too (today). however, it must not be confused that these guardians for common spirits. they are high ranking officials summoned from heaven to protect over their charge. these guardians can heal, negotiate, exorcise spirits, and also clean a certain area. one similar experience was that when i first moved into this new house, i decided to remove the amulets on the wall left by the previous owner. i removed all the smaller ones from around the house, until the largest one stuck behind the main door. as i was removing it, my mum's guardian came into action and stopped me. in fact, my mum's guardian had to apologise for me, and asked special permission to remove the amulet. apparently, the amulet was from guan yin, hence it's activated. i've seen a lot of instances of my parent's guardians hence i do not doubt them. in fact, i've used their help too, once when i was very young. but i think i'll save them for bedtime stories some other time.

so long for now, and i hope you guys enjoyed the post. all feedbacks are welcomed. and if u are still a sceptic but insisted on reading, then just take it with a pinch of salt. always remember, different people have different customs, and it doesn't hurt to respect them.

ciao
je t'aime
ben