Lawrence joined me on this last day of activities, and we arrived at the Johor Old Chinese Temple at 11 am to find a small crowd but nothing much going on yet. Another photographer told me that we would have to wait until 1 pm, so we decided to take a look inside the temple. I was surprised that we were allowed inside today, because devotees and many media people were already inside waiting in this hollowed space. We chatted about this to a Cantonese member of the temple, and said it was because we looked like tourists and Lawrence had his big camera!
The inner space of the temple was deserted, so I took a few photos before waiting in the courtyard area. Below left is a photo of the Loceng Gangsa (Bronze Bell) dated 1875, which helps date this temple.
While we were waiting, we were interviewed by Chingay LIVE, and a newspaper reporter, asking why we were here and what did we think about it all? Not entirey sure what they said about us, but I hope the words were more flattering than the photos!
By 12 pm the temple courtyard was filling up and we could start to hear sounds of the parade outside. Around 12:30 pm the chaos started as the deities were brought back into the temple. I captured much of this activity on video, so I do not have too many photos to show of any quality. I feel very privileged to have witnessed this event and feel I must emphasize that this really does look like a spiritual activity for those who take part. When the deities arrive home, they enter the temple backwards, and they enter very quickly indeed. They are then untied from their sedans, and any paper money is removed from the sedans and placed in bags to be taken further inside the temple. Here are some photos of the Cantonese deity Hua Guang Da Di arriving home. As the cage surrounding him was removed, the devotees knelt down while he was untied.
Each time a deity arrived back in the temple, there was a lot of noise as the warders whistled everyone out of the way and the police tried a bit of crowd control. Then the hands went up in the air, either in prayer or to take photos! After Yuan Tian Da Di had arrived, then a few people entered from the street outside and it was time for us to leave.
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