The Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods: Myth, Ritual, and Symbol

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The Nine Emperor Gods, or Jiuhuangye as they are often called, are star deities who control the nine planets of our solar system, and currently constitute the most popular spirit-medium cult within the Taoist pantheon in the Southeast Asian regions of Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. The Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods is celebrated during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month. During this time, thousands of devotees and spectators from far and near gather at the temple to observe and participate in an elaborate body of rituals, which include the welcoming and sending-off ceremonies, talllamp raising and lowering ceremonies, dragon dance, spirit-mediumship, trance dance and trance rituals, luck-opening rite, luck-preserving rite, thanks-offering rite, as well as the bridge-crossing and fire-walk ceremonies. This is the first time such an in-depth study of the Nine Emperor Gods system of beliefs and practices has been attempted, and Dr Cheu’s fascinating account of these rituals and symbolic relevance is a major contribution to an overall understanding of Chinese religious behavior.