Masi Maham Festival
Masi Maham Festival will take place on February every year at the 118-year
Sri Singamuga Kaliaman Temple in Teluk Bahang, Penang.
The highlight of the festival was when the procession involving a chariot
bearing the deity Sri Singamuga Kaliamman was taken to the sea onboard a raft
pulled by a trawler boat at about 7.00 pm.
The raft, half the size of a badminton court, was gaily decorated with lights
and glittering paraphernalia. After venturing out to sea, the chariot returned
to the shore at about 9.30 pm.
The festival was started by fishermen in 1896 to honour the deity, but due to
lack of roads then, they decided to pull the chariot and set it adrift at sea.
However, it has now turned into an annual celebration with devotees coming here
to pray and for their vows to be fulfilled.
During the day, there is a kavadi procession to the temple. Hundreds of Hindus
will gather on the open beach in the afternoon to watch young boys and girls
perform dances with sticks.
They are accompanied by musicians who set the rhythm. When the sun sets, the
statue of the Goddess Kali is placed on a raft is pulled out by a boat and stays
out at sea for about 2 hours. Fireworks are shot into the night sky.
On its return, the raft is thronged by the waiting crowds, who reach out to
receive holy ash..
undo...back