Shanmugam joins devotees at Sembawang beach on last day of Nine Emperor Gods festival

Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam participated in the send-off procession on the final day of the Nine Emperor Gods festival.

The festival allows devotees to seek blessings and pay their respects to the Nine Emperor Gods, also known in Hokkien as Kew Ong Yah.

The festival begins with the welcoming of the gods into the temple, where they will be worshipped for nine days, before being sent off.

This year, the nine-day Taoist celebration took place from Oct. 3 to 11.

On Oct. 11, Shanmugam shared photos of the procession, which took place at Sembawang Beach.

Sending-off ritual

According to Roots.sg, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is one of the largest religious festivals in Singapore, and takes place as the eighth lunar month comes to an end.

The incense censers are carried to the sea to symbolise the departure of the deities, according to the National Heritage Board.

As part of the sending-off ritual, Shanmugam waded nearly chest-deep into the waters.

The ceremony concludes with the burning of the dragon ship, which Shanmugam also took part in.

Other send-off ceremonies

There were over 16 send-off ceremonies on Oct. 11, including one by Hougang Tou Mu Kong Temple, which featured a 500-person escort team, according to Shin Min Daily News.

In attendance were Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore Eric Chua, who attended as guest-of-honours.

More than 3,000 people gathered at the beach in Punggol for the ceremony, the Chinese publication reported.

In a Facebook post later that day, Teo posted pictures of the ceremony, tagging fellow politicians Eric Chua, Janil Puthucheary, Sharael Taha, Desmond Tan, Yeo Wan Ling, Sun Xueling, Lee Hong Chuang, and Victor Lye.

Top photos from K Shanmugam Sc/Facebook