[by Peggy Wong of Kuching, Borneo] On the 22nd day of the 2nd month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which fell on April 7th this year, the Kueh Seng Onn temple celebrated the temple deity, Se Wang Kong’s birthday with their great annual procession throughout the city of Kuching.
Urban Sketchers Kuching gathered at a nearby cafe to grab a vantage point to sketch the passing procession. The temple is situated in the historical precinct of old Kuching. From the sketch below you can see the red flags starting to march towards us.
The procession were made up of a parade of school bands, lion dance, dragon dance, performers’ on stilts and the percussion from local Chinese clan associations and local communities. While sketching the floats passing by, the sky darkens and the traffic cleared out to make way for the majestic evening highlight of the procession.
Giant chingay flags were interlaced in the procession. Vehicles were dressed up with lights and the back of trucks turned into a stage, with performers dressed in traditional fairy costumes or even like a dragon boat float with the Chinese 24 seasons drums, beating away along the procession route.
The entire procession was filled with colours, bright light, music and even smell of burning incense. Here is a clip of what we witnessed that evening.
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