Tai Wong Yeh (Great Lord) Festival

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Introduction
Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Areas
Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Date
Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Historical evolution
Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Events

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Introduction

Tai Wong Yeh Temples can be found in various locations throughout Hong Kong, with some of the more well-known ones located in Wong Chuk Hang, Kwun Tong, Tai Po, and Mui Wo. However, it is important to note that the deity worshipped as Tai Wong Yeh at each temple may differ. Every year, the affiliated organizations of these temples organize a festival to celebrate the birthday of Tai Wong Yeh on a significant date. These festive activities showcase different characteristics, including lively lion dances, traditional Cantonese opera performances as a form of gratitude, processions, communal meals, and entertaining performances by singers.

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Areas

Sam Mun Tsai, Tai Po

Sam Mun Tsai New Village, located in Tai Po, holds the auspicious Tai Wong Yeh Festival annually during the 2nd to the 6th days of the first lunar month. This significant event, which has transitioned to a triennial occurrence since 2008, is dedicated to seeking blessings and prosperity. Notably, even villagers who have migrated abroad make a special effort to return and partake in these joyous birthday festivities.

Yuen Chau Tsai, Tai Po

The Committee for the Festival Opera Performance of Tai Wong Yeh, which comprises the fishermen hailing from the families of So, Lee, Tsui, Chung, and Shek along with their descendants in Yuen Chau Tsai, Tai Po, organizes an annual event known as the Tai Wong Yeh Festival. This magnificent celebration occurs annually during the 6th to 15th days of the fifth lunar month. The festivities encompass a wide range of activities including deity welcoming ceremonies, vibrant parades, reverential returnings of paper floral shrines, captivating lion and unicorn dances, mesmerizing dragon boat performances, heartfelt thanksgiving opera shows and bidding farewell to the revered deities.

Mui Wo

Each year, on the second day of the second lunar month, the Mui Wo Fishermen Fraternity Society of Lantau Island comes together to celebrate the Tai Wong Yeh (Great Lord) Festival. This joyous occasion involves paying homage to deities and sharing communal meals.

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Date

Whole Year

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Historical evolution

In Hong Kong, the deity known as “Da Wang Ye” is believed to have different identities. For rural villages or communities living on water, “Da Wang Ye” is often regarded as a synonym for mountain gods or land deities and can be found in many ancestral halls. The Da Wang Ye worshipped at Wong Chuk Hang and Kwun Tong Tsui Ping Temple is said to be General Li Wenzhong from the Ming Dynasty. As for the Da Wang Ye worshipped at Yuen Chau Tsai Temple in Tai Po, it is said that he could either be Li Wenzhong or one of the Three Mountain Kings from Chaoshan region. There are also legends suggesting that he was a plague god who once suppressed an outbreak of rats.

Due to the different identities of “Da Wang Ye” in various places, their historical development during their respective birthdays varies.

Tai Wong Yeh Festival| Events

The activities and scale of the King Yeh’s birthday celebrations vary in different places, with a larger scale in Tai Po Yuen Chau Tsai. The King Yeh’s birthday in Yuen Chau Tsai falls on the 8th day of the fifth lunar month, and the celebration lasts for ten days. The main activities include inviting gods, lion dances, dragon boat dances, Cantonese opera and Bai Zi Xi (a form of Chinese opera), setting off firecrackers, and sending off gods.

In addition, the King Yeh’s birthday in Sam Mun Tsai also has a certain scale. During the process, there are rituals to invite gods, lion dances and qilin greetings for New Year, Cantonese opera performances, and sending off gods.

As for Mui Wo’s King Yeh’s birthday celebration, it mainly consists of worship ceremonies and gatherings that last for one day.