Chinese ceremonies at the launching of a new boat
This short note by Teo Teng-hong describes the Chinese boat-launching ceremonies practised among Hokkien and Teochew seamen in Malaya, focusing on locally built craft rather than ocean-going vessels (p. 183).
Summary
The note documents two distinct regional practices. The Hokkien ceremony is an offering to “Hai Leng Ong” (a sea-king depicted with a human body and dragon head), involving steamed pork, fowl or duck, fish, wine, joss paper, joss sticks, fruit, and fire-crackers laid out near the bows. The owner or taikong ties a red cloth band around the prow, lights candles, prostrates three times, and then consults the sea-king’s presence and departure using two wooden or copper pieces (Puay) that land head-and-tail to indicate the deity is feasting (pp. 183–184). The Teochew ceremony is always performed while the vessel is still on land, offering “Sah Seh” (three kinds of food: fowl or duck, fish, and pork) arranged in a specific spatial layout relative to the prow, followed by kotow, burning of joss paper, and removal of the offerings before the boat is pushed into the water (pp. 185–186). The author notes that the scale of offerings varies with the owner’s financial means and that the food may only be consumed by those present after the sea-king has finished feasting (p. 185).