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The Chinese Festival of WangKang is an exceptional affair. The last three Wangkang festivals took place in 1919, 1933 and 2001, and there are no records on when the first was held in the country. No one knows when is the next procession because the procession is decided by the Divine in the heaven.

The event is aimed at ridding evil spirits in the state and country. Wangkang customs were brought to Malacca by Hokkien migrants (from Fujian province) who were fleeing persecution during the Qing or Manchu Dynasty (1644 to 1911) in China. The story of the Festival, as told by one of the temple officials in the newspaper:

A deity ‘instructs’ a Chinese temple’s devotees to build a boat and load evil spirits on it. Why? IF predictions for the year of the Black Water Dragon are to be believed, we may have to brace ourselves for calamaties such as earthquakes and tsunamis. In light of this, the grand Wangkang (Royal Barge) festival which will take place in Malacca could not be more timely. The name Wangkang itself is a unique Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya mix of Chinese and Malay words – wang (emperor or royal) and kang (short for tongkang or barge). This time-honoured Chinese festival will see a majestic wooden barge sweep on board all the bad luck and evil spirits from the city’s historic streets before the boat is dragged to the seafront and burnt off … into the great beyond.

“We were told by our temple’s deity, Tee Ong Yah, that we should hold it this year. Ong Yah told us not just the date for the festival but everything else too, like when to start work, how big the boat should be, and where to set up the shipyard.” The Royal Barge itself is 6m long with a 7.6m high mast. Made of merbau timber and five-layered plywood, it took three months to build at a cost of RM80,000.

The plans for the procession seem more like a majestic flotilla, as the Royal Barge will be accompanied by five smaller boats, as well as cultural troupes such as dragon and lion dancers, stilt walkers and over 100 musicians from various temples.

“The procession will start at 7.30am from Yong Chuan Tian temple in Bandar Hilir and go around town the whole day, stopping at 15 key junctions,” explains Lai. Teams of devotees will put their hands on a special 108-foot (32.9m) long rope and pull the boat (on a wheeled platform) all over the city. “We will perform ceremonies where all evil spirits and influences will be ordered to get on the boat, upon the command of the san junn hau lin or the spiritual warriors of heaven, earth and sea.”

The climax will see the boat – and its load of evils – being hauled to the sea at Pulau Melaka where it will be set alight and perish in a huge bonfire. Lai advises: “When the boat is burning, people are advised to go away and not look back. Whatever our beliefs may be, turning our backs on bad luck and evil must surely be the right thing to do in 2012.”

The whole festival ended with beautiful fireworks at the beach.