The Lion God Of Kuan Yin Teng

by lim kah wan
(Weld Quay Penang)

During the British time, The Lion God Of Kuan Yin Teng (the two lions outside the temple) used to go to Weld Quay to play during the night.

One day the British knew that the Lion was active and alive, they thought of stopping it. And after that legend they built the Clock Tower (now house custom office) to block the Feng Sui.

After that the Lion God did not appear again but the Kuan Yin God was very angry and put a spell on the clock tower that on every 15th of a Chinese month the God made the clock break down or break the glass surface of the clock every 15th of a Chinese month.

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The Lion God Of Kuan Yin Teng

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Jul 21, 2010
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More on lion guardians
by: Kelvin Liew Peng Chuan

That's one religiously fueled fact that almost every Penang Chinese knows! It was said that as recent as the British colonial era, the said temple faced the sea.

Yup, the lion guardians installed to guard the temple fancied the sea so much that many people reported seeing lions playing at the beach at night!

To safe guard the sanity of the locals,the British blocked off the sea view with the afore said building.Hence when one stand infront of the temple,one will not see the sea anymore but one building about 500 metres from the temple.

I'm not sure of the goddess being angered cursed the clock,but what I'm sure of is the lions are reputated to be very powerful. People with sickness would rub pieces of rice paper over their diseased body part and place the paper in the lions' mouths. It symbolises the lions 'munching' the diseases away.

Some devotees like yours truely would caress the lions from head to tail and then touch our chest, symbolically meaning getting the blessings from the lions.