Snake Temple Site Visit

1 March 2009
Text and photographs by Eric Yeoh

One of the tourist gems in Penang is also located closest to one of the main gateways into the island, how convenient! So, on 1 March, 2009, approximately fifty PHT members and friends, led by PHT council member Timothy Tye and PHT Trustee Dato Annuar Faizal, visited the recently restored Snake Temple.

After a brief introduction by Timothy Tye on the uniqueness of the temple, members were then ushered to the adjacent hall greeted by temple pit vipers and a python! Dato Lim Eng Soon, Chairman of the Hokkien Kongsi and Mr. Tan Lye Hock, secretary of the Kongsi then welcomed PHT's entourage before giving a briefing on the temple history.

The Hokkien Kongsi is the umbrella body of the Penang Hokkien clan Associations. In addition to the Snake Temple, the Kongsi also runs four other temples. Even before the listing of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has always been the Kongsi's main objective to restore all the temples under their custodianship to their former glory, for Penangites and also for visitors to appreciate.

According to Timothy Tye, the Snake Temple in Sungai Keluang, Bayan Lepas, is probably the only one of its kind in the world. It was built in 1850 to venerate a deified Buddhist monk named Chor Soo Kong. There are in fact three temples dedicated to Chor Soo Kong in Penang; apart from this famous Snake Temple, the other two are the Chor Soo Kong Temple in Batu Maung and another in Balik Pulau. However, only this temple in Keluang River is home to slithery residents.

The actual name of the Snake Temple is Ban Kah Lan in Hokkien, or Temple of the Azure Clouds. As Chor Soo Kong's birthday falls on the 6th day of the first lunar month, it's traditionally a temple to visit during Chinese New Year. In addition to spiritual enlightenment, Chor Soo Kong also acquired extensive medical knowledge, enabling him to provide medical services to the needy in the surrounding communities.

Mr. Tan Lye Hock shared that a monk arrived from China, bringing with him the statue of Chor Soo Kong. The monk then built a temple dedicated to Chor Soo Kong in a clearing by the Keluang River in Bayan Lepas. This plot of land belonged to David Brown, the largest land owner in Penang. Brown donated the land for the temple after he was healed of an ailment. During that period, the area was surrounded by jungle, coconut trees and paddy fields. After the temple was erected, snakes, particularly pit vipers, started coming to take shelter there, inhabiting various parts of the temple. Rather than harming the snakes, the pious monk provided shelter to them, hence the birth of a snake temple.

Since its construction in 1850, the Snake Temple has undergone numerous works done to it in 1880, 1907, 1971 and 1980. Dato Lim lamented that these works were not properly carried out. Sloppy workmanship and improper material have caused a major deviation from the original craftsmanship of the temple. To rectify the situation, the Hokkien Kongsi embarked on further restoration work to the temple in 2007/8. During the year-long restoration, the roof ornamentation, consisting of broken pottery pieces, was cleaned and repaired. Damaged figurines were also repaired or replaced. The stucco work, roof ridges and gables were repainted while within the temple itself the gilded pelmets and filigree screens were coated with a fresh covering of gold leaf. During the restoration process, the snakes were moved out of the way and were only returned to the altars when the temple reopened. During the briefing, Dato Lim also shared details of some of the techniques and materials used, like the covering of the wooden doors with a plant fibre mesh prior to painting to avoid splitting or cracking in the future. Recommendations from master craftsmen from China together with old temple committee meeting manuals dated as far back as 1918 were used as guidelines for the RM750,000 restoration works. The Snake Temple was reopened in January 2009 in time for the Chinese New Year festivities.

A trivia shared by the Hokkien Kongsi committee was that another prominent temple dedicated to Chor Soo Kong, was built in Genting Highlands. It was built by the late Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr Lim Goh Tong (founder of the Genting Group) who was a devout devotee of Chor Soo Kong. Lim was a contractor involved in the construction of the Ayer Itam Dam. During that time, he would regularly patronize the Snake Temple to worship Chor Soo Kong. To build the temple in Genting Highlands, Lim brought the heoh hueh (sacred relic from the altar) from the Snake Temple as a blessing for his temple. Timothy also mentioned that within the Snake Temple grounds are two wells called the two Dragon Pure Water Wells. Dug in the 1850's, these two wells were completed together with the original temple. According to legend, the two wells represent the eyes of a mystical dragon which descended from the heavens during the consecration of the temple.

The snakes in the temple are the poisonous Wagler's Pit Vipers, also called the Temple Pit Vipers. They are fond of inhabiting coconut trees and can be found in South Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and the southern islands of the Philippines archipelago. When young, they are light green with narrow pale bands. On reaching adulthood, the snakes take on a darker green with thicker yellow bands. However the snakes are usually sluggish and seldom bite.

Continuous development of the surrounding areas in Bayan Lepas has today enveloped the Snake Temple, resulting in a loss of habitat for the snakes, and a general reduction in their numbers. The jungle behind the temple has long disappeared, and it is now part of the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone housing various multinational corporations.

Contrary to popular belief, the vipers are not attracted to the temple due to the joss stick and incense fumes. In fact, the fumes and continuous human handling shorten the lifespan of the snakes, whose life expectancy is only about 5 years. For the welfare of the snakes, the temple prohibits the burning of joss sticks within the prayer pavilion. According to the temple committee, the joss stick fumes not only irritate the snakes, they also pollute the temple. The Snake Temple was one of the first Taoist temples in Penang to prohibit the burning of joss sticks within the prayer pavillion. So, what attracts the snakes to the Snake Temple? It is the deity himself, Chor Soo Kong! His medical knowledge was a result of trial and error experiments with the use of herbs and other natural jungle produce on himself. With his constant forays into the jungle, snakes were already attracted to his presence long before and more so now as a deity, or so the devotees believe.

With that million dollar question answered, PHT members were then invited to tea, sampling one of the best curry puffs around before going on a tour of the Snake Farm.

The Snake Farm is located within the Snake Temple grounds. In exchange for renting the premises, the Snake Farm, which is managed by Mr. Chew and his family, provides care to the snakes of the Snake Temple. Snake Farm opened in 2006 and contains over 50 species of snakes, including the rare Albino Cobra. In addition to snakes, the farm also rears rabbits, macaques, guinea pigs, iguanas, and other animals. As Mr Chew believes in the 'yin' and 'yang' principal, rabbits which carry the 'yang' forces, are kept to balance the 'yin' forces by the snakes.

Mr Chew with his extensive knowledge of snakes is always eager to dispense Chinese beliefs regarding the snake. According to him, some Chinese believe that the skin of the snake, when placed in the wallet, helps a person keep his money - as though the snake offers protection to the cash. Snakes shed their skin, and remnants of skin are displayed in the farm. Snakes that are healthy shed their skin whole while the skin shed by ailing snakes is brittle and breaks into many pieces.

PHT members and friends were then treated to a snake show where Mr Chew and his assistant showed their prowess in handling a couple of cobras, mangrove snakes, and lastly, the king cobra! Throughout the show, fascinating facts and figures were shared about the snakes. After much touching, stroking and kissing, between Mr. Chew and his snakes of course, the show ended with a thunderous applause. But a word of warning from Mr. Chew, 'Folks, don't try this at home!'

With a final tour and photography session by members within the prayer pavilion, the site visit ended around 5.15pm. It was indeed one of PHT's more enjoyable and educational site visits to date. For anyone suffering from ophidiophobia, head over to the Snake Temple - confronting your fear might just be the cure for you and furthermore, you can stare it right in the eyes, literally!