The origins of Tow Boo Kong Temple dates back to 1970.It started its humble beginning from a small attap shed on a rented piece of land in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang. This temporary place of worship was adjacent to the location of the present temple today. Although the facilities were simple, the temple received staunch support from many devotees.
In 1971, a decision was made to build a proper temple. This task was entrusted to the master of the Goddess of Mercy Temple in Simpah, Butterworth. Upon the advice and guidance of the master, a group of senior members of the temple were selected for this mission as well as to spread the teachings of the Nine Emperor Gods.
Building The Temple
As it was the task of the seniors to build a proper praying place for the Nine Emperor Gods, the First Building Committee was elected in 1971. A fund raising activity was initiated in the same year and continued until 1974 where the adjacent land was acquired. Construction of the new temple started and it was duly completed in 1975, on the 18th day of the 8th lunar month. This special day was then recognised as the anniversary of the newly built temple.
Although the temple had been completed, the development did not stop there. In 1978, the inner sanctum was expanded through the monetary support of the devotees and the committee members, under the watchful eyes of the Second Building Committee.
Land Purchase For Expansion
In 1986, the committee members decided to purchase another piece of adjoining land for further expansion. This was necessary as the existing temple was not able to cope with the increased numbers in devotees and worshippers, especially during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.
Hence, the Third Building Committee was formed in 1994 to embark on this decision. Three sanctums consisting of the Front Prayer Hall, the Sacred Prayer Room and the Dou Mu Prayer Hall were built. An Inner courtyard located behind the Sacred Prayer Room was also constructed.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 14th December of the same year, performed by a total of 178 devotees. In total, an amount of RM20 million was collected from patrons, various temples organisations and the local government. The construction of the new temple successfully began 2 years later.
After four and a half years of construction, the temple was completed with adorning tiles, dragons and phoenixes motifs on the 26th April 2000, which was the 22nd day of the 3rd lunar month. Subsequently, an elaborate Thanksgiving Ceremony (An Qing Jiao) was held at the temple's premises.
As the temple did not have an entrance gate, the Third Building Committee decided to build a main arch and a perimeter wall to compliment the new temple’s structure. The construction of this archway commenced on the 23rd Jun, 2005 (17th day of the 5th lunar month).
Special Prayers
In Chinese tradition, a prayer ceremony has to be held for any completion of a newly built temple. As such, two prayer ceremonies were conducted, one for the completion of the new temple and the other for the entrance arch.
As the year 2010 was the 40th anniversary of Tow Boo Kong Temple, the committee members decided to hold a joint prayer ceremony to celebrate these two joyous occasions. The Grand Ritual Prayer Ceremony for the completion of the new temple was conducted for two days, from the 22nd September to 24th September 2010 (15th to 17th day of the 8th lunar month). Subsequently, the prayer ceremony for the completion of the main arch and perimeter wall was performed on the 26th September 2010 (19th day of the 8th lunar month).
