Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple (北海斗母宫)

Tow Boo Kong, the Nine Emperor Gods Temple of Butterworth (18 September 2004)


The Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple (GPS: 5.4403, 100.38734) 北海斗母宫, also called the Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple, or Rumah Berhala Tow Boo Kong Butterworth, is one of the biggest temples in Butterworth. It is located on Jalan Raja Uda, approximately across from Jalan Kenanga and Jalan Melati, to the south of the junction Butterworth Outer Ring Road.

The Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple began as an attap shed on a rented plot in 1971. Over the years, two plots of land, namely Lots 894 and 896. From the small shed, the first plot of land, Lot 896, was bought in 1974, and a small temple was built on it. The second plot of land, Lot 894, was purchased in 1986. The present structure was completed on 26 April 2000, at a cost of RM7 million.

The Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple has a magnificent archway gate facing Jalan Raja Uda. It occupies a roughly rectangular plot of land. The temple complex comprises a series of halls and courtyards.

Tow Boo Kong, the Nine Emperor Gods Temple of Butterworth (18 September 2004)


Grand Archway, Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple (29 January 2009)


Front view, Tow Boo Kong Temple Archway (29 January 2009)


The Nine Emperor Gods are part of a Taoist cult belief known as Kew Ong Yah in Hokkien, and Kow Wong Yeh in Cantonese. It venerates Dǒu Mǔ (斗母), known in both Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism as the Mārīcī Deva (摩利支天菩萨; Sanskrit: मारीची), or goddess of the heavens. She is regarded as the mother of the Nine Emperor Gods (Jiǔ Huáng Da Di, 九皇大帝). Within the ornate shrine hall of the Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple are the images of these deities.

The worship of the Nine Emperor Gods was prevalent in the southern provinces of China, particularly Fujian Province, and the practise spread from there to Malaysia, southern Thailand and Singapore.

Every year, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. This is when the spirit of the Nine Emperor Gods. which are believed to dwell in the stars descend to earth and possess the spirit mediums, putting them on a trance. During the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, stalls are set up to sell vegetarian food and special Kew Ong Yah vegetarian cakes and goodies.

Members' Shots of Tow Boo Kong Temple

Gottlieb Road commercial area (15 April 2006)


Tow Boo Kong, front entrance (18 September 2004)


Gottlieb Road commercial area (15 April 2006)


Ceiling of the shrine hall, Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple (18 September 2004)


Shrine to Tow Boo and the Nine Emperor Gods (18 September 2004)


Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group and post your travel shots to be archived according to location.

Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple on Google Street View

Entrance to the Tow Boo Kong Temple of Butterworth. (Mar 2019)

Getting to the Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple

Nine Emperor Gods Temple of Butterworth is located along Jalan Raja Uda. From the junction of Jalan Raja Uda with the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, head north. A short distance from the intersection of Jalan Raja Uda with the Butterworth Outer Ring Road, BORR, be on the look out of the temple located on the right side of the road.

There isn't a bus stop that is anywhere along the main road in front of the Nine Emperor Gods Temple. The nearest bus stop which is on Jalan Mong Yi How is served by Rapid Penang Bus 604. It is quite a distance to walk from there.

Dragon ornamentation on the roof ridges, Butterworth Tow Boo Kong Temple (15 April 2006)


The dragon pillars of the Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple (15 April 2006)


Inner sanctuary, Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple (18 September 2004)


Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple, rear view (29 January 2009)


Roof details of the Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple (29 January 2009)


Dragon roof ridge, Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple (15 April 2006)


Side view, Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple (29 January 2009)

The Butterworth Nine Emperor Gods Temple is on the Map of Butterworth

Other Nine Emperor Gods temples in Penang

List of Penang Tourist Attractions, Chinese Temples in Penang and Chinese Temples in Malaysia

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap