[Video] 68-Year-Old Man In Alor Setar Dies While Performing 'Steaming Man' Ritual
Pic: Facebook
In a bizarre twist on a religious ritual, a man is believed to have died from a heart attack while he was “steamed” alive on top of a pile of burning coal, while being covered by a large metal container.
Chinese-language portal China Press had reported that a renowned Taoist priest in Alor Setar identified as Lim Ba died while performing the “steaming man” ritual as part of the ongoing Nine Emperor Gods festival.
The ritual was reportedly held at the Taoist temple in in Kuala Sanglang on Monday night witnessed by scores of devotees who had gathered at the temple for the ceremony.
This is apparently not the first time that Lim, 68, been been 'steamed' alive as he has reportedly been doing this for more than 10 years, the last time being at another Nine Emperor Gods celebration in Ayer Tawar, Perak.
Pic: Facebook
In the ritual, other food offerings such as rice, sweet corn and vegetarian buns would be put inside the wok to be steamed and a large metal lid is placed over Lim and the food at the start of the ceremony.
A video of the incident was shared on Facebook last night, notching up over 758K views overnight.
The 3 minute 21 second video shows the moment that the participants discovered Lim's lifeless body.
According to China Press, after half an hour had lapsed, an erratic knock was heard instead of the usual signals Lim gave for the lid to be removed.
When the lid was opened, Lim's limp body fell over and when the ambulance arrived, he had stopped breathing.
Pic: Facebook
Kubang Pasu district police chief Supt Mohd Ismail Ibrahim said the cause of death was a heart attack, with major second-degree burns, The Star reports.
Lim’s youngest son, Kang Huai, 32, was also quoted by the English news daily as stating that his father was also on medication for hypertension. It was also reported that Lim has previously stayed inside the steaming cauldron for as long as 75 minutes before emerging unscathed.
The Star quoted Federation of Taoist Associations of Malaysia (FTAM) president Tan Hoe Chioew as describing the ritual as not part of mainstream Taoist rites and more of a theurgya (displaying the supernatural).
“This ‘steaming man’ ritual is rarely performed, and I dare not comment on what preparations are needed before you perform this.
“But in general, doing such physical endurance stunts is not advisable,” Tan said that such death defying acts had been performed in the past to attract believers.
- mD
