Chinatown is expecting another event!

This afternoon as I drove into South Bridge Road, dragons greeted me. With an eye on the road and an eye on the dragon, I was trying to recall what could this be. Chinese New Year is still months away. What could be happening?


There is only one possibility. And we will wait as it unfolds itself in the heart of Chinatown.

Ah, and the next generation is here ...

We know that the neighbourhood has somewhat settled when we see that the next generation's offsprings have been sent to grandpa and grandma. It is the children that gel the neighbourhood. In my first 12 years in the neighbourhood, there were only cursory smiles and nod of the head at the lift landing or inside the lift. But when the first kid arrived, it was not just smile but questions about the kid, how big he has grown .. and suddenly, the vertical (as in a flat) kampung (village) became like a horizontal kampung.

When my kids were young, my neighbour's house became the playground. The kids knew that they would have something nicer there. After all the field afar is always greener. (^^) My young daughter learnt quickly that if she said something smells nice, she would be rewarded with something to eat.

Pretty soon, my kids grew up and somewhat became shy of budging into the next door. Meanwhile the "korkor" and "jiejie" next door started getting married. For a moment of time, the noises were from our house.

And then, with the arrival of "spring", the kids next door started to bring back their offsprings for grandpa and grandma to take care. Wow, and the number grew from one to two to three. It was and still is a happy extended family again. It was time for us to comment how the kids grow so fast. We see the babies grew day by day, as how they saw our kids grow. Suddenly, the "korkor" and "jiejie" on this side became shy from the attention showered on them by the little kids next door.

Ah, these days, it would be quite difficult to see bamboo loads of tiny clothes. With the use-and-throw diapers, one no longer sees the cloth diapers that every mother-to-be has to learn to fold before the baby arrives. So, were the folding of absorbable paper (one has to rub the paper with two hands to make them soft for the soft bottoms of the baby) diapers before the cloth ones are tied over.

Replacement levels have not been met, but at least there is progress. (^^)

Hopefully, if the flat still stays, we might get to see yet another load of offsprings. (^^)

Malayalees celebrate their New Year in Chinatown

Thanks to an old neighbour, who was our babysitter for my daughter, now her god-mum, friend, I got to learn about the Malayalees celebrating their New Year with the Vishunite 2007 at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre on 21 Apr 2007.

Mention Kreta Ayer People's Theatre and chances are it will be showing Cantonese Opera, and other Chinese shows. But this night, another ancient tradition and art has taken over. To many Singaporeans, they might still not really know about the Malayalees, just as other Singaporeans trying to know the Hokkiens and Cantonese.

Borrowing the notes from the Vishukkani 2007, the Singapore Malayalee Hindu Samajam
Publication, in the article on Vishu, Reshma Rajesh wrote that, "Vishu is a unique Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala. Vishu is the first day of the Malayalam month of "Medam", which falls in the month of April. Vishu is considered to be the New Year for the people of Kerala."

The first thing that the people of Kerala see on this special day is the "Vishukani" which is for prosperity and good luck all year through. In temples also the Vishukanni will be arranged. Some people refer to see the vishu kanni in temples. According to the Hindu tradition, the Vishukani will have a lamp lighted in front of Lord Krishna, gold, money, fruits, a clean white cloth called "Kasava Mundu", rice grains, yellow flowers known as Konna (Cassia fistula), jackfruit, a mirror, betel leaves, coconut halved and yellow cucumber.

Young members of the family are given gifts and "kaineetam" that is a small amount of money which is supposed to bring prosperity all year through.

Dressed in their best, many Malayalees congregated at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre for the show, performed by amateurs as well as professional dancers. Artistes from India were also invited to perform in the show. Tradition runs strong and deep in this community in Singapore!

Alas for me, because of prior engagement, I had to miss the show, but from looking at the artistes - children to professionals - I know I will miss an interesting event and a chance to get to know the community better. Next year perhaps. (^^) Still, it was great to drop by, ate the Vegetarian Wadeh (fantastic), coffee (somehow tasted different and better) and bought two Ladu, which I was told once I eat it, I will be coming for more. I will try it later.

The Origin

With kind permission and thanks to James and his friend, here is a very nice picture of the bullockcart, and with the water on it, presto, it is the bullockcartwater, probably sounding more correct in Malay - Kreta Ayer or Chinese - Niu Che Shui.


Could anyone recognise or identify where this picture was taken? Would be great to take a picture of the same place (no chance of a bullockcart though) today, if it is still around.

Nan Yin at Tian Hock Keng 天福宫

It's Guan Yin's birthday today (2M19) and Hokkien Huay Kuan with Siong Leng Nan Yin group staged a Nan Yin concert in front of the Hokkien Huay Kuan building with the Tian Hock Keng opened for worship.

By 8pm, almost all the seats were filled up and some spare chairs were being placed.

For this concert, the troupe spared no efforts in getting the performers to dress in Tang Dynasty dresses - wow, they looked good, especially on the ladies!

The first song was in dedication to Guan Yin, singing praise of Guan Yin and telling about the three importants dates of celebration in honour of Guan Yin, 2M19, 6M19 and 9M19 (in lunar calendar, month-date)

This night was a night of the younger generation. The older members only performed on the first song dedicated to Guan Yin. The younger ones took over from there with the songs, ensemble and even one with a dance, all very beautifully cheorographed.

Thanks to Kevin Ang, he has produced an English edition pamphlet explaining about Nan Yin and Tian Hock Keng. I hope to be able to get his copy in pdf so that you could also download to read. In the next performance, perhaps, a similar copy in different languages could be made available in the internet.

An ancient song and music, an ancient language - the origin of Tang and the Hokkiens - have been preserved and today, thanks to the dedication of the Siong Leng Musical Association, we get to enjoy what our grandparents have been enjoying in the early years in Singapore.

Thanks to Kent of SOH,

http://soch.wordpress.com/2006/05/30/a-historical-perspective-on-nan-yin/ , you can view the concert. More at youtube.com

See you there on 6M19? 1st August 2007. Bookmark in your diary!

CNY 14th Nite at Wak Hai Cheng Beo

A tradition that has gone back decades, each 14th night of the Chinese Lunar New Year, devotees flocked to the Wak Hai Cheng Beo (Yue Hai Qing Miao) to offer their prayers to Xuan Tian Shang Di and Mazu and to exchange their old flags and /or lanterns.

This is one night that time stood still, and one could see the scene as could have been a few decades ago. The only difference could be the surrounding. Looking for the moon might not be as easy. Tall buildings surrounded this dwarfed temple.

Wak Hai Cheng Beo is a Teochew Temple but interestingly, on this night, it was almost like a Cantonese tradition. While the joss paper sets used inside the temple could be Teochew, those brought by devotees to offer their prayers and burn in the courtyard could well be Cantonese.

Many devotees have begun to form parties, meeting together before coming to the temple and offering their prayers together. Here, each member or family could bring along food as offering. Many have home made Chinese Huat Kueh (Fa Gao) which symbolises growth and prosperity. There were also Ang Ku (Hong Ku), a sticky and oily rice cake with bean stuffing, peanuts (Hua Shen, sounding like growth and bloom) and of course, sweets.

One party has an interesting idea where all the devotees, after prayers, they would have a kind of standing up picnic enjoying the food. I was fortunate to be invited to join in. Wow, the best huat kueh I have tasted in years. The group was told not to throw the peanut shells away but to burn them together. Reason, it is like renewing one's shell .. for a better life. What a great way to consider and there's less littering too.

Before this picnic, the group, grandparents, parents, and kids would have their joss sticks, trooped into the already crowded and smoky temple halls. They were greeted by the temple members .. ah, familiar figures as they are regulars. The children were guided to pay their respects to the various Deities.

At the hall of Mazu, one Cantonese Taoist Priest was conducting a ritual for some devotees. I saw him last year and this year too. And so, this must also be a regular service offered to the Cantonese devotees. He chanted in Cantonese.

Some devotees brought along a circular paper set, that the devotees would use to turn around (clockwise, I was told) as they faced towards the Deities. This is to turn their luck for the better, which is better described in Chinese as Zuan Yun.

As the night wore on, more people arrived. It was a night where devotees of some three or four generations gathered to offer their prayers. An old lady was supported by her son and an Indonesian maid. Another old lady sat in a wheelchair and the party had to negotiate with the door way to get her into the temple and out again.

This is probably the only temple where such a tradition has been carried on for decades. (Anyone knows when it started?) And I hope it will carry on for the next 100 years. (^^)

Xiang Lin Musical Association's New Year Party

I had the good fortune of being invited to the New Year party of the Xiang Lin Musical Association on the 8th Day of Chinese New Year.

Nested in a very cosy attic of this restored house along Bukit Pasoh, it was almost like a family gathering with the elders sitting and enjoying the Nan Yin songs and musics sung by the elder and young. The orchestra was made up of mainly youngsters! It was certainly heartening to see so many youngsters playing the Chinese musical instruments, some of which are distinctly Nan Yin. And that they were also singing the Nan Yin songs in the ancient Hokkien dialect.

Xiang Lin is no stranger to many in the arts circle as could be demonstrated by the number of awards and momentos that they have received.

Many friends at the party enjoyed the music and songs, while enjoying the food as well.

If you have yet to see or hear Nan Yin, go to Tian Hock Keng (Tian Fu Gong) at Telok Ayer St on 15th Day of Chinese New Year (4 Mar 07) at 7.30pm to enjoy the music and songs in the wonderful atmosphere of the temple. And if you do spot some bats flying around, you have the additional luck too!

Preparing for a Prosperous New Year

Each new year brings fresh hopes for a better year. To the ancient Chinese, Cai 财, which means prosperity, has a multitude of meanings, unlike today when Cai is mentioned, it is about money. But in the traditional means, Cai could mean rice - plenty to eat. Cai could means a big healthy family and a good life.

And so, each year, each in his/her own way, looks towards Cai Shen 财神 (The Deity of Wealth or Prosperity) for something better. And here in Chinatown, the residents and visitors alike hope to get a blessing - be it rice, chocolate in the form of golden ingots or angpows (red packets) - from the Cai Shen.

Chinatown Lights up with a Bang!

Chinese New Year must be accompanied with lots of noise and certainly, there must be lions and dragons. And so, Chinatown continues with this tradition.

Chinatown with a light touch

Now, if only Chinatown will have such light show on a daily basis. It would add lights, colour and certainly crowd. It was a great idea to show Hotel 81 in a different light. This grand old building was once a school, and then, it was a home to many residents, and now a hotel.