The Craftsman in PENANG [Guide Book]

The Craftsman

The ageing handcrafts in the modern city George Town Place full of stories

First printing in Kuching, Sarawak.

Copyright © 2016 by Hanyi Teh All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

INTRODUCTION On 7 July 2008, Melaka and George Town under serial nomination were awarded the coveted title of World Heritage Site, and were listed under the Category of Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The City’s Intangible Heritage The intangible heritage of George Town is not only a vital contributing factor to the significance of the World Heritage Site, but it is also what gives thecity its richness and vitality.

George Town World Heritage Incorporated’s (GTWHI) Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is one of the first steps required to plan measures for the safeguarding of ICH and not to ensure its continues sustainability for future generations.

4

of George Town

5

Beginning in

2012

with a focus on traditional performing arts and artisan skills, and traditional crafts and trades, the project comprised of door-to-door surveys of over

5,000

premises in George Town.

6

CONTENT 4

Introduction of George Town

21

STONESMASON & TOMBSTONE E N G R AV E R

39

FIRST AID KIT

7

15

CHINESE SEAL CUTTER & CALLIGRAPHER

SONGKOK MAKER

27

33

PRINTING PRESS & BOOK BINDER

42

SIGNBOARD CARVER

Introduction of GTWHI 7

”

But still he keeps working with a will; that’s the craftsman in him!

– Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (p.265)

CHINESE

SEAL CUTTER &

CALLIGRAPHER Mr Ng Chia Tiam TIAN HUA ARTS & ANTIQUE 371 Lebuh Pantai, 10300 George Town.

CONTACT NO. 017-478 2878 OPENING HOURS 10am-5pm (daily)

Ageing Calligraphy

F

or over four decades, master craftsman Ng has carved countless traditional Chinese stone seals which are used by businessmen, traders and calligraphy artisits as a signature on official documents and works of art. Sometimes, these elaborate pieces with owner’s name and auspicious words carved on them are usually made for feng shui purposes where they are placed in a part of the home as recommended by the geomancer.

Originally for imperial purposes, many Chinese today are known to own a seal, even if only as a novelty. Customers choose a particular character style from his sample book, type and size of stone. The more ornate stones are decorated with animals or auspicious objects. Traditionally, seals were also made of metal, wood and bamboo but stone is more durable, especially from frequent use with the red seal paste.

1&2: The Chinese name is written on the stone surface in reverse before he carves away the design using traditional tools and an electrical drill.

10

2

1

11

3. The quality of his craftsmanship can be seen through his almost half-century of experience in carving seals.

Go and have your own Chinese seal and cop in the place located in the front page of this post card!

Sent to your friends and share your excitment to visit the craftsman!

Have a wefie with them and hashtag #penangcraftsman to share your experience!

14

SONGKOK MAKER

Mr Haja Mohideen KEDAI SONGKOK OSM MOHD SHARIFF 157 Lebuh King, 10200 George Town.

CONTACT NO. 04-263 1290 OPENING HOURS 10.30am – 9.30 (Mon – Sat) 15

A Tiny Shop Not for Profit but Passion

A

songkok is traditional Malay headgear worn by men during important religious and festive occasions such as Hari Raya, weddings and the weekly visit to the mosque. Besides, songkok is usually on religious days and festivals and also for their weekly Friday prayers at the mosque.

4. Pak Haja

16

In the past, Little India had more songkok shops but today, Haja Mohideen who is George Town’s last remaining songkok maker learnt the skill from his father who established the business in 1933 in an alcove next to the Nagore Shrine where the business still operates today. He also makes karzi (northern Indian headgear) and fezs or tarbus which are popular with Boria performers. His customers include Malaysian royalty and dignitaries who would personally visit his shop to get measured for a bespoke cap.

With black being the most common option, this traditional headgear also comes in other colours. The material used is usually velvet with a satin inner liner and sometimes even embellished with kain songket (traditional Malay brocade fabric) or stylished embroidery trimmings.

Customers pick from a choice of colours and decorative designs and sometimes request to have ventilation holes added on its flat top for a more comfortable wear.

17

5. That is how Pak Haja spend his daily life with his work and friends.

19

Visit Pak Haja and lsiten to his life story to start doing songkok from kids.

Write down his stories and sent to your friend about him.

Have a wefie with them and hashtag #penangcraftsman to share your experience!

20

STONES-

MASON &

TOMBSTONE ENGRAVER

Mr Yeoh Gim Huat GIM CHUAN HIN 34, 34A Gat Lebuh Acheh, 10200 George Town.

CONTACT NO. 016-455 7706 OPENING HOURS 9am-5pm (daily) 21

Stone Generation

H

ailing from a long line of tombstone engravers, Mr Yeoh and his brothers have been carrying on the family business which had begun even before his family emigrated from Fujian Province in China in the early 20th century.

Stone masonry is commonly seen in Chinese temples and clan houses with its intricate carvings to depict deities, dragons and the Buddhist lions which guard the entrances. However, tombstones for not only the Chinese community but also for

22

the muslims and Christians.

The years have reduced the number of stone engravers here as the lack of new burial grounds reduces the demand for tombstones. Unlike in the old days, now technology and machinery to lift and cut the heavy stones make the basic work faster and easier. Nevertheless, the detail work and finishing touches are still required to be executed by the hands of an expert, like Mr Yeoh whi has been doing this since 1969.

5

6

7

5: The workshop.

6: Machine used to carve the stone.

7. The finished Buddist lions.

23

8. The mainly machine used during craving stone.

25

Visit Mr Yeoh and look around how big his workshop and the histoty of the shop.

Write down his stories and sent to your friend about him.

Have a wefie with them and hashtag #penangcraftsman to share your experience!

26

PRINTING PRESS &

BOOK BINDER Mr Shanmuganathanl JOTHEE PRESS 4 Lebuh Pasar, 10200 George Town.

CONTACT NO. 04-261 2284 OPENING HOURS 8.30am – 6.20PM (Mon – Fri) 8.30am – 1pm (Sat) 27

The Old Printing Shop

J

othee is one of Penang’s oldest printing presses established in 1935

by Dato’ S. Letchumanasamy who arrived in Penang as a 10 year old from India and began working at odd jobs to support his family. Long hours and hard work soon paid off as it was not long, at age 19, when he opened his own printing press. His legacy, Jothee Press which was established in 1935 and now under the management of his son, Shanmuganathan, is one of the oldest printing companies in Penang.

A self-made man who taught himself to read and write in Tamil, English and Malay. Dato’ S. Letchumanasamy was a pillar of the Indian community and was involved in politics.

28

He was a social activist and philanthropist who had helped many people to achieve their goals.

The family business was the first press in Penang to produce diaries and handmade account ledgers. In the 1960s, the company diversified its business venture to include a grinding mill, a sundry shop and into cigarmaking.

9

9 & 10: The 2nd generation of printing machine in the shop.

11: The tool used.

10

11

29

12. The oldest prinitng machine in the old as well as in Penang.

31

Get your first printing press experience here.

Write down your excitement with your friend especially when seeing those old machine is still working.

Have a wefie with them and hashtag #penangcraftsman to share your experience!

32

SIGNBOARD CARVER

Mr Lee Chee Cheng SUNG DYNASTY WOOD CARVING 77 Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 George Town.

CONTACT NO. 018-4634008 OPENING HOURS 10am-5pm (Mon- Sat) 33

Wood Calligraphy

M

any traditional Chinese businesses and home in George Town still proudly display wooden signboards over their front doors - the former announce company names or auspicious couplets, while the latter depict family surnames.

During Song Dynasty, the signboard represents a business’ name that was made of cloth with Chinese painted character.

There are few taboos like your signboard must be “invited” and not “hang up” because the Chinese character “ hang up” means something bad and unlucky.

Asides from signboards, Mr Lee also carves ancestral tablets and Chinese deities. The process is as much dependent on skill as it is on calligraphy, principles of feng shui

Choosing a good type of solid wood board plays an important role in crafting signboard. The best solid wood board is from Southeast Asia as the humidity of the country is brutal.

13 & 15: The artwork of Mr Lee. 14: Mr Lee is using electrical drill to craft.

34

13

15

14

35

16. Mr Lee is drilling the wood and the finishing work only can done by traditional tool.

37

Visit this wood craving shop to get your own name craved on the wood as sourvenir!

Share your excitment to get your own signboard on the wooden block!

Have a wefie with them and hashtag #penangcraftsman to share your experience!

38

FIRST AID KIT Useful Numbers provided.

When dialing from outside Malaysia, begin with +6 Save some emergency number in your phone Take good care of your belongings.

39

Emerge n c y N u m bers

H o s p i ta ls

Eme rg e nc y

999

Gl en eagl es M edical Cen tre

0 4 -222 91111

112

Pen an g Adv en tis t H os pital

0 4 -222 720 0

Lam Wah E e H os pital

0 4 -65 7 1888

I s l an d H os pital

0 4 -228 8222

Eme rg e nc y ( wh e n u s i ng m ob i le p h o n e)

40

O p erator S e rvi c e

1 00

Te lep hon e di re c t a s s i s t a n c e

1 03 04- 2 5 0 34 1 0

Loh Guan Lye Sp ecial is ts Cen ter

0 4 -23 8 8888

Immigra ti on Pena ng Tou ri s t P ol i c e

04- 2 2 2 1 5 2 2

Gen eral H os pital

0 4 -222 5 3 3 3

Police 2 4 -Hou r Hotl i n e

04- 2 6 9 1 9 9 9

P u b lic T ran spo rt

T o u r i s m In f o.

Rapid Bu s

State Tour is m O f f ice

0 4 -65 0 5 13 6

Tour is t I n f or m ayion Cen tre

0 4 -263 1166

Tour is m M al ays ia

0 4 -261 0 0 5 8

T ax i Com a p a ni e s Aswa n

04- 2 38 5 1 36

04 - 2 1 0 8 2 1 1

City R adi o Ta xi S e r v i c e

04 - 2 2 9 9 46 7

Pena ng Ta xi D ri v e r Assoc i a ti on

04 - 2 6 2 5 72 1

Fe rr y Te rm i na l Pena ng I s la n d

04 - 2 6 1 02 9 0

B utter worth

04 - 332 2 79 6

41

The information written in this book is credit to GTWHI, Heritage Traders of George Town.

George Town World Heritage Incorporated 116 & 118, Lebuh Acheh, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel (+604) 2616606 Fax (+604) 2616605 Email: info@gtwhi.com.my www.gtwhi.com.my Operation Hours 9.00am-5.oopm (Weekdays) 9.00am-3.oopm (Saturday)

42

George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) was established by the Penang State Government in April 2010 to spearhead efforts to protect and enhance the city’s architectural and cultural assets.

GTWHI is dedicated to protecting, promoting and preserving George Town as a sustainable city, and works in cooperation with the Federal, State and local governments as well as several nongovernmental organisations to manage, monitor, promote , and excite heritagerelated activities. We identify the problem areas, build a strategy, and call on exoerts and stakeholders in our vast network to work with us towards the solution.

To ensure the importance of the World Heritage Site is understood by as many stakeholders as possible, we work with many different partners, from conservation specialists and Federal, State and city authorities for better planning, conserving and management of the physical site; to historians and arts practitioners to create educational and cultural activities and programmes.

We provide advice to property owners, architects and builders; conduct skills development workshops; provide resources on George Town and heritage through our library and digital archive; and we engage with school children, students of institutes of higher learning, andthe public through our programme of talks and activities.

43

Pin Y o u r Journey with Them RM 30.00

46