Categories
Tourism Malaysia

Georgetown Festival

August 28, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Today is the last day of the Georgetown Festival celebrations that was happening around the city area. The last two days had seen thousands of people, both tourists and locals alike, swarming the city area to participate in the activities and cultural performances that went on. Though not many cultural performances are scheduled to happen today, I would not be surprised if I still find lots of tourists and locals hanging around the city centre to catch any of today’s events.

Georgetown Festival 2011

The Church of the Assumption was the first meeting point for the first ‘Living Museum’ tour.

According to my already worn-down booklet, there is another Indian Muslim Cultural Celebration that would happen around the Kapitan Kling Mosque area. After watching Chinese, Indian and Malay cultural performances held over the first two days, I thought it would be interesting to see what exactly the Indian Muslim community is all about here in Penang. Today, this community celebrates their contribution to the city’s heritage by hosting a day-long programme of sorts for everyone to see. Some of the events that the people can look forward to catching included a teh tarik competition, interactive demonstrations of Indian Muslim cuisine and many more. There was also a ‘Pallanguli’ Competition held within the premises of the Kapitan Kling Mosque. If you are wondering what ‘Pallanguli’ is, there will be a short explanation about the game later in this article.

Georgetown Festival 2011

This plaque indicates that this building is part of the Sun Yat Sen Heritage Trail tour.

Other than the Indian Muslim Cultural Celebration, there was also a tour that will bring you to the Protestant Cemetery located along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah. This cemetery is the final resting place for some of Penang’s European pioneers such as Sir Francis Light and James Scott. There were also two other tours, the George Town Shophouse Trail and the Sun Yat Sen Heritage Trail in Penang, that was also open to the public. The one that caught my fancy was The Living Museum: Sharing Our Stories tour. According to one of the facilitators, this year was the first time that the Georgetown World Heritage Incorporation experimented with such a tour.

Georgetown Festival 2011

Ms Anne Cutter relating one of her childhood stories to an attentive audience during the tour.

Under this Living Museums tour, six different houses from different cultural background were made available for the public to participate. Members of the public can choose to either attend the morning session or go for the afternoon session. Participants of this tour would then be taken to the participating family’s house for a private sharing session. As one person can only join one talk at a time for each session, I opted to join the first and the third session.

Georgetown Festival 2011

A calling card is placed on the butterfly’s wings should they decide to come and pay a visit when you are not around.

The first session was hosted by Ms Anne Cutter. She is a retired school teacher and has been staying in the same house for over half a century! She related her story of how her ancestors came and settled down in Penang. She also showed us some of her prized photographs – pictures of her parents at their wedding, a picture of her great grandmother who was a Thai princess and many more. She recounted how different the neighbourhood was when she was staying there as a child with her other siblings. She was also kind enough to show us the rest of her house, including her bedroom. Back in the kitchen, Ms Cutter had already put on display some of the items that her parents used to own, like a unique looking butterfly stand and a traditional coffee grinder. The architecture of that house is simply astounding, a rarity in these modern times. Everything in the house is well-maintained, right down to the wooden flooring that is still being used. Ms Cutter resides there with her elder sister now as most of her siblings have migrated to overseas.

Georgetown Festival 2011

The participants of the Living Museums – Christmas at Argus Lane tour.

At the end of the first session, I decided to make my way to the Kapitan Kling Mosque, hoping to catch some interesting information on some of the stuff that will be exhibited. When I arrived at the area, many of them were in the midst of preparing some of the delicious food that will be served to the crowd later in the evening. As I was watching one lady mixing in the ingredients for a different type of flat bread, we exchanged a few words about food and its similarities. It is always interesting to note that no matter what race or cultural background one is from, there are topics like food which never fail to bring two strangers together.

Georgetown Festival 2011

These women are mixing the ingredients for a traditional Indian Muslim type of flatbread known as ‘Arasi Roti’.

Remember when I said that there was a ‘Pallanguli’ competition that was being held within the mosque? Well, ‘Pallanguli’ is a game mostly played by Tamil women. It is made up of a board with 14 cups and is played with two people. Each player takes a turn in placing six seeds into each cup. The player that is starting first will pick up the seeds from any of her holes and, moving anti-clockwise will start to place one seed in each hole. This step is repeated until she runs out of seeds. There are rules and regulations to playing this game, something which I will not go into full details. Needless to say, it was fun watching these women play in the ‘Pallanguli’ competition. Somehow, it reminded me of another local game known as ‘Congkak’.

Georgetown Festival 2011

Two women competing against each other in the ‘Pallanguli’ Competition.

The second session of the ‘Living Museums’ tour was supposed to start at 3.30 pm. We were told to wait in front of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple along Queen Street. The Chettiar house that we will be visiting was located not far away from the temple. The Chettiar house that we will be visiting was hosted by Mr. S.P. Lakshmanan. In his traditional Chettiar office, he had posted up pictures of his ancestors as well as people from the Chettiar community for us to read and understand. There were also some very interesting office equipment, like the Mejai Petti that is still in use. In the old days, it was the traditional style of the Chettiars to sit on the floor and used these sloping top desks as a writing desk. All of their important and necessary documents were also kept within the box. Those days, most of the employees also make the office their home. Therefore, most of the long tables were square and sturdy as it also doubled as their beds at night. Mats were used for them to sleep on, and during the day time these mats were rolled and kept in a suspended compartment on top of the wall and out of sight from their customers.

Georgetown Festival 2011

Mr S.P. Lakshmanan showing one of the participants one of the old stock market reports that he still keeps.

There were also annual reports and stock exchange books dating all the way to 1963 being put on display as well as some original Chettiar documents which were not available due to confidentiality issues. Mr S.P. Lakshmanan also introduced to us one of the first photocopying machines known as the Nagal machine. This ancient looking device could only make one copy from the original document at one time! Imagine how tedious it must have been for them to make copies of their formal letters during those days! Mr S.P. Lakshmanan also gave us a private tour of his office that was located upstairs and explained in detail the work that they do these days.

Georgetown Festival 2011

Participants of the Living Museum – A Traditional Chettiar House tour.

At the end of the ‘Living Museum’ session, I headed back to the exhibition area around Kapitan Kling Mosque. My initial thought was to photograph some of the delicious food that I saw being prepared earlier in the day. Unfortunately, there were too many people lining up to sample all the free food that was being given out to the public for sampling! It was a task to actually squeeze into an available space in between lines, let alone take some shots at the food that was being handed out. I ended up walking around the area and looking at some of the other stalls that were not giving out free food. Though on the brochure it sounded like there were many things to do, in actual fact the cultural exhibition seemed kind of small to me. The main thing is that I enjoyed every bit of it and am looking forward to experiencing it again next year.

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Categories
Tourism Malaysia

Georgetown Festival

August 26, 2011 at 2:00 pm

The second day of the festival started out a little bit more toned down compared to the first day. I guess it is always good to start something with a bang. Ever since I saw the brochure, one of the major events that I felt I had to catch was the Teochew puppet show performance. I have never had the chance to see such a show, one of the disadvantages of growing up in a big city. Cultural themed performances like the Chinese opera that is usually performed during the Chinese 7th month or even puppet shows like this are a rarity in the city. As this particular performance is scheduled to happen throughout the whole three days of the festival, I decided to schedule the visit to the second day.

Georgetown Festival 2011

A senior member of the Kim Giak Low Choon Puppet Show putting on the make-up for a younger member of the troupe.

Today, most of the events revolve around the history of Georgetown in a form of public talks. These talks are free to the public and to avoid disappointment, members of the public are encouraged to register themselves earlier at the Penang Heritage Trust located along Church Street. For some reason, most of the talks were scheduled to start only in the evening, that is from 7.00 pm onwards. There was a talk on the Japanese occupation of Penang during the World War II and another on Dr. Sun Yat Sen during his time in Penang, where he planned the Canton Uprising in Guangzhou, China. The other two talks touched on the subject of Straits born people – the Jawi Peranakan and Straits Muslim’s culinary heritage and the history of the Baba Nyonya. While two of the talks were held at the Town Hall along Jalan Padang Kota Lama, the other two were held elsewhere.

Georgetown Festival 2011

An assistant of the Kim Giak Low Choon Puppet Show troupe putting on the finishing touches to the puppet’s costume.

Other than the public talks, there was also an Indian dance and musical performance later that night. It was held at the junction of Penang and Chulia Street, not far from an enclave known as Little India. There were other events going on as well, like the Heritage Celebration at Acheen Street and the Penang Teochew Association Exhibition. I, on the other hand, was biding my time and conserving both me and the camera’s batteries for that night’s shows. For those of you who have never heard of a Teochew puppet show (like yours truly here…), do allow me to briefly explain what is it all about. The puppet show utilises painted wooden puppets that looks somewhat like the paper effigies that the Chinese burn for the loved ones in the netherworld. These wooden puppets are dressed in elaborate costumes, similar to the performers in a Chinese opera show. A metal rod is attached to the back to allow the puppeteer to manipulate it from the back. Two smaller rods attached to the puppet’s hands allows the puppeteer to make the puppet more interesting by introducing hand gestures while it is acting.

Georgetown Festival 2011

These two ladies must be pretty used to having shutterbugs nearby whenever they start the routine of putting on their makeup…

The puppet show that I managed to catch during the festival saw four main people managing the works backstage, with one or two additional hands to help with the minor stuff, like placing props during the performance or preparing the other dolls. Two were playing the musical instruments for the show, another two sitting backstage manipulating the puppets. The young man that was playing the music also provided the voice for the male puppet whereas one of the lead female performer provided the voice for the other female puppet. The show is run by a family of puppeteers called the Kim Giak Low Choon Puppet Show. They are famous throughout Penang and can often be seen performing during the Chinese Lunar seventh month around town. This troupe originated from China and later migrated to Malaysia.

Georgetown Festival 2011

These are some of the puppets that is used for their Teochew puppet shows.

As one of the ladies was putting on make-up for the two kids who will be performing later, I noticed two other ladies sitting quietly at the far side of the stage, busy putting on thick make-up. From the colours and layers of the make-up, I noticed that it was most probably the make-up used for an opera show. While the finished results may look simple but striking, the process of getting that look is an elaborate one. The whole process from the start to the end can easily take up to 45 minutes to get it up. Nevertheless, it is an interesting watch to see them get into character before the show.

Georgetown Festival 2011

Watching the two youngest members perform in front of a big group can be very interesting…

As the time drew near to the start of the show, many people gathered around and made themselves comfortable. While most people preferred sitting at a table to enjoy the performance, I chose to sit on the floor and directly in front of the stage with a few other kids, which in my opinion, are always the best seats in the house. The show started soon enough, with a female puppet making its appearance on that tiny stage enveloped in a cloud of mist. I later learned that she is a ghost (the biggest clue was when the male puppet came on stage and later shivered in fright, calling out ‘Ghost!’ ‘Ghost!’ in Teochew). There was an LED board on the stage, with the dialogue in Chinese characters for those who do not understand the Teochew language. Since I did not understand both the language and the words, I just enjoyed the show as it was, with all its music and antics from the puppets. After the show, it was time for the two youngest member of the troupe to strut their stuff. I must say they were really good, given their age and all. But then again, if one have been doing this since they were young, I would say that it has already become like second nature for them to perform opera shows in front of big crowds.

Georgetown Festival 2011

The Indian folk dance performers with their costumes in front of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple

As much as I wanted to stay to watch the whole thing, I decided to head back towards Little India to catch the Indian cultural performance there. At the end of Chulia Street, I could see the Kapitan Kling Mosque all lighted up for the festival. I passed by the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, where there was a group of dancers and musicians all dressed up in their dance costumes. There were a few guys who dressed as a horse and two girls who had peacock feathers attached to their costumes. When the music started (there was also a band of traditional Indian music performers), the whole entourage started to dance and walk along the busy streets. They stopped at the stage where they later demonstrated a few Indian folk dances, like the one which is known as the ‘Stick Dance’ and the ‘Peacock Dance’. There was also a Sitar and Tabla recital as well as other Hindi dances performed later that night.

Georgetown Festival 2011

The Indian folk dance performers parading from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple to the stage area to the beat of the music.

It was well after 10.00 pm before I started making my way back to my nice and fully air-conditioned room, where I could take a well-deserved shower and rest my poor aching feet. Two days of the festival down and just one more to go…

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