Just like the United Kingdom’s Stonehenge, we too have megalithic structures in Malaysia. The most common type of megalith found here is the menhir which is basically a standing stone. Known locally as ‘batu hidup’, they come is varying heights ranging from 2 to 8 feet.
In general, there are two configurations of menhirs. The first type comes in clusters with one large menhir known as the ‘ibu’ or mother surrounded by smaller menhirs. The second type comes in pairs – aligned side-by-side either in a North-South or East-West orientation, with one usually larger than the other. In Northern Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, the menhirs have been erected on earth mounds. Over time, the earth mound gets eroded thus exposing more of the menhir and giving the illusion that the menhir has grown longer. This is the reason the locals refer to the menhirs as ‘batu hidup’ or living stones.
These sites are believed to be sacred or ‘keramat’ by locals as they believe that the megaliths are erected on grave sites. However, excavations have not yielded any skeletal remains.
Replicas of the ‘Sword’ and the ‘Rudder’ at Muzium Negara
Megaliths in Malaysia are mostly plain and hence the three sculptured menhirs found at Pengkalan Kempas in Negeri Sembilan have drawn a lot of attention. These have been nicknamed Sword, Rudder and Spoon after their distinctive shapes. Carvings on the Sword and the Rudder include mythical creatures prompting the belief that these menhirs date to the Hindu period. The Sword also has the word ‘Allah’ on it inscribed in Jawi characters and this is believed to have been added much later. The Spoon does not have any carvings but has been sculptured into an arched top. Replicas of the Sword and the Rudder can be found at Muzium Negara.
Petronas came across a group of menhirs in Negeri Sembilan during excavations to lay a gas pipeline. These were excavated and re-erected in a stretch of land between Dayabumi and the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and the area was named the Petronas Megalith Garden. The megaliths have now been relocated to a permanent home at the Laman Megalit in Taman Putra Perdana in Putrajaya. Here, the visitor is presented with over 80 megaliths including replicas of the Sword, Rudder and Spoon. This is a place worthy of visit.
Last June on the 25th, Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon gave a talk at Muzium Negara on the architectural and cultural development in ancient Mexico. Although it was at the height of the haze with the air quality index deemed ‘very unhealthy’, there was a good turnout and the participants listened eagerly as Dr Licon discussed the various Mesoamerican civilizations starting from the Olmec to the Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Mayan and Aztec untill the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards in 1521.
We were presented with many interesting facts. Being an impossible to reform chocoholic, I was especially fascinated by the ancient Mexican love for chocolate. The Olmecs were the first people to process cacao beans with the earliest evidence coming from residue left in a bowl that dates to 1800 BCE. The Mayans and Aztecs considered chocolate as the food of the gods, a heavenly concept that I can identify with. The Mixtec tribe which inhabited Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico from circa 900 CE, wrote their history as phonetic pictures on deerskin. The picture on the left (blurry, I know. I am still working on my photographic skills), shows a royal wedding ceremony taking place on the day 13 Snake of the year 13 Reed which works out in our uninspired calendar as 1051 CE. Lots more information can be gleaned from the drawing including that the cup of chocolate held by the happy lady represents dowry. Not surprising as cacao, which was made into a drink, was an item of luxury.
As an impressionable teenager hooked on the writings of Erich von Daniken, I read in the ‘Chariots of the Gods’ that the picture on the right, drawn by ancient Mayans, represents an astronaut sitting in his rocket with the markings at the bottom depicting flames and gases from the propulsion unit. Dr Licon had the more logical explanation. The drawing is actually the sarcophagus lid of Pakal, one of the kings of Palenque which is a city in Southern Mexico and it depicts Pakal descending into the Mayan underworld. Dr Licon pointed out the main imagery on the drawing to us. This includes a snake located under Pakal having its mouth open and it represents the entrance to the underworld. The ceiba tree represents the connection between the great sky, the upper-world and the underworld.
Pakal was buried wearing a jade mask and beads. The jade was mined from Guatemala which is one of the few worldwide sources of jadeite. Jadeite was a luxury item and played an important role in the lives of the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs.
Chichen-Itza (taken from Wikipedia)
A description of ancient Mexico is not complete without a mention of its pyramids. Unlike the Egyptian pyramids which were burial tombs, the Mayan pyramids were mostly built in honour of their gods and had temples at the top of the pyramids. Pyramids, such as the famous Chichen-Itza pyramid located at Yucatan, Mexico, also served as astronomical observatories. Complicated through it may be, the Mayan calendar is extremely accurate with precise calculation of astronomical events including eclipses.
The floor had lots of questions. A number of these questions centered around some of the similarities between the ancient Mexican civilisations and the Southeast Asian civilisations. Dr Licon explained that the perceived similarities was because all agricultural societies had to know the planting seasons and hence had to develop some level of astronomical knowledge. All cultures faced the same elements including the moon, sun and wind resulting in similar traditions. Karen wanted to know more on blood sacrifice among the ancient Mexicans. Human sacrifice and blood letting was mostly practiced by the Aztecs. According to their cosmology, the first four cycles of human creation were destroyed by the gods. In the fifth cycle, i.e the Aztecs, the gods sacrificed one of themselves to create the humans. So blood giving was a way of saying thank-you.
Dr Licon being presented with books on Malaysian history and archaeology at the end of the talk.
Last Saturday (6 July 2013) the Museum Volunteers were invited by Jabatan Muzium Malaysia to participate in their ‘Museums and Community’ roadshow at the Perak museum. So five of us packed our bags and made our way to Taiping for a day of culture, history and the opportunity to blow the MV horn.
As the MV logo is the tepak sirih, we had decided to showcase this at our booth and give the museum goers of Taiping a chance to try out the ancient fare of the Nusantara. With it being the dry season, sireh leaves were scarce and Sudha frantically scoured the markets of Ipoh and Taiping for the elusive leaves. Thanks to her and Harith, we managed to procure all the ingredients needed to wrap up a sireh quid – sireh leaves, areca nuts, lime paste, gambier, tobacco and cloves which we proudly displayed on a mat placed at the side of our table.
Dato’ Nazri rolling up a sireh quid with Dato’ Ibrahim looking on
A pantun (poem) on sireh composed by Riduwan made our display complete and all we needed now was for someone to try our offering.
Our first ‘victim’ was none other than Dato’ Seri Nazri, Minister of Tourism and Culture who gamely sat down on the mat and followed Harith’s instructions on rolling up a sireh quid which he then proceeded to chew.
Sireh tasting was only the start of the fun. The enthusiastic crowd took up our challenge on answering a 15 question quiz and we very quickly reached the conclusion that Taiping folks know their museum and history well. The kids were especially engaged and wanted to try out all the games we had in store. This is where the sling bags we use at Muzium Negara came in handy and the jigsaw puzzles on Hang Tuah and Han Li Po were a crowd puller. The enthusiasm of the crowd and especially the kids made it a memorable day for us.
On the left: Our first quiz participant belting out the answers.
Below: the jigsaw puzzles were a crowd puller.
We gave away Mariana’s postcards as prizes. She has done an artistic rendition of four local buildings and has created postcards of her paintings. The kids were enthused to collect all four postcards and eagerly participated in the various activities in an attempt to get all four cards.
We played the Gallery C picture puzzle ala Happy Family style with 4 participants in each group.The five of us at the MV boothKids learn to tie the tengkolokIdentifying landmarks in Malaysia was easy peasy
It was indeed a sad day when we heard that our fellow volunteer, Kris Kandiah, passed away after a viral infection brought on by a high diabetic condition. Kris joined Museum Volunteers in Sept 2012 and graduated on 16 March 2013. Stuart Wakefield, who was the secretary of MV in 2012, fondly remembers Kris:
Kris receiving his certificate during the graduation ceremony
“I was much saddened to hear of Kris’ sudden demise. In common with all trainees, his name came up during the occasional progress reviews when he was identified as “the one who always wears a “1 Malaysia” badge”. However, to me, he soon became known for more than his attire, as our paths crossed a number of times during the course of the training and subsequently. I had first met Kris when I was in a hurry and he buttonholed me in the JMM Office to make absolutely sure that I had correctly registered his application to become a Volunteer Guide. After that I spent more time with him and I soon became most pleased to listen to his firsthand and unbiased account of various post WWII events in Malaya. There seemed to be a measure of mutual pleasure in our exchanges, whilst they also contributed significantly towards my understanding and they provided me with a number of new directions to consider. I found Kris to be a gentle and unassuming man, and, without doubt, I shall retain fond memories of my short acquaintance with him.”
Kris was first admitted to Tawakal in April but the doctors could not identify the virus he had contracted. His condition improved but he took a turn for the worse in June and passed away on the 26th. He will be missed.
Dr. Ernesto Licon will be giving the above talk at Muzium Negara on Tuesday 25 June at 10am. This talk is open to the public and is a free programme. Please register at focus_mv@yahoo.com.my if you will be attending. You can also register via our facebook page. Seats are limited and will be on a first come first serve basis.
Details on the talk can be found below. Please note that the venue has been changed to the Auditorium Room at Muzium Negara.
Although I was born in Batu Gajah, about a half hour’s drive from Ipoh, the capital city of modern Perak, my knowledge of the State has mainly been gleaned from The Malayan Trilogy, written by the renowned English novelist Anthony Burgess (who once taught at the Malay College in Kuala Kangsar, a boarding school in Perak for the Malay elites – dubbed the Eton of the East) and more recently through Tash Aw’s award winning book Harmony Silk Factory,a novel set in Perak during the tin rush. So I was very excited to join the Museum Volunteer Field trip to Ipoh on May 30th Thursday to discover if its way of life is still intact.
Coming along on my balik kampong trip, were 22 other museum volunteers, 9 Malaysian Culture Group members and 5 Jabatan Muzium Malaysia (JMM) staff. We left the museum car park at around 6am in JMM’s spanking new bus which made the four hour trip passing through the beautiful limestone hills in the Kinta Valley extremely comfortable.
According to history, Ipoh came into existence in the 1820s as a small Malay village of Palau along the banks of Kinta River. The tin rush of the 1880’s resulted in a boom and increased Ipoh’s population to about 4,000 people. A devastating fire in 1892 damaged the town but gave the British, who ruled Perak, the opportunity to rebuild the streets in a more orderly way. Broad, straight roads were built in the town, flanked by rows of shops and majestic buildings.
This was certainly evident in the first building we visited – the glorious white neoclassical Ipoh Railway Station, often referred to as the ‘Taj Mahal’ of Ipoh because of its beautiful domes and high arches. Built between 1914 and 19187 by the famed British architect A.B. Hubback who also designed the Kuala Lumpur Railway station, it replaced the original railway station which was an attap roofed shack.
Our next stop was the newly renovated Station Square in front of the Railway Station where our guide, Mr Raja, explained to us the significance of the War memorial which rather touchingly commemorates Perak’s war dead and bears the words: “Sacred to the memory of the men from the state of Perak who fell in the Great War 1914 -1918 and to those who died in 1939-1945 War.”
Across the road we found ourselves at the regal Town Hall and old Post Office. Completed in 1916, these buildings served as a post and telegraph office as well as the police headquarters. In 1945 the Malay Nationalist Party, the first political party formed in Malaya, held its inaugural congress here. It is still in use for weddings and other events.
A few streets behind the Town Hall and Post office we viewed the four-sided Birch Memorial clock tower which was built in 1909 to honour J.W.W. Birch, the first resident of Perak in 1875. For a small structure it has many details: the tower bells that used to strike the chimes of Big Ben in London, four terracotta figures perched at the top of the tower which represented the four virtues of British administration namely loyalty, justice, patience and fortitude and a panel portraying 44 famous figures from world history across the tower. Interestingly the form of Prophet Mohammad was painted out of the panel in the 1990s in keeping with the Muslims objection to the depiction of the prophet. The bust of Birch was also missing. Stolen perhaps?
On the way to lunch at a delicious mamak restaurant, we passed many other striking buildings in old Ipoh, particularly the beautifully maintained Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building which look as impressive now as it did in the 1930s. In contrast, many of the buildings in Ipoh are near decay although their classical architectural design still imbue them with a sense of quiet elegance and dignity. Thankfully, we could see evidence of an initiative to revive old Ipoh especially along Panglima Lane (Concubine Lane) which dates back to the turn of the century. At that time, this area was known for opium, gambling and brothels. Now, new boutique hotels such as the Sekeping Kong Heng as well as eclectic restaurants such as Burps and Giggles are giving visitors a slice of history within an old town which is still alive and working.
We also visited two museums and the tin dredge at Tanjung Tualang. Stay tuned to part 2 for a description of our memorable visit to these places.
Tin, a silvery metal that is non-corrosive and non-toxic, was ideally suited for the food canning industry and its great demand in America and Britain spawned an industry that saw thousands of Chinese coming to Malaya with the hopes of leaving poverty behind. Many died in malarial swamps and many more were exploited by unscrupulous employers and agents. But many millionaires were also born and success stories like Yap Ah Loy and Loke Yew made it into the history books and onto road signs.
Chan Wing was one of the millionaires born in the heydays of the tin mining industry. Reticent in public with a preference to stay in the background, Chan Wing may well have been forgotten if not for the house he built. The Big House, as it was called then, has an interesting history of its own culminating as the abode for kings.
Chan Wing (1933). Taken from the book “From Poor Migrant to Millionaire” by Chan King Nui
Chan Wing’s was a typical rags to riches story. Born to poverty in China in 1873, he was the fourth son among six boys and two girls. With a father that squandered his money, time and energy on opium, it fell on their mother to provide for the family. The family lived at subsistence level and school was a luxury that they could ill-afford.
An opportunity to better their lot came with the arrival of agents to their village with stories about a land called Nanyang and a metal called tin around which tales of great riches were spun. Fourteen year old Chan Wing and his younger brother, Loong, were dispatched to this fabled land with the hopes and dreams of the whole family riding on them. While Loong would return home a year later ridden with malaria and unable to cope with the harsh working conditions in the tin-mines, Chan Wing would go on to make their wildest dreams come true. But this dream had its roots in tears and sorrow as the only way the family was able to raise the money to send Chan Wing and Loong to Malaya was by selling the youngest son, who was still a babe in arms. Their mother was devastated but did not stand in the way.
On arrival in Malaya, the brothers got jobs at a tin mine in Sungai Besi but Chan Wing would change jobs many times including being a shopkeeper for two of Loke Yew’s shops in Sungai Besi. At the age of 24, he joined forces with four of his clansmen to form a ‘kongsi’ (syndicate) to mine for tin ore next to the tin rich Sungai Besi Mine. A European group and at least two other Chinese kongsi had previously mined on this plot of land with no success. The kongsi formed by Chan Wing and friends operated for 9 months without finding any ore. Savings dwindled and hopes plummeted but they dug deeper and their perseverance paid off when Chan Wing saw a darkish patch in one of the boxes of sand that he was washing. The kongsi had struck very big as the place was subsequently found to be littered in tin and the rest, as they say, is history.
With the years of scrimping and saving behind him and money no longer a major concern, Chan Wing’s attention turned to marriage and he requested his mother to find a bride for him. Low Ming Ching, simple, pleasant, timid and barely sixteen, would become the first in a line of wives to come.
Chan Wing would go on to venture into other businesses including banking (he sat on the board of Kwong Yik Bank), rice and rubber. He became a respected and accepted member in Malayan society and now had an important decision to make – where to make his permanent home.
At the time of Chan Wing’s birth, China was under the rule of the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1912). This was not the rule of the majority Han Chinese but the dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a Manchu tribe from northeastern China which usurped power from the Ming emperor. The Manchu had a unique hairstyle where the hair on the front of the head until the temples were shaved off every ten days and the rest braided into a long pigtail. This pigtail is also known as a ‘queue’. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus imposed this hairstyle on the Han Chinese and cutting off the queue was considered an act of treason. Chan Wing took the decision to live permanently in Malaya and as an act of defiance against the Manchu government, he cut off his queue.
Meanwhile, his family had grown into 8 wives with 21 children living at different locations. Chan Wing bought 13 acres of land and commissioned Swan and Maclaren to design a house that will bring his whole family under one roof and in 1929, the family moved into what would become known as The Big House. It might have been the biggest house in Malaya at that time, but for the family it was not big enough. As his daugher Chan King Nui recalls in her book ‘From Poor Migrant to Millionaire’, although the mothers had a room each, the children had to share rooms – four to a room. The number of children by now had swelled to 25. Chan Wing and his family stayed at the Big House until 1941 when war came to Malaya.
Chan Wing got separated from his family during the war and he stayed out the war in Australia while his family was evacuated to India where his twenty-sixth and last child, a boy, was born. He reunited with his family when they returned to Malaya after the war but was diagnosed with cancer and in spite of the best treatment succumbed to his illness in 1947 at the age of 74.
During the Japanese Occupation (1942 – 1945), the Big House became the residence of the Japanese Governor and after the war, it was commandeered by the British. In 1950, the Selangor state government rented it from the owners and it became the palace of the Sultan of Selangor until 1957 when the federal government bought the property from the owners. It was renovated and extended to become Istana Negara, the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king of Malaysia). In Dec 2011, Istana Negara moved to its new location at Jalan Duta and the Istana Negara Lama, as the property is now called, has been turned over to the Department of Museums, Malaysia.
Most of the information on Chan Wing in this article comes from the book ‘From Poor Migrant to Millionaire’, written by Chan King Nui; one of Chan Wing’s daughters.
On 17 April, 24 students from the Special Needs School in Puchong participated in a school trip to Muzium Negara and ten museum volunteers were at hand to make this a fun trip for them.
The students, aged between 7 and 12, were divided into three groups and were led through Galleries A, B and C by the volunteers. The students were engaged throughout and gave the volunteers their focused attention. Upon completing the tour of the galleries, they assembled at Dataran Muzium and took part in a few traditional games, namely the baling tin, gerek buluh and sepak buluh ayam.
Playing the Gerek Buluh
This picture shows the children playing the Gerek Buluh. In this game, a wheel is attached to a long bamboo handle and the participants are required to roll the wheel to the opposite side and hand it over to their partners who will then take over in a relay. The winner is, and no marks for guessing, the team that is first to reach the finish line.
The children had the most fun in this game. Although some of them had difficulty controlling the wheel and went zig-zag instead of going in a straight line, they all managed to hold on to the bamboo and finish the game.
Below are pictures of the children touring the galleries. Kudos to volunteers Cay, Mique, Karen, Fafa, Miju, Vallie, Zakaria, Sarah, Serena and Colin for taking the time out and making it a fun day for the students.
The MV Book Club turned one last month (March) and we celebrated it by discussing IQ84 by Haruki Murakami.
This is a long novel divided into three parts with 1,318 pages but most of us managed to finish reading it before the meeting and came prepared with our opinions, prejudices and interpretations.
The discussion was led by Reiko who cleverly counteracted the various viewpoints with alternative opinions thus providing us with a perspective of the book that had more shades than what we envisioned in the first read.
Personally, I was disappointed with the book chiefly because the hype around it had raised my expectations. Fully expecting to love the book, I started reading it with high hopes and I did enjoy the beginning but the story fizzled out in the end and so did my interest in Murakami. I like books with a supernatural bent but will pick a Clive Barker over a Murakami.
Our birthday ‘buffet’ was made up of freshly baked madeleines, courtesy of Marie who liked the reference to Proust in IQ84 and Dutch cookies from Kokkie. Add a card and candles from Lena and we were ready for our birthday song. Ironically, the first book we read was Shantaram which is close to a 1,000 pages and we started our 2nd year with another long book. Maybe we should make this our tradition thus reading only one long book a year.
We are reading two books this coming Thursday (18th April): “First They Killed My Father” by Loung Ung and “The Female Cell” by Rumaizah Abu Bakar, a fellow volunteer with MV. I have read both books but will save my comments for the meeting.
In general, there are two configurations of menhirs. The first type comes in clusters with one large menhir known as the ‘ibu’ or mother surrounded by smaller menhirs. The second type comes in pairs – aligned side-by-side either in a North-South or East-West orientation, with one usually larger than the other. In Northern Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, the menhirs have been erected on earth mounds. Over time, the earth mound gets eroded thus exposing more of the menhir and giving the illusion that the menhir has grown longer. This is the reason the locals refer to the menhirs as ‘batu hidup’ or living stones.
Museum Volunteers, JMM 