Penang Highlights Part #2

The Peranakan Culture
Even before the TV series “The Little Nonya” came out on Channel 8 a few years ago, I’ve had a fascination with the Peranakan culture, but I will have to admit that the TV show was what sparked the interest to examine this people group more closely. I am an anthropologist after all. So when we had the chance to visit a Paranakan residence on our last day in Penang, I was naturally excited.

Peranakans are a people group known as Straits Chinese that exist only in this part of the world. They are Chinese ethnics who, upon their arrival in parts of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, took on the ways of the native Malays and some of the British-influenced European lifestyles. The men were called Baba, and the women Nonya. They tended to be wealthy and influential Chinese who worked in close alliance with the British colonial government and had the opportunity to travel to parts of Europe.

As an anthropological nerd, I could probably go crazy writing about this people group, but that will be for another time. I will say this much though: The fusion of the Chinese reds and golds with the darker, richer streaks from the Malay ethnics, combined with a touch of European décor make for a very unique interior design. The Peranakan home is fascinating because of this very reason.

I Met Love at Kek Lok Si (極樂寺)
Kek Lok Si is a Buddhist temple that is considered one of the landmarks of Penang. It stands out as one of the tallest buildings in the state, and if I’m not wrong, the only religious space of that magnitude of grandiose.  According to Pastor Sunny’s wife, a Christian prayer summit that happened some years ago caused the head of the original building to fall off. It has since been reconstructed with a bill that came up to something like RM40,000 (S$16,000 or USD13,000).

Since we were all about being touristy, we visited this temple because there were a bunch of cheap touristy shops leading up to the top of the temple. It was quite a hike so we didn’t make it all the way up although I would have liked to if the weather hadn’t been as dreary as it was that day. On the way up, there was this elderly lady sitting at the corner with a little plastic container with a few coins in it. Something about noticing her sitting there haunted me for a while, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. She wasn’t the first beggar we had come across, but it bothered me that she had come to the temple to beg.

We kept walking a little further and finally my mum and Auntie Audrey decided they were tired. I went up a little more until I got to what appeared to be the bottom of the temple, and for a while, just stood in awe. There was something about the Buddhist chants that seemed so calming in the midst of all the other chaos that was going on in my life at the time, and it reminded me of the couple hours in the Japanese Gardens in Portland with the spirituality guru, Cassie Trentaz. But I couldn’t shake off the image of the lady still haunting me, partly because I knew I was going to see her again when I started my descend.

There in that courtyard, I finally figured out what it was that was so haunting. As the BFF might put it, there was “The Voice” saying, “She’s clearly looking for something or she would have gone begging on the streets instead of within religious space. Funny, ain’t it, in times of need she would come to the Buddhist temple when you don’t see her sitting in the Church.” I kept trying to rationalize “The Voice” away, and we ended up having a conversation that went something like that:

Me: She was probably raised Buddhist, so of course in times of need she would turn to the only form of religion she has ever known.
The Voice: Or could it be that Christianity never quite offered her what she was looking for because Christians were too afraid of stepping into the space of other “false religions” to notice her?
Me: But if I offered her anything, wouldn’t she assume I was sent by Buddha, even if I was trying to represent Christ?
The Voice: But if you didn’t offer her anything, what chance of a conversation would you even be able to have with her?
Me: But we’re in a hurry so I don’t really have time for a conversation anyway…
The Voice: What if she wasn’t really looking for sympathy or for help? What if all she needed was to know that someone saw her? You claim to see spiritual things, say the words, “I see you” from the movie Avatar so easily, and believe in Namaste, but what’s the point of seeing these things when you don’t actually see?

Me: Crap.

The Voice won. Of course.

If I had the opportunity (translate: if I hadn’t been such a wuss), I would have told her that I saw her because I saw Love, and I had Love that came from a source that was bigger than me. Did I have the capacity to Love a stranger? I’m not sure. But I knew Love saw her, and Love wanted her. Love didn’t want her to be compliant to a list of rights and wrongs; Love just wanted her.

As I started making my way down from the courtyard, I scrounged around for some loose change. There wasn’t a lot, probably not even enough for a full meal. But Love said, “Look her in the eye. See her.”

I met Love at Kek Lok Si.

Go here for pictures

Penang Highlights Part #1

Penang is a place that I haven't been to since... Oh, I think before my sister was born (She turns 17 today, by the way. If you see her around Anderson, give her a big happy birthday shout out!). This past weekend, my mum, Auntie Audrey (a friend from church) and I took a quick weekend getaway there.

It's fascinating to go back to a place where you haven't been to in a while, and seeing things through different lenses.

Our primary purpose of going there was to eat and shop (this is a getaway after all) because things were a lot cheaper there (they are about the same price if we did a dollar-to-dollar comparison, but the exchange rate is about S$1 to RM2.45). I usually do my major shopping once a year when I'm back in Singapore because we'll go to some part of Malaysia for a day or weekend and we'll get our shopping done then. This time though, my luggages are already packed and ready for New Zealand, so I didn't get to do as much shopping. But I still returned with a very full stomach and so much more food for thought.

Colonial Roots

Maybe it's because so much of the research I had been doing for my last semester of seminary revolved around the impact of colonialism in New Zealand, the fact that Penang was one of the Straits Settlements was of a lot more interest to me. Sure, the Brits didn't do a very good job defending their colonies during World War II, but if not for them, Singapore would not have achieved the economic status that we have today. Which makes me think, maybe the Brits didn't do all bad.

Or perhaps, it's a matter of building upon whatever good or bad the Brits may have done for the betterment of the quality of lives for the people. Penang, in a lot of ways, as my mum and Auntie Audrey were eager to point out, reminded them a lot of Singapore in their childhood. A lot of their equivalent of a "town square" is very similar to Singapore's City Hall area, what with the Padang, the Esplanade and the like.

The second morning we were there, we went up Penang Hill by the cable car. On the top of the hill, there was a Masjid, a Hindu temple and a bunch of houses from the colonial era, many of which were built by hand because there would not have been machinery available for those purposes at the time. These are now private homes, many of which function as vacation homes owned by foreign investors because most of the locals probably would not be able to afford them.

Cabbie Culture

Something that was really fascinating to me was what I started to observe as "Cabbie Culture". Cabs don't go out on the streets like they do in Singapore or New York City, so you have to either call ahead or wait at a hotel or shopping mall (much like Anderson, I suppose?). But even there, there's a code of conduct. Cabbies who get there first get the first customers even if the customers talk to other cabbies. It is understood that if there's someone who got there ahead of you, you have to let them have the customer and wait your turn. One cab driver told us he had been waiting outside our hotel since 5am that morning, and when it was his turn to drive us, it was around 9am.

On an average, cabdrivers make about RM60 per day (S$24, US$20). On good days, they can get up to RM120, and that is usually on days when they know they will have an influx of tourists (usually dependent on Singapore's holiday season). Cabbies are given a list of when cruise ships from Singapore arrive (usually every other Monday) so they know when to go to the jetty.

The Church of God in Penang

We had the opportunity to visit the Church of God congregation while we were there. Pastor Sunny, his wife, and two of their three kids came and picked us up that morning. On the way there, they explained to us that the church recently officially became recognised as a deaf church. The congregation is made up of maybe 20-30 people, and about half of the group is deaf.

It was fascinating watching the way the deaf congregation communicates because as Pastor Sunny's wife (I really should remember her name, but I don't) pointed out, there are no secrets in the deaf community because everyone sees what everyone else is signing. They are less embarrassed by anything, and are very eager to welcome new people in their midst even if it is difficult for both sides to communicate.

She also pointed out that even in the deaf community, there are cultural differences. In a recent conference, other deaf churches in the area got together and she said you could tell who are from Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) and Singapore. The ones from the cities tend to be more educated and have a broader worldview while the ones from Penang, for example, tend to be more oppressed by their families because they were perceived as bad luck. She went on to say that it is for that reason that the sermons we hear in the church are simpler so that the deaf community will be better able to understand that the Gospel is FOR them.

What a noble concept, huh?

Still to come: The Peranakan Culture and Meeting Jesus at Kek Lok Si 極樂寺