Teochew iron-rod puppetry originated from Chinese shadow puppetry, where puppeteers animate paper cut-out figures on a translucent screen with the aid of an illuminated background. To adapt for daytime performances, the puppets were refashioned: using tightly packed bundles of hay to form the torso, moulded clay for the head, paper and wood for the limbs, dressed in costumes, with iron rods attached to the back and limbs. The translucent screen was replaced by a glass screen. The stage structure was then changed to mimic the Teochew opera stage, complete with bamboo curtains and miniature props, and the puppeteers remain behind the curtains while manipulating the puppets to perform onstage. Those working in this line of industry are usually referred to as “Maestro of Paper Shadows”. Madam Toh Ai Hwa (a.k.a. “Zha Bor Jie”), now in her 70s, is well-known in the Teochew Puppet Opera industry in Malaysia. The special stage performance entitled “Maestro of Paper Shadows” is organized by her daughter to mark Toh Ai Hwa’s 61 years of dedication in her career.
Toh Ai Hwa is born into a family of Teochew opera performers. Her maternal grandfather, Yeoh Beng Kim, migrated to Malaya in the 19th century with his Teochew opera troupe “Lao Sai Yong Hong”; her maternal grandmother, Lee Gek Hong, was an accomplished actress playing Lady roles in the 1920s; her mother, Yeoh Cheng Im, was an accomplished actress playing Young Man roles in the 1940s; her third elder brother, Toh Ah Hock, is famous for playing Old Man roles. Traditional perceptions of opera performers were negative and disdainful. Yeoh Cheng Im did not want her children to suffer the same fate, therefore her husband brought up Toh Ai Hwa outside of the troupe, but the Teochew opera genes run deep.
By chance, Toh Ai Hwa joined “Lao Rong Xiu Chun” Teochew puppet troupe at 12 years old. Due to the puppets being too heavy for her to handle, she poured her heart into learning the musical instruments instead, and became the lead percussionist and chief conductor at the tender age of 15, which is a rare feat especially for females at the time. Besides playing percussion instruments, Toh Ai Hwa also did double duty to recite and sing the lines of various roles. As she was familiarized with Teochew opera since her childhood, she recited and sang brilliantly, having been blessed with a warm and rich voice. Being illiterate, she was unable to read manuscripts, yet she managed to memorize the lines of all the roles as well as the drum parts of nearly a hundred different Teochew operas.
In 1989, Toh Ai Hwa took over the Teochew puppet troupe as the manager retired, and rebranded as “Kim Giak Low Choon”. Her unwavering strength and determination, with assistance from her husband and four children, improved the business of the troupe, and secured plenty of performance bookings. Later on, Toh Ai Hwa’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren also joined the troupe, committed to uphold the family legacy for the fifth generation. As the rhymed spoken parts in “Emperor Ming of Tang cleanse the theatre” goes: The high platform is elaborately decorated, the number of opera performers are countless, each sentence is written by imperial scholars, singing about the vicissitudes of life – may the art pass down through the ages.
Teochew iron-rod puppetry is usually performed during traditional rituals or to honour deities. In a time when entertainment was scarce, it was also widely enjoyed by the general public. The seventh month of the lunar calendar is the busiest month for the puppet troupe, in conjunction with the Zhongyuan festival, community groups and temples would host streetside puppetry performances to pay respects to spirits. As times change, so did social perception, puppetry is no longer a performance carried out in temples but rather a form of performing arts. The puppet troupe gained opportunities to perform and share their experiences abroad. Although Toh Ai Hwa mostly stayed behind the scenes, she played an important role in passing on the legacy of Teochew opera and puppetry, and she was awarded the title of “Penang Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor” in 2008 and received the “George Town Knowledge Contribution and Heritage Award” from the George Town World Heritage Incorporated in 2020.
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