During deity birthday celebrations or when praying for blessings, brightly coloured joss sticks could be seen, sizes range from 4 ft up to 20 ft or even 30 ft. Besides being an offering to deities, joss sticks are also a form of traditional folk art. Especially pure handiwork joss sticks made by craftsmen, the intricate skills involved and the strenuous procedures, are admirable. Not far...
Category: Traditional Trades
Original field stories about Malaysian craftspeople, family businesses, workshops, and traditional skills that continue across generations.
Kim Yuen Shoemaker
Jalan Sultan is one of the two earliest streets built when Yap Ah Loy pioneered the development of Kuala Lumpur, equally famous as Jalan Petaling. These two streets are the cradle of Chinese predecessors who migrated southwards to Malaya to cultivate wildland, as well as being the initial life blood of Kuala Lumpur’s economy and central business district. Sustaining through centuries, these two streets bear...
Biscuit Shop in Kajang
More than fifty huge glass jars with red lids, and metal tins neatly arranged on metal shelves, from low to high, layer by layer, containing a wide variety of traditional biscuits and snacks, in a dazzling array of nearly a hundred flavours. Kwong Sang Woh, located in Kajang’s old town, has been in business since 1907, staying in the same address for over a century,...