Repair and Restoration Smith of Religious Statues

Fine feathers make fine birds. Located in the ancient town of Melaka, Chop Hock Seng not only sells a wide range of religious statues, the second generation owner could also be seen employing various tools and repairing religious statues attentively. He —— Mr Ong You Huat (transliteration), is a repair and restoration smith of religious statues, which is a practice rarely found locally.

To repair religious statues is a painstaking handicraft, the entire process requires utmost patience and meticulous attention, as well as spending a long time at the workbench to repair the religious statues according to varying damage conditions, from simply a few days up to a span of several weeks. In restoring old religious statues, the main consideration is to conserve its traditional, natural, and unadorned colours. Mr Ong also fills the cracks with clay, and reconstruct the props of the religious statue, such as a beard, walking sticks etc. After restoration, the religious statue appears to be totally new.

Due to the majority of religious statues sold in earlier years by his father —— Mr Ong Kian Kok (transliteration) were imported from China, some became cracked or damaged due to issues in weather and transportation, especially wooden ones. In order not to discard these statues and concerns in operation cost, master sculptors from China were hired to instruct them. Hence Mr Ong You Huat (transliteration) started handling repair works on religious statues since his youth, and now has over 30 years of experience. He also expresses that this is an extremely unpopular trade, being time-consuming and laborious. In this age of fast-paced environment, none of the younger generation are willing to take up this trade.

Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Video Editor : Evon Pang
Music : Battersea Bridge from Felt Music

COPYRIGHTS 2018 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

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Facial Threading

A riddle goes like this: “Four eyes staring at each other, four legs clashing with each other. One bites hard, another’s face hurts”, describing this traditional beautifying skill —— facial threading, also known as shaving fine hairs. Facial threading could be said as a wisdom and technique passed on from ancient times, using one simple tool to get rid of fine facial hair, dead skin and even acne. At the same time, it enhances blood circulation of the face, as well as keeping the skin smooth and shiny.

A scorching sun shines bright in the sky, beneath luscious tree shades, with two low stools, a spool of cotton thread, polishing powder, hairpin and a comb, Grandma Teo Yoke Kim bites on one end of the thread, her right hand holding the other end, the cotton thread curled around her left hand like scissors, forming three points coordinating with each other to exert force. Grandma Teo uses the intertwined knot to move back and forth on the skin and pores, quickly and effectively clean fine hairs and dead skin off the face. This unique technique attracts full attention of bystanders, and is much admired.

Since a tender age, Grandma Teo observe the way her elders in the village do facial threading, thus acquiring the skill. As the elders pass away one by one, Grandma Teo also gradually age. Now that she is 86, she seldom does facial threading for others, the younger generation has no way to pick up the technique. The people who mastered this traditional skill are getting fewer in numbers, which is regrettable.

Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Music : Mellowlands from Felt Music

COPYRIGHTS 2018 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

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Jingling Candy in Seremban

Jingle, jingle, jingle… this thrilling clank has not paused over 60 years. An old-fashioned bicycle, a wooden sunshade, a hammer in one hand and an awl in the other, crushing the big tray of stiff candy made from maltose and sugar into small pieces. These small pieces are a traditional handmade snack sold by Mr Tey Kim Wah (transliteration) for the sixty years: Jingling Candy, also known as Royal Consort Candy.

Apart from retaining the traditional selling method, 82-year-old Mr Tey still patiently produces jingling candy on his own, behind his house in his singlet and a towel wrapped around his shoulders. Firstly, cook the maltose and sugar for two to three hours, then cool down the syrup using large amounts of cold water while constantly stirring it. Subsequently is the tedious sugar pulling process, pulling the hot and heavy sugar until it turns milky white. Mr Tey’s great skill is much admired.

Mr Tey is an enthusiastic advocate for education, he is often seen at various school fundraising events. His son Kravin Tey takes over this business, going on to sell jingling candy the traditional way all over Peninsular Malaysia, continuously rendering the thrilling clank.

Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Video Editor : Evon Pang
Music : After All That You Said from Felt Music

COPYRIGHTS 2018 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

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