Page 37 - Malayan Story
P. 37
MALAYAN STORY
CHAPTER 9 IMMIGRANTS TO MALAYA
There was a large population of Chinese who had emigrated to Malaya. Here in Malaya money
was more plentiful and life was easier for them than it had been in China. Material for garments
was cheap and it was the norm to have plenty of clothes. There were no washing machines, but
there were plenty of “wash amahs” and the family wash was done daily. The Chinese Malays also
had a variety of dialects and celebrated many religious festivals which they had brought with them
from the South China coastal areas where they originated.
On Fridays all Muslims went to the mosque which was situated at one end of Batu and
Mountbatten Roads. Men and women alike dressed in their best sarongs and women covered their
heads with veils. Many of the men wore a white haji cap that showed they had been to Mecca.
They had made the haj, the aim and goal of every good Muslim.
Apart from Malayas and Chinese there were Tamils from India living and working in Malaya too.
Most of them worked in rubber plantations, but in Kuala Lumpur many of the stores were run by
Tamils.
With this variety of nationalities and religions, it seemed that the whole population kept all the
main holidays of each group. We had the Muslim holidays of Raya and Ramadan and
Mohammed’s birthday and, of course the Friday mosque day as mentioned above. Because
Malaya was still under British control we also had Christmas and New Year (January 1st) and
Easter holidays and Sunday, the Christian special day of worship. Then there were the Chinese
who made up almost 50% of the population, so Chinese New Year was another regular annual
holiday.
Right through the year there were notices in the shops proclaiming that there would be a “Grand
Christmas Sale” or a “Grand New Year Sale”. Then there would be a “Great Chinese New Year
Sale” or a “Ramadan Sale” and so on throughout the year. The prices seemed to remain much the
same in spite of the many “sale prices” advertised.
In the villages there were Chinese who had come from many different parts of southern China and
spoke many different Chinese dialects. They also celebrated many festivals which we had known
in the part of China where we had worked, but also a lot of festivals that we had never heard of.
On the ninth day of the ninth month for instance, the Hokkiens had a pilgrimage to a temple in
Anupang Village to pay homage to the 9 emperor gods, and then there was the monkey god’s
birthday celebrated in March each year by Buddhists and Taoists. Some of the villages kept the
feast of the Seven Maidens on the 7th day of the 7th moon followed on the 15th of the 7th moon
by the Feast of the Hungry Spirits.
In Bantong in Pahang we discovered another feast we had not come across previously which was
called the Feast of the Devils. An invitation was sent out to all devils to attend, and this would
satisfy them so that they would give no trouble to the people for the next year. One of the biggest
37
CHAPTER 9 IMMIGRANTS TO MALAYA
There was a large population of Chinese who had emigrated to Malaya. Here in Malaya money
was more plentiful and life was easier for them than it had been in China. Material for garments
was cheap and it was the norm to have plenty of clothes. There were no washing machines, but
there were plenty of “wash amahs” and the family wash was done daily. The Chinese Malays also
had a variety of dialects and celebrated many religious festivals which they had brought with them
from the South China coastal areas where they originated.
On Fridays all Muslims went to the mosque which was situated at one end of Batu and
Mountbatten Roads. Men and women alike dressed in their best sarongs and women covered their
heads with veils. Many of the men wore a white haji cap that showed they had been to Mecca.
They had made the haj, the aim and goal of every good Muslim.
Apart from Malayas and Chinese there were Tamils from India living and working in Malaya too.
Most of them worked in rubber plantations, but in Kuala Lumpur many of the stores were run by
Tamils.
With this variety of nationalities and religions, it seemed that the whole population kept all the
main holidays of each group. We had the Muslim holidays of Raya and Ramadan and
Mohammed’s birthday and, of course the Friday mosque day as mentioned above. Because
Malaya was still under British control we also had Christmas and New Year (January 1st) and
Easter holidays and Sunday, the Christian special day of worship. Then there were the Chinese
who made up almost 50% of the population, so Chinese New Year was another regular annual
holiday.
Right through the year there were notices in the shops proclaiming that there would be a “Grand
Christmas Sale” or a “Grand New Year Sale”. Then there would be a “Great Chinese New Year
Sale” or a “Ramadan Sale” and so on throughout the year. The prices seemed to remain much the
same in spite of the many “sale prices” advertised.
In the villages there were Chinese who had come from many different parts of southern China and
spoke many different Chinese dialects. They also celebrated many festivals which we had known
in the part of China where we had worked, but also a lot of festivals that we had never heard of.
On the ninth day of the ninth month for instance, the Hokkiens had a pilgrimage to a temple in
Anupang Village to pay homage to the 9 emperor gods, and then there was the monkey god’s
birthday celebrated in March each year by Buddhists and Taoists. Some of the villages kept the
feast of the Seven Maidens on the 7th day of the 7th moon followed on the 15th of the 7th moon
by the Feast of the Hungry Spirits.
In Bantong in Pahang we discovered another feast we had not come across previously which was
called the Feast of the Devils. An invitation was sent out to all devils to attend, and this would
satisfy them so that they would give no trouble to the people for the next year. One of the biggest
37
