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Tradition
A dutchwife for the bridal chamber preparations
for a chin chuey marriage
|
The bridal chamber came foremost to her mind, for it would be the cynosure of all eyes, particularly as it was a chin-chuey marriage. The preparations THE WIDOW NOW GAVE all her attention to the preparations for the wedding. Meh Suan Gek was a nyonya of the traditional school, having been brought up by a strict mother with strong matriarchal instincts. During her girlhood when her parents were fairly well-off, and there was ample time to learn and to do things, her mother taught her the household arts and crafts. She chose to specialise in cooking, cake-making and embroidery - and in these arts she in her turn, sedulously trained her daughters, who learnt fast because of her temper, and sharpness of tongue. With the date of Poh Sim's marriage in her mind, she programmed her preparations. First, she informed Poh Sim of what she had arranged for her, and a little later the other two girls, so that they would know the reason for the importance of the activities that would soon begin in the household. At the widow's request, Meh Ah Lian told the four older boys of Poh Sim's impending marriage, and advised them, as good sons, to assist in the household chores for their mother and the girls had a multitude of things to attend to. The boys, to the joy of their mother (but she never showed it) responded by doing their own daily washing and ironing of clothes, the sweeping and scrubbing of the floors, and running of errands to the market or to the grocers. And whenever the hired water-carrier failed to turn up, they even carried water in pails from the public stand-pipe to the house. This was done until water-pipes were laid two months later, in the house. Thus, our widow and her daughters had the time to do what had to be done. This being the biggest and the most auspicious event in the family, Meh Suan Gek spared no pains to make the occasion a success. |
| The bridal
chamber The bridal chamber came foremost to her mind, for it would be the cynosure of all eyes, particularly as it was a chin-chuey marriage. Theirs was an old rented house, without piped water, taps and wash-basins. Having received the generous phian-kim from the boy's father, the widow was determined to put up a good show. The front room upstairs, earmarked to be the bridal chamber, was repaired, enlarged and repainted. The entire floor of the house upstairs was covered with bright new linoleum, and an asbestos ceiling was constructed to cover the bridal chamber and the adjoining room. She realised that her prestige rested on how the bridal chamber was equipped and decorated. The quality of the furniture, fittings and furnishing and the choice of decorations and their arrangement would reflect on her and the home-training of her daughters. Another important thing was the wedding feast and she decided that it should be an extra-special one. To improve facilities in the house, water-pipes were laid by a plumber, and enamelled wash-basins were installed in the second hall, in the kitchen, in the bathrooms upstairs and downstairs, and in the bridal chamber. The walls of the house, outside and inside, were also repainted in light cream. Throughout her life she had been thrifty and careful with money, but she was now prepared to spend on whatever was required, without being extravagant. It was enough if she could prove to the world that she was a respectable middle-class nyonya. Knowing that Meh Ah Lian had a better knowledge of the shops in town and that her judgement was as sound as hers, she invited her friend, if she could spare the time, to assist her in her shopping. This was gladly acceded to. The shopping was spread out over two months, to suit the convenience of both ladies. From one of the two European firms selling imported goods and furniture, they selected a 6 by 5 nickel-plated four poster bedstead from Manchester. That was not the best of the beds, but the matchmaker assured the widow that it was good enough. It was of strong metal, chromium-plated and well-made according to the fashion of the period. It had attractive head and foot railings, embellished with multi-coloured shell chips. Each bed post was fitted with a steel roller at the base so that the four poster could be shifted about with ease. To match the bed, they chose a light pink mosquito-net of fine mesh and good material, the best available in the establishment. They also picked out an eight-inch thick spring mattress covered with tough light-green linen with a silvery flower design. For an almeirah large enough to hold the trousseau of the bride and the bridegroom's things, a special order was placed with a carpenter whose reliability was undoubted. He was the only one who had a ready stock of seasoned chengai, a tropical hardwood with fine veins, and he had a range of bevelled mirrors which were suitable for the almeirah. He brought out an attractive design of wood-carving for the top of the almeirah and clinched the order when he guaranteed the workmanship, varnishing and polishing. |
| And a Dutch
wife From this shop, our ladies also selected a glass-topped dressing table of best meranti, with three Italian mirrors, a fixed central piece with a smaller one on each side, which could be turned to various angles. The table had ornately-carved legs and five drawers with good locks, a large one in the centre and two smaller ones on either side. In subsequent outings, all other necessary items for the bridal chamber were bought: pillows, a dutchwife, a light smooth woollen blanket in cream colour, a nice Kashmiri carpet, and pink silk to make the bed-spread, and the covers of the pillows and dutchwife. They also purchased all the things needed for making artificial flowers, embroidery pieces and bead-work for the tops of slippers, fabrics and lace for the bride's trousseau and printed material for door and window curtains. An entire morning was spent selecting gifts for the bridegroom and the bride which were to be given to them at the tea-serving ceremony. From the biggest goldsmith's shop they bought for Poh Sim a pair of solid gold bracelets each with three dark-green jade pieces embedded in it, and a thickish gold chain with an English sovereign pendant. For the bridegroom, they selected from a reputable Ceylonese jeweller, a Swiss 17-jewel waterproof wristwatch, with a stainless steel wristband; also, a gold necktie-pin topped with a small pearl. After the shopping was completed, our widow and her daughters started on the making of sprigs and corsages of artificial roses, lilies, orchids and tulips. With thin silver and copper wire they fashioned the shapes of buds, petals, stems and leaves; silk of various colours and crepe paper was cut to the appropriate sizes and deft, nimble fingers created the buds, petals and leaves; loose ends were tied up with silver or gold thread; the stems were wrapped around with crepe paper and glued with paste. Every single flower, sprig and corsage was passed by the mother before it was placed in a cardboard box. In all they had six boxes of such handicraft. Poh Sim then concentrated on stitching dragons and phoenix for the top pieces of slippers to be made for the bridegroom, his father and his maternal aunts. The widow with the assistance of Meh Ah Lian and a seamstress-friend, spent two days measuring, cutting and sewing silk material to make the bed-spread, the front of the bed-cover and casings for the pillows and the dutchwife. During the days when her mother went shopping, Poh Sim spent whatever time she had to embroider with fine woollen twine of various colours, a pair of mandarin ducks sporting in a pond. After this, she stitched with silk-thread of silver, gold, black, blue and yellow, a peacock displaying its out-spread plumage. These artistic productions were framed up with gold-coloured wood by a frame-maker. Meanwhile, the younger girls, stitched on portable wooden frames, stylised birds, butterflies and fruits with tiny coloured beads, copying the designs from printed sheets. These were for the topping of leather slippers which formed an important item of gifts to the bridegroom's side. |
| The sang keh
myn Finally, the widow attended to the bride's trousseau which consisted of the latest style long and short kebayas, batik sarongs and petticoats. The versatile Meh Ah Lian helped in other directions too. She arranged for an experienced sarng keh myn to serve both households. In a nyonya marriage, this Mistress of Ceremonies was a very important person indeed. She was usually an elderly nyonya, steeped in the knowledge of marriage rituals, traditions and customs. She was the unchallenged authority on procedure and what she says on the marriage eve and on the marriage day goes without question. She arranges with a guild for the hiring of musicians, gong beaters, lantern and banner carriers for the procession from the bridegroom's house to the bride's place and vice-versa, and the solo musician for the hair-combing ceremony. She provides the traditional garments and headgear for the bride and bridegroom where required (only wealthy families prefer to make their own garments usually of richer material). She brings along her own paraphernalia and a boy-assistant for the hair-combing ritual, and she also sees to the page boys and bridesmaids and their attire. Our matchmaker also helped to engage two Hylam cooks to prepare the marriage feast in the widow's house, and she saw to the renting of tables and chairs. Although the widow was a well-known cake-maker, she just hadn't the time to make the cakes herself. So, she passed an order for eight varieties of nyonya cakes to a friend, another popular cake-maker. A few days before the marriage, our widow, after consultation with the chief cook, placed bulk orders with her suppliers for poultry, ducks, pork, prawns, crabs, tinned abalone, mushrooms, laichi, loongan (canned fruit from China) and a variety of vegetables. Concerning table-ware, there was no problem. Our widow, in anticipation of happy events such as marriages of her daughters and sons, had years ago, purchased a large assortment of patek plates, saucers, soup-bowls, cups and spoons, all imported from south China. She had also collected an assortment of pink-and-green chinaware which were perfectly glazed and fired and decorated on the outside with intricate designs incorporating human figures, dragons and the phoenix. All these were wrapped up with newspaper and stored in large wooden crates. A few days before the marriage, these were taken out, carefully washed and stacked up on newly-made shelves in the kitchen, ready for use. Our widow had indeed a wonderful collection of patek crockery and this was the proper opportunity to display her taste and knowledge of beautiful things.# Go to the top This third extract from Chin Kee Onn's "Twilight of the Nyonyas" gives us a glimpse of the marriage customs of the Babas in Ipoh. |
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________________________ The Penang File Issue 37 |