Recreational and Ceremonial Crafts
Colourful giant joss sticks carved with dragons are lined up in rows, particularly in front of temples, during Chinese festive occasions. Here the joss sticks have been lit at the stroke of midnight by Hokkien in Penang celebrating the Jade Emperor God’s birthday.
The complexity of Malaysian life and heritage is well reflected in its diverse and timeless artistic manifestations, seen in virtually every part of the country in architecture and the various art forms, whether they are ceremonial in function or represent the art of play. The Malay traditional arts of making shadow play (Wayang Kulit) figures, kites (wau) and tops (gasing) require skill and are significant, even if not religious in character and not as complex as Hindu and Chinese religious arts.
n the Malaysian context, the art of crafting Wayang Kulit figures represents an amalgam of several traditions—Indian, Javanese, Thai and Malay. In traditional puppetry, particularly, the most important form of Wayang Kulit Kelantan, these influences are manifested in the stories and the puppet characters, their physical features, attire and colours, although the overall configuration and expressions of the puppets conform to Malay aesthetic principles. Departing from these traditional styles, modern puppets for newer forms of shadow play developed in Kelantan and Perlis from the 1990s adopt more realistic designs, and are not altogether embedded in the original tradition.
A similar artistic integrity characterizes traditional kites (wau), which continue to be made in the age-old manner from the same materials and conforming to long-used shapes named after birds, animals or the moon. Kite designs are shared with other traditional Malay art forms including batik and woodcarving. The wealth of tradition that lies behind the art of the kite is also evident in the deeper symbolism linking the kite to myth and legend.
Numerous musical instruments are found in Malaysia across all ethnic groups, crafted from a variety of materials including metal, wood, bamboo, plants and animal skin. The music created by them may serve a cultural function or may simply be for pleasure.
Religious art makes itself felt most vibrantly among the Malaysian Hindu and Chinese populations. The Chinese arts are represented in lantern designs, paper effigies, icons and drawings as well as in the decorations found on joss sticks. These art forms, in almost all instances, have been introduced into Malaysia as a result of direct transplantation. Minimal attempts at localization may be observed in some of the objects used in the Chinese kong teik effigy ceremony: for example in the occasional use of a Proton car effigy. Direct borrowing, mostly from South India, is also apparent in the ceremonial crafts of the Tamil community in Malaysia. This is best represented in the art of creating kolam floor patterns on auspicious occasions, that of thoranam (weaving of coconut leaves), the making of flower garlands and, at its most outstanding, the art of temple decoration. Temple sculpture, both within and outside a temple premises, is clearly done in imitation of South Indian styles and connects the Malaysian Hindu community with traditions in India which go back hundreds of years.