Histories... Olden Times... Penang... (PART 3)

#42
8th April

Penang must not left with some important elements, they are events, festivals and arts. These elements are included into this part of the main title. For previous parts, click here:

Part 1

Part 2

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The events in Penang are internationality, some international events also held in Penang:

The main exhibition hall at PISA

As of cultural related events, non-Malaysian celebrations are organized too, like the Japanese Bon Ondori festivals which is held at the Esplanade (Padang Kota Lama) each July.

Thai water festival also has its own version in Penang as there is a large number of Siamese community in this state. Do not be surprised that October Fest is also celebrated here by beer-loving Germans and the locals.
To host these events, Penang has a number of international standard venues.
One of them is PISA (Penang International Sports and Aquatic Arena). PISA has an Olympic sized swimming pool together with a deep pool, perfect for diving and synchronized swimming.
The pool is used by many clubs to train their swimmers and divers for competitions.
Another part of the complex has exhibition halls, perfect for trade shows, concerts (indoor or outdoor) or a massive rally. There is also space for rent for badminton games and futsal.

Teluk Bahang Reservoir is perfect
for dragon boat race

It is for nothing that Tourism Malaysia touts Penang as the perfect venue to hold MICE (meeting, incentive, competition/convention and exhibition). International events in Penang are a breeze to organize.
Hotels and guest houses in Penang are accustomed to serving many kinds of travelers and businessmen. The hospitality industry is packed with well trained staff who know exactly what they should do to ensure your events run smoothly and your stay hassle-free.
Penang also makes full use of its natural or manmade locales for the venues of international events in Penang.
For example, the Penang Bridge International Marathon crosses the Penang Bridge, BASE jumping show takes off from the top of KOMTAR tower and the international skim boarding competition is held at the beach of Tanjung Bungah to an enthusiastic crowd.
The annual international dragon boat races initially were held at the Gurney Drive, Mengkuang Dam and later on the Teluk Bahang water reservoir.

Heritage buildings face the main field at USM

In December 2008, the dragon boat race was scheduled for the first time at the channel between Pulau Jerejak and the big island, at Queensbay. However, due to some reason, it was still held at Teluk Bahang Dam and in its place a fishing competition was held instead at Queesbay.
University Sains Malaysia (USM) is also no stranger for international level cricket and hockey tournaments. The campus has one of the best sports facilities in the country. The football, cricket and rugby pitches are located right on its main entrance.

The Olympic sized pool and the football (soccer) pitch at USM

Rows of tennis courts, an Astroturf field for hockey and a stadium with synthetic track are located on the other side of the campus. There is also an Olympic sized swimming pool built on the slope of a picturesque setting. Even archery and a mini golf putting green are available. You name it, USM has it. USM is also dubbed as being the most scenic university in Malaysia.
Besides the events mentioned above, there are many others which hardly made the news because the target group is relatively small. Events calendars are usually published semi-annually in advance by Penang Tourism Act Council. You may also see past years event calendars as comparison.
At any rate, organizers will be spoilt for choice when they consider holding international events in Penang. The status of George Town as one of UNESCO's heritage cities of the world makes it even more so.
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Moreover, festivals also can be found or always held in Penang, that's wonderful:
Religious festivals in Penang are evidence that people of different races and religions can live together in harmony. Sure, there are several taboos and practices which are not accepted by the others but instead of openly fighting them, they are tolerated quietly. The believers of the other religions simply ignore the rituals performed which are not related to their own beliefs and live their lives as usual. The invisible boundaries are observed by mutual respect.

Left: Thaipusam
Right: Ching Ming

Ketupat is the icon for Eid in Malaysia

However, major religious festivals are celebrated together. Open houses are really open to everyone. Before the towns became cities and the cost of living was not so high, people really spent time, effort and money to make extravagant parties.
Now, due to economic reasons, time constraint and also different neighborly values, a typical open house normally is not as lavish as it used to be.
I find that the older people get, the less sociable they become, barring a few special cases. If you see children, you can see that they can mix and play freely together, even without having to speak the same languages.
Malaysia must be the only country in the world which has so many public holidays related to religious festivals. There are at least 14 days of these holidays in a year throughout the country not counting the smaller festivals which are only observed in certain states. Some people might say this is the reason why the country is not advancing as fast as it should be. Perhaps this is due to too many holidays that reduce productivity.

3rd day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the spitting oil ceremony

There are four major religions in the country: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. There is a path in George Town which is known as the Street of Harmony because there are four major religions having their house of worships practically next to each other.
Between those religions, there are also Taoism, Confucianism, Sikh. It is not strange that the same household celebrates Chinese New Year as well as Christmas. Or, Deepavali together with Wesak Day. The reason is because, under one roof, there could be individuals with different religious beliefs. Inter-marriage between the races also make these celebrations very interesting to observe.

Welcome autumn!

So, for the Muslims, the fasting month of Ramadhan is nicely ended with Hari Raya Puasa (Eid-Ul-Fitri). There are many events associated with Ramadhan. Two months after Aidil Fitri later there is another Hari Raya Haji which celebrates the pilgrimage rituals in Mecca.
For the Hindus, Deepavali and Thaipusam are among the major celebrations. The Mahamariamman temple at Little India is the starting point for Thaipusam street procession.
Christians from all walks of life celebrate Easter, Good Friday, Christmas and also the patron saints days.
For the Chinese, Thai, Eurasians and Indians who are Buddhists, they celebrate Wesak Day.

Dragon incense for hungry ghost festival

Besides religious festivals, the Chinese are also noted for having so many other celebrations related to their ancestral worship. There are Chinese New Year, hungry ghost festivals, lantern festivals, Chap Goh Mei, Moon festival and many others too many to mention here. You may read in more details here about the description of Chinese Festivals.

For Malaysians, almost everything revolves around food. The religious festivals are the perfect times to indulge in tasting all kinds of food. The variety and the creativity of the cooks is really amazing. This is the time when traditional cuisine is much appreciated and when people make the effort to make delicate, time consuming fares for a celebration that is supposed to come only once a year.

Street processions in Penang are typical of Asian street processions. Many of them are held throughout the year. Some of them are based on religious beliefs (either for celebration or funerary) and some are held annually to commemorate certain events. They are part of why cultural Penang heritage is unique if they were to be compared to America Latin Mardi Gras, for example.

There are always reasons for the people in Penang to organize and participate in such events. Thaipusam street procession by Hindu devotees, for example, is the most famous.

A Hindu devotee carrying milk as
part of the ritual during Thaipusam

It draws visitors from around the world to witness and also to join in. It is the time for them to see and experience first hand the rituals, the customs and everything related to Thaipusam held in Penang.
Contrary to most people's perception, Thaipusam is not all about body piercing to atone for the sins committed or to pay the Gods for fulfilled wishes.
The street processions in Penang associated with Thaipusam have much more elements to it.
Visitors are even invited to eat the vegetarian meals at the temples.
Everyone is welcome to join the procession which sometimes starts before dawn depending on which days of the celebration.
For Nine Emperor's Gods festival, the street processions in Penang are done on the last night of the festival, when the spirit of the Gods is let go to the sea in the ceremonial ship made out of paper and lit with lanterns. The procession usually starts from major Chinese temples and ends at the beach or the seaside.
Maulidur Rasul celebration for the Muslim is the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Street procession is done also as part of the celebration. Usually a group of kompangplayers (hand held drums), with a procession following, chanting the praise to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. It is usually done in mid-morning, covering several streets in the town or villages.

Fierce looking dancers with red fans can be part of a street procession in Penang

Sometimes a street procession is also done during the Al-Asyura day (the tenth day of the month of Muharramaccording to the Islamic calendar), to commemorate the exodus of Muhammad followers from Mecca to Medina.
During the St. Anne festival, a patron saint for a church in Bukit Mertajam, there is also a street procession as part of its celebration.
Besides all these, annual events in Penang like Pesta Pulau Pinang have street processions too.
This festival is done all month long each December.
The purpose of the month-long event is mostly as a catalyst to the local businesses, especially those who are involved in tourism.
Of course, Malaysian National Day also has the local version of street procession in Penang. George Town also has its City Day when it was recognized as a city by QEII in 1957.
Floats are common during street processions. So are traditional show like Chingay(balancing acts using massive, tall flagpoles), the Chinese lion dance, kolattam which is based on Silambam (stick fighting martial arts by the Indian), Pencak Silat (Malay martial art) and also giant drums performance. During the floral festival, floats are beautifully decorated with flowers and fun statues. Adorned with fair maidens in beautiful costumes. We could see almost all of these during the celebration of Penang Heritage City.

Cordoned street area to allow for
the procession to pass through

All processional streets are usually determined a few days or even months before.
The police and enforcement bodies will approve which streets are to be cordoned and the routes that are to be taken.
Street processions in Penang are peaceful affairs, full of energy, fun and excitement. The atmosphere is amazing. It has to be experienced to be believed.
Decent behavior are mostly observed. There are no lewd acts allowed, to the norm of traditional Asian culture.


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Must not loss out artificial arts and crafts, that's also shows Penang is a glorious land, a creative land with the arts:

There are quite a number of museums and art galleries in Penang. A few heritage buildings are also turned into museums. Some are not even called museums, but because of the number of antiquities being stored and maintained in the buildings, they could be categorized as one.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

However, some of the museums are not the typical heritage style that you would expect e.g. the Toy Museum.
Penang surprisingly has a range of museums that cover many heritage backgrounds. The trick is to find them and to get a knowledgeable guide that can make your visit more interesting.
However, some of the museums are not the typical heritage style that you would expect e.g. the Toy Museum.
Penang surprisingly has a range of museums that cover many heritage backgrounds. The trick is to find them and to get a knowledgeable guide that can make your visit more interesting.
Some of you may think that a self-guided tour is sufficient. True, it may well be the case but if you have a local guide to explain to you the significance of certain things, the tour would be more meaningful.
Here is the list of museums that falls in the category:

• Penang State Museum
• Cheong Fatt Tze mansion
• Pinang Peranakan mansion
• Khoo Kongsi
• The War Museum
• P. Ramlee House
• Penang Islamic Museum
• The Toy Museum
• Forestry Museum
• Sun Yat Sen Museum
• Spice Museum
• Tengku Fauziah Museum and Art Gallery, USM

Tengku Fauziah Museum and Art Gallery, USM.
This museum does a lot of pro-active programs to broadcast their activities.

There is also a thriving art scene on the island. Even though not comparable to the ones in Kuala Lumpur (KL having more potential buyers), Penang does have a number of local artists who produce unique art work with varying quality. Supported by art aficionados, they survive due to pure diligence and the attitude of never giving up.
Here is a list of some interesting art galleries to check out:

• The Tribal Art gallery
• Jin Xiu Art Gallery
• Yahong Art gallery
• Alpha Utara gallery
• ArtGrup
• A2 gallery
• Galeri Art Point
• Galeri Seni Mutiara
• LeKuan Art gallery
• Pinang Gallery (under Penang State Museum)

*Please note that even though Pinang gallery is under the management of the state museum, the gallery is not located at the museum itself. It has its own show room at Dewan Sri Penang. The list of art exhibitions scheduled can be seen here.
The artists have several art societies that they belong to. Among them are:

• Penang Art Society
• Penang Water Color Society
• Penang Oil Painter Society
• Penang Malay Painters Society

Considering the size of Penang, the number of museums and art galleries are quite a lot. In my opinion, they are not getting the attention they deserve. Most people do not really appreciate the collection of antiquities or unique items being displayed in these museums and art galleries. The majority mostly pass it by quickly and a whole lot more skip the visit altogether.
What they need to understand is that, these items, although old and may seem boring, would never be reproduced again. So, what are you waiting for? Go and see them before they disappear forever.
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That's for all for the third part, next time is the last part about Penang. So, wait for me!!!