Our heritage — Of mind, and heart

IN recent days, the subject of our heritage was brought up by some friends and by pure coincidence, it had touched on our own local topics of interest and concern.

My learned friend and author James Yong, whose recent book on Padungan is a bestseller, has intimated that his new book on Kai Joo Lane and the surrounding areas, is taking him longer than expected.

It seems that the more he dwells into the area, the more interesting historical stuff has been unearthed.

James is also the past president of the Sarawak Heritage Society.

Philip Yong, my St Thomas’ School classmate since we were seven years old and a past president and current advisor of the Sarawak Tourism Federation, is very keen on establishing a formal forum for heritage foods of Sarawak.

He wants to see that the local traditional foods of our past are kept intact in their entirely, as it has been observed that ‘fusion’ foods incorporating only certain elements of the past have gained mass popularity; and is threatening to slowly eclipse (and God forbid, replace) the original recipes.

The current Sarawak Heritage Society president Datin Rosemarie Wong has been highlighting the case of the Old Nurses Quarters, which is sited opposite the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) along Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg in Kuching, which is scheduled to be demolished to make way for an irrigation project.

The latest news is that a ‘Stop Work Order’ may be put in place until the appeal is sorted out by the authorities.

Why is heritage important? Our heritage helps us in so many ways.

It provides clues to our past and how our society has evolved. It helps us examine our history and traditions and allows us to be more aware of ourselves; to understand and explain why we are the way we are today.

A nation or a people’s heritage is vital to its identity. This is constantly in flux, and is affected by the passage of time, movement of people and the development of art, science and technology.

The natural and cultural legacy is passed on through historic places, buildings, artefacts, artworks, folklores, knowledge and structures, which a community or society must conserve, do research on and share with others in efforts to sustain, preserve and restore.

Mankind has always treasured its many forms of heritage. They may be unique to each community of people or be collectively recognised among different societies.

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘heritage’ as: “Property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance. Valued objects and qualities such as historic buildings and cultural traditions that have been passed down from previous generations.”

Let’s take a quick look at some local examples of heritage buildings and traditions.

Some of the oldest heritage buildings in Kuching include the Astana Negeri and Fort Margherita, as well as the Round Tower; the Square Tower; the General Post Office building and the Pavilion.

The Sarawak Museum and the Tower Block of the St Thomas’s Secondary School building are also classified as such.

Cultural traditions would include a number of festivals that continue to be celebrated.

For the Chinese, the Lunar New Year, Mooncake Festival and Hungry Ghost Festival come to mind.

For the Malays, they are Hari Raya after a month of Ramadan fasting; Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, and Awal Muharram (Muslim New Year).

For the Dayaks, it is Gawai Dayak; Deepavali for the Hindus; and Wesak Day for the Buddhists.

The list goes on.

We also hold on to our heritage foods and drinks; fashion to some extent; and certain traditions that affect our auspicious occasions pertaining to birth, life and celebratory events and at times, of sorrow and bereavement.

All families pass on their own standards of living and behaviours from one generation to another; it can then be strictly followed and adhered to according to each individual’s upbringing and the propensity for either toeing the line or rebelling against it.

Over a period of time, some as short as within a generation, such traditions become either strengthened or diluted, and might even gradually disappear altogether.

Very few families have been able to sustain and maintain a similarity of traditions for more than a couple of generations. A disparity of the education system, changing migration patterns, interracial marriages, economic variances as well as geographical distance, a lack of communication, and a world immersed in a myriad distractions, have brought about this change.

Heritage, legacy and traditions are not subjects taught in our schools, and neither are they common everyday conversation topics.

We cannot therefore blame the lack of interest in it or the lack of understanding as to why they are so very important for our society now, as well as for our future generations.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, famous for writing ‘The Little Prince’, wrote this about heritage: “A civilisation is a heritage of beliefs, customs, and knowledge slowly accumulated in the course of centuries, elements difficult at times to justify by logic, but justifying themselves as paths when they lead somewhere, since they open up for man his inner distance.”

Celebrating our heritage keeps our communities together, and passes on values, traditions and meanings through the different generations. It provides people with a sense of identity and continuity and its safeguarding promotes, sustains and develops cultural diversity and human creativity.

I strongly support and applaud prominent Sarawakians like James who continues to do his own research into many heritage subjects.

His book ‘Padungan: History, Humanity and Heritage’ is a distinguished work on just one historical heritage section of Kuching; his forthcoming next publication will be on ‘Kai Joo Lane’ and its surroundings.

‘Padungan’ is still available on sale at all good bookstores (contact James if you are unable to locate a copy, via [email protected]).

Philip, during his tenure as the president of Sarawak Tourism Federation, had initiated the Kuching Heritage Trail, which included a tourist map of where all the city’s most prominent heritage sites are situated.

It is still a popular tourism product used by local tour agencies.

Philip is keen to start a new group of local veterans within the culinary industry to research and record information of our Sarawak heritage food and drinks so we can have it stored away for future generations (Philip’s email is [email protected]).

Datin Rosemarie is championing the preservation of the Old Nurses Quarters.

Built in 1953 during the colonial era, it is worthy of being kept as a monument both for its historical significance and its days-of-the-past architectural appeal. It has thus far attracted more than 1,569 signatures in a public petition organised by the Sarawak Heritage Society.

The Premier, as well as the state minister in charge of tourism, have both spoken out with regard to considering this appeal to stop the demolition.

Such efforts from James, Philip and Datin Rosemarie must be fully supported and championed as it serves to preserve our traditions and heritage, as well as buildings of great significance to our history, which once demolished or destroyed, can never be replaced ever again.

I would like to conclude by quoting de Saint-Exupery once more: “In a house which becomes a home, one hands down and another takes up the heritage of mind and heart, laughter and tears, musings and deeds.

“….Let us build memories in our children, lest they drag out joyless lives, lest they allow treasures to be lost because they have not been given the keys.

“We live, not by things, but by the meanings of things.

“It is needful to transmit the passwords from generation to generation.”

Amen.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper