Giant joss sticks at the Tay Guan Heng shop. Those who wish to buy giant joss sticks will have to import less elaborate ones from Malaysia after the shop closes. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): After being lit up for close to a century, the incense will soon burn out at Singapore’s last giant joss stick maker Tay Guan Heng on Dec 4.
Owner and master artisan Albert Tay, 63, and his brother Steven, 66, have decided to end the 90-year-old business started by their grandfather in the 1930s. They said their workshop in Ang Mo Kio is the last one making giant joss sticks adorned with elaborate designs of dragons, deities and other Taoist symbols.
Shaped and crafted from natural cinnamon wood clay, they are used during religious Taoist ceremonies as offerings. It takes several days to sculpt, design, spray paint and dry these joss sticks – and even longer during the rainy season. Making handcrafted joss sticks is a skill which was passed down from their grandfather to their father, and then to them.
During the heyday between the 1980s and 1990s, giant joss sticks could go up to a towering 5.5m to 6m. The implementation of the Environmental Public Health (Burning of Joss Sticks and Candles) regulations in 1998 which restricted the size and number of joss sticks that could be burnt affected demand and profit margins, resulting in many exiting the trade.
Their last competitor in Yishun closed down in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when most of the Taoist ceremonies were cancelled.
“Age is catching up,” Albert said. “We feel the physical strain and mental stress of meeting seasonal demand.”
While sales are less than half of pre-Covid-19 days, last-minute orders all pour in at about the same time during the seventh, eighth and ninth lunar months when temples mark the Hungry Ghost Festival and deities’ birthdays. It is always a pressure to fulfil the orders and meet the tight deadlines, they said.
They had also diversified their business to make joss dough figurines of Taoist characters, animals and Singapore icons like samsui women. Unlike the joss sticks, these are cherished as keepsakes and not burnt away.
Brothers Steven (left) and Albert Tay have decided to end the 90-year-old business started by their grandfather. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
In recent years, they started creating customised gingerbread houses and nativity sets for expatriate customers. They also gave workshops to tourists and schools to keep the business afloat.
“I feel bad for my regular customers,” Albert added, his eyes tearing up a little. “But it’s just too much pressure for the two of us to keep the business going.”
As they do not employ any worker, both have to do everything themselves, including delivering the joss sticks.
Their youngest brother Amos died of cancer at age 58 in 2019. A talented craftsman, he participated in cultural festivals and exhibitions, including the London Cultural Olympiad in 2014. He was in the shop till his last days, which had become his second home.
“If Amos was still around, the business would likely have continued,” said Steven.
The other six siblings helped out occasionally, but ventured into other fields after their father, who took over from the grandfather, died in 1998.
Albert said he may still make small figurines from his Chai Chee home, but Steven is looking forward to a well-deserved retirement. Those who wish to buy giant joss sticks will have to import less elaborate ones from Malaysia.
Looking around his shop filled with the tools of his vanishing trade, Albert said with a sigh: “Almost all of these will be thrown away. We can only keep a few for memories’ sake.”
