Talking culture: Ong (right) discussing with guests the home altar pieces on display at a preview party for the Altars To The Gods exhibition at the Seven Terraces Hotel in George Town, Penang. — K. T. GOH/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Time changes everything, even the altars for divine worship that have long been an integral part of Straits Chinese (Baba Nyonya) homes.
While these were once elaborate set-ups brimming with all manner of paraphernalia, the evolving significance and fervour for such practices have made them much simpler affairs today.
Now, the public can get a glimpse of the past at an exhibition here titled Altars To The Gods, which is being held to commemorate the state’s Heritage Day today.
A reconstructed main altar paying homage to the Goddess of Mercy, with all the typical offerings for special festivities, is the centrepiece of the showcase at Seven Terraces Hotel.
There are also displays of various examples of each item typically found on the altar, such as porcelain lotus plates, quatrefoil bowls, cylindrical and globular tea pots, tea cups and tea trays.
The porcelain vases, censers, cylindrical joss stick holders, brass candle stands, carved wooden candle sleeves, crystal oil lamps and golden pewter bases are also worth a closer look.
Completing the exhibits are intricately-carved wooden stands and bases for offerings known in Penang Hokkien as “bit chean” (sweetmeats) and “ngor siew” (sugar crafts), as well as Teochew “chanab” (sweetmeat boxes).
Christopher Ong, founder of George Town Heritage Hotels (GTHH), which the Seven Terraces Hotel on Stewart Lane is under, said they exhibit Peranakan artefacts on-site every year on Heritage Day to educate the public and keep the intangible cultural heritage alive.
He noted that this year’s exhibition focuses on Straits Chinese, or Baba Nyonya, home altars honouring the Mahayana Buddhist and Taoist pantheon of deities.
These are different from ancestral altars and have subtle differences to the home altars of other Chinese communities, like the use of porcelain and different symbolisms in offerings.
They were an important part of the home as the Straits Chinese continued with many of the traditions and rituals that their ancestors had practised in China before emigrating here in the mid to late 19th century.
The decline in significance of the practice started in the 20th century, when China underwent massive turmoil – including the end of imperial rule, the creation of a republic state, Japanese Occupation during World War II, civil war between the Kuomintang and Communist Party and finally, the Cultural Revolution.
“The Straits Chinese communities took the cue from what was happening in China and questioned their rituals and belief systems here.
“The move away from traditional nuclear homes and the suburban sprawl also hastened the demise of the home altar.
“In the last two or three generations, home altars largely disappeared.
“I myself grew up in a period where there were only small niches dedicated to the Jade Emperor and the kitchen god, and no home altar,” Ong shared.
He said the items exhibited are from his personal collection and in essence, a documentation of the rich cultural heritage of Penang.
“They’re not the sort of things you typically find in a modern home today and most younger generations probably haven’t come across them before,” he added.
Hotel general manager Colin Yap said everything placed on such altars is deliberate and has symbolism behind it, typically for concepts like good fortune, prosperity and well-being.
He said this exhbition is their seventh one in as many years.
Sweetmeat trays were the focus of the first in 2017, followed by porcelain “tingkat” or tiffin carriers in 2018, blue and white porcelain in 2019, Chinoiserie in 2020, Peranakan festive tableware in 2021 and “kamcheng” (covered vessels) in 2022.
The Altars To The Gods exhibition continues until Sunday and is open for viewing from noon to 6pm daily at the Seven Terraces Hotel. Admission is free.
