Teochew Tomb Festival Ceremony at Kerto

EIGHT traffic policemen led a grand convoy of vehicles from the Sibu Teochew Association for the Tomb Festival Ceremony in Kerto, an island opposite the town’s waterfront.

The journey started with the gong and stand-up drum music group playing on a lorry as the convoy made its way from Sibu town to Upper Lanang Road and then across the Lanang Bridge to the island.

All traffic stopped to let the convoy pass. The few days heralding Qingming in Sibu were full of exciting drum and gong music such as this in the streets.

The Qingming or Tomb Festival Ceremony in Kerto is organised every year by the Teochew Association to honour the Earth Diety and the ancestors of the clan in a very elaborate and earnest ceremony.

The Teochews are considered a minority Chinese clan in Sibu and their association has only about 800 members.

According to local historians, the oldest tomb in Sibu could belong to one Madam Voo who passed away in 1880 (calculated from the tomb inscription). The tomb now faces the Rajang River and is the first to be located by the side of a simple shrine at the Kerto cemetery.

Rituals and ceremonies are an integral part of Chinese culture. It is believed the Qingming Festival ceremony is held to appease the deities and the ancestors who, in turn, would bring blessings, prevent disasters and foster harmony and good health.

According to teacher Chua Jeng Chung of the Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association, many of the tombs used the older Chinese ways of dating. For example, many dated back to the years of reckoning by the various Emperors of the Qing Dynasty. A few used Mingguo dates.

However, a quick reference from Google can help verify the period in the Gregorian years.

Formal Teochew dialect

The master of ceremony used his formal Teochew dialect to announce the letting off of the 50-foot long line of firecrackers. The sound and the smoke made an apt initiation while those present, numbering about 100, witnessed the solemnity of the occasion.

It was still early in the morning before nine. The dew on the leaves was still wet and the earth damp from the rain the previous night. Many people from the other dialect groups could be seen burning paper money and lighting red candles at various parts of the cemetery.

The costumed men clad in their Qing Dynasty era  robes with the leader Sim Mong Seng wearing an elaborate blue brocade jacket over a traditional Qing gown, and three others also wearing long gowns, stood in the front row as the ceremony began in earnest. The assistants wore brown long gowns or chang pao to add to the refined and solemn atmosphere.

Oldest cemetery

An elderly Kerto islander told thesundaypost when he was young, he used to see motor launches coming over from Sibu. The funerals then had to wait for the tide to be higher so that the heavy coffin could be lifted ashore. Also, the graves were nearer the riverside.

Today, many of these graves have been washed away. But memories of the interments remain clear because “funerals in those days were very important events”.

The elder continued, “It’s good that the Teochew Association is taking good care of the cemetery and we have this ceremony every year otherwise Kerto is rather quiet. I’m glad we Teochews still have this annual ceremony. Perhaps for as long as we have a Teochew association, we will carry on the legacy of Qingming ceremonies.”

The ceremonies

Two ceremonies were held – one for the Goddess of the Earth and the other, slightly more elaborate, for the Teochew ancestors.

The Goddess of the Earth was offered joss sticks, food, sweets, buns and fruits besides tea in a ceremony which included kow-towing, accompanied by large drum and gong music. Amazingly, one of the offerings consisted of betel nuts, local rokok, tobacco – even sirih leaves – and kapur or lime paste.

According to one of the organisers, the offering of local rokok and betel nuts has been going on for several decades.

He said the Teochews respected the local culture of eating betel nuts and sirih leaves. Perhaps, the Goddess of Earth might like some offerings of these ‘snacks’ as well.

The venerable ancestors were also honoured with various offerings. Most of the luxury goods were gifts from clan members.

After an elaborate worship liturgy, the ceremonies ended, and the kitchen committee took over to fry the noodles for everyone present to support chairman Sim Mong Seng and his committee.

Association secretary Tay Lee Hua disclosed, “Another Qingming ceremony will be held at the Teochew cemetery in Sibu. Every year, we organise these ceremonies in two different places to honour the Goddess of the Earth and our ancestors.”

In general, Kerto is a very old cemetery pre-dating the arrival of the Foochows in 1901. The still standing old tombs tell their stories of the early settlers from the various clans – Hokkien (Minnang), Hainanese, Foochow, Hakka and Cantonese. Some Iban and Melanau tombs also attest to mixed marriages with the Chinese in the early days.

Undisturbed open jars

Interestingly, nine open jars, half buried in a straight row, and 12 more at another place continue remain undisturbed at the cemetery.

So far, Sibu historians have yet to unravel the mystery of these open jars.

An elderly man told thesundaypost, “When I was young, there were many of us living in Kerto. While playing at the cemetery – something we used to do as kids – we already saw these jars.

“Sometimes, we washed our feet with the water in the jars. It was clean and cold. As kids, we didn’t stop to think if this act was offensive to the spirits or not. All this time, we’ve never known what these jars are for. Hope someone will tell us.”

The younger Teochew Association members who form the Drum and Gong Music Group, played their part admirably.

At the end of the ceremonies, the group repeatedly shouted out these words of blessings – Huat and Hing (prosperity and luck). The echoes rang long and loud through the trees of Kerto.

The members later ate Huat Gor or white Chinese buns which also symbolise prosperity.

The writer and other on-lookers were also asked to make a grab for the Huat Gor to gain some blessings for prosperity.