(Left) The legendary behemoth entering Bintulu on the first day of this year, to shower blessings on the folk there.
(Right) The ‘straw and fire dragon’ dance is an added feature, in which stalks of lit incense are fixed onto the body of the straw dragon.
ON the first day of Chinese New Year, the longest dragon in Sarawak descended upon Sheng Zhi Shen Temple at Teku Road in Sibu to bring blessing and prosperity to the people.
About 200 feet (61m) long, with the head measuring six feet (1.8m) from the jaw to the furthest tip of the horns, the creature of legend is made of rattan frame with painted cloth for its skin.
It would take more than 20 strong men to carry the structure weighing over 100kg throughout a dance performance.
Temple master Yii San Thai — known as Master Thai to his students — said he shipped in the dragon from Guangzhou, China last June, costing the temple over RM30,000.
“It is a worthwhile investment. It is an effort to bring young people together to learn the arts of our culture so that they would have a sense of responsibility to pass it on.”
The temple master said it took six months for the dragon to arrive from Guangzhou. He said he ordered it at the beginning of last year.
“Its arrival coincided with the Tua Pek Kong birthday celebration. We took the opportunity to make our maiden performance.”
The dragon, touted as the longest in Sarawak, dancing in front of Tua Pek Kong Temple in Bintulu.
Technically, he said there were nine segments of the giant dragon body which could be dismantled.
“This is for practical purpose. Still, putting the segments together is time consuming, taking about half a day to finish.”
Because of its size and weight, Yii said the dragon was not as agile as the smaller dragons and lions.
“In fact, this giant creature looks clumsy. We have to match it with simpler drum and gong beats for slower movements.
“The performers must be 15 and above because it is too heavy for young boys. Our troupe members are mainly the older youths in their 20s,” he said.
Yii encouraged other troupes to import similar dragons, so that they could exchange ideas in promoting the art of dragon dance.
However, the dragon of Sheng Zhi Shen Temple did not visit any home during the Chinese New Year celebrations as it was ‘hibernating’ in the store room.
“We cannot bring it along when we visit families to perform the lion dance. How can this giant dragon enter a home? It is only meant to perform in streets and wide open spaces,” Yii explained.
Because of this limitation, the Sheng Zhi Shen Temple dragon had only performed twice since its arrival from Guangdong — during the Tua Pek Kong deity birthday in Sibu last June, and at the Tua Pek Kong procession in Bintulu on Jan 1.
Yii said the crowds were fascinated by the massive dragon during both occasions.
“Before the procession started in Bintulu, one worshipper ran up to the dragon to respectfully touch it from head to tail. He believed that the ‘heavenly creature’ would bring him luck.
“In the Chinese culture, the dragon symbolises authority, dignity, honour, success, luck and capacity.
“Emperors claimed to be ‘heirs of the dragon’ and their thrones were called ‘the dragon chair’,” the master said.
Embellished in black and green, the giant head measures 1.8m from the jaw to the furthest tip of the horns.
Evolution of the dragon
The behemoth of Sheng Zhi Shen Temple was originally an ancient straw dragon from Guangdong. It was preserved and repaired over the centuries, evolving into its present appearance.
“Despite using better materials now, the tradition of the straw dragon remains. For example, the horns are supposed to be pointed, but for this giant dragon, it has horns that look like a bundle of straw woven together; not pointed,” Yii disclosed.
Straw dragons originated from the farming community in China. As they were poor and could not afford to use better materials, they made dragons using paddy straws, which was plentiful during harvests.
The farmers would perform the straw dragon dances during festive celebrations as a thanksgiving offering for the gods.
Yii added: “The farming community also performed during famine to pray for rain; they also performed to ward off evils.”
In ancient times, the straw dragons would end up dancing to the river where they would be burned – in the belief that the ashes would ‘go up and back to heaven’.
According to Yii, dragon dances are performed during festivals in China, and the culture is the same in Malaysia.
“It is important that we preserve this culture. This is why our temple promotes this cultural art,” he stressed, adding that the dragon ranks the highest among the celestial creatures in the Chinese mythology.
“Therefore, lions will bow to it (dragon) when the two troupes meet on the street. To the lions, dragons are sort of their ‘Tai Koh’ (Big Brother); but for us, we feel that mutual respect is important. Therefore, when a lion bows to greet us, our dragon dance troupe will return the greeting,” he said.
While the gigantic dragon was being kept in the store this Chinese New Year, the temple’s lion dance troupes had been busy practising the lion dance for the festival. At the time of this interview a week ago, Yii said they had received more than 70 invitations.
“We have three lions and two troupes. Each troupe will visit about 25 families per day. We would perform for four days, with each run going from daybreak to nightfall.”
He said they would also perform on the invitations of companies and associations.
“We will be performing until Chap Goh Meh, when the Chinese community wraps up the (Chinese New Year) celebrations.”
Meanwhile, the dragon of Sheng Zhi Shen Temple will continue its ‘deep slumber’ till it is summoned to perform at another festival.
Those interested to learn more about lion and dragon dances, can contact Yii at 0111-8757799.
The 61m creature meandering the streets of Bintulu.