The "C" Word: E and C Week

“Experiencing another’s culture may open doors that were previously closed… but the choice to walk through those doors is entirely up to you.”

During E and C week, we were given the opportunity to go on learning journeys to Kampong Glam, Masjid Sultan Mosque and Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah to learn about the Malay culture, and Little India to learn about the Indian culture. Through this E and C week, the experiences I had taught me a lot more about the other cultures in the multiracial Singapore, and was truly eye-opening for me. Before the learning journeys, I was clueless about the Malay and Indian cultures, much less their religious etiquettes. However, during the trips, I was exposed to their cultures, and can empathise with them more now after gaining a deeper understanding as to why they do things in a certain way, such as why Muslims can only eat Halal food.

Before we embarked on our learning journeys, I did not know much about the Malay and Indian cultures, but after reading through the booklet for the trip, I was intrigued by how many things I had not known about these cultures, and was excited to find out as much as I could about them.

During the learning journeys, our group had chosen to find out about the ‘Fashion’ aspect of the cultures and focus more on it, so we went from store to store to interview shop-owners and customers about their traditional clothing. What was the purpose of having these designs on this blouse? What was the origin of this traditional costume? We asked them every possible question that came into our minds, to ensure we got as much information as possible about it. We did encounter several setbacks along the way, such as when we went into one of the traditional clothing shops in Little India and the lady standing at the entrance of the store told us that if we were not going to buy anything, we could not ask her questions regarding the Indian culture. However, it did deter us from treating the learning journeys with a positive attitude and taking it as seriously as possible while still having fun. I think my positive attitude towards this trip helped to make this experience an enriching and fulfilling one, as it kept our spirits up.

Throughout the E and C week, I had learnt many new things about these two cultures, but the most impactful lesson I had experienced was that there were actually quite a number of Madrasahs in Singapore and that the students there were not all that different from us. Prior to the learning journey to Madrasah Aljunied, I had never known that there were so many Islamic schools in Singapore, as I hardly ever saw them. At the Madrasah, we were told that there were quite a few Madrasahs in Singapore, and the students there listed them down. I also learnt about the subjects the students in the Madrasah took, and I was surprised to find out that we took similar subjects, just that they had additional various religious studies subjects, and they had longer school hours than we do. I felt very fortunate to have visited the Madrasah, as it was a once in a lifetime experience and I had never been to one before. The students there were also very friendly, waving to us whenever we walked past their classrooms. The trip to the Madrasah broadened my knowledge of the Islamic culture as I commonly had misconceptions about it.

I feel the main objective of this programme is for us to gain exposure and better understanding of the cultural diversity in Singapore, and especially the Indian and Malay cultures that we were introduced to during the E and C week, by appreciating their cultural and religious practices. I think that the experiences throughout the week have helped me to achieve it, because we had the chance to speak to people from all walks of life, and learn about their cultures and beliefs. We were also taught a lot during the trip by the guides and were given hands-on experience to learn about the 4 F's of their cultures, Food, Fashion, Folks and Festivals, as we interviewed passers-by and shop-owners, bought traditional delicacies to try for ourselves, and spoke to temple-goers. The trip also cleared up any doubts and misconceptions I had about the two races as we were given the opportunity to ask any questions we may have had.

Although the programme was interesting and fun-filled, I think that it could be improved by allowing us more time at each locations, as we often did not have enough time to ask the people there any questions and explore the area, especially at Kampong Glam. This in turns reduces the amount of knowledge we can gain as we do not have sufficient time to learn about the cultures.

During the trip, I was able to learn much about the Indian and Malay cultures and experience them myself, which “opened doors that were previously closed” to me. The chances that we had to gain a better understanding of the cultures really gave me an opportunity to “walk through those doors”, which I believe everyone should, as this is the only way we can live in racial harmony and appreciate everyone’s cultures and differences.

In conclusion, I think that we should learn to appreciate and accept each other’s differences, and empathise with the different cultures and religions to ensure racial harmony. Being a multiracial country, we have to be able to empathise with one another and have mutual respect, as we are one Singapore.

Group Blog: Little India

Food: We went to Tekka Market, where a huge variety of Indian food was sold such as Briyani, Murtabak and Aloo Gobi. Spices like cloves and cinnamon are very commonly used in these foods. When we asked one stall owner, he told us that this is because of the good medicinal values and fragrant smells these spices provide. We also got to know that Indians of different religions have different dietary restrictions. The Hindus are not allowed to eat beef, the Jains follow a strict form of vegetarianism and the followers of Vaishnavism do not eat garlic or onions, which are actually types of spices! This came quite as a surprise for us as we did not know of this before and even had misconceptions that all Indians are able to eat meat and all spices. Now, we understand more of our Indian friends and their diet.

Fashion: At Little India Arcade, Tekka Market and along the streets of Little India, there were many shops selling the different types of traditional Indian costumes. One shop owner informed me that this was because there are many different Indian communities in India, and each of them have varied traditional clothing. I was quite surprised as this meant there must be a lot of different types of Indian costumes. However, this will not stop us from trying to find us as much as we can about all of them. We carried on looking at all the clothing and textile stalls to gain knowledge of the Indian costumes. I found out that the traditional clothing of the East and North of India, which is to me the most commonly seen in Singapore, is one with a sari and a choli(top). A sari is a long fabric draped over the body in style. All the fabrics sold there were of diverse and bright colours. There were also several shops selling a lot of jewellery as wearing them is known to benefit their health!

Folklore: For the Indians, they go to the temple every week to pray. On a festival, there will be 4 rituals in the temple. The rituals are conducted in the morning, midday, sunset and nighttime when they are closing. Indian men would wear white, sing and recite mantras, and play the drums during the rituals. Why you ask?They not only play drums during the rituals but also for Indian weddings. They play drums to welcomes key personnel like how they welcome kings in the past, and these deities are highly revered, so the drum is used. It also serves as a practical use to cut down any inauspicious noises that may arise during the rituals. Indians also put water on their heads and toes before praying. When praying, instead of bowing, the Indians sit  with their legs crossed and with their arms in a specific gesture on their laps. They pray as they believe that it will remove any anger, fear and pressure for them to be content with their lives. It also calms them, which will reduce their ego and allow them to be a better person.

Festivals: Pongal is a festival celebrated by the Indians.  In Singapore, Pongal is celebrated on the commencement of the auspicious month of Thai. On the first day, 'Bhogi Pongal', celebrations begin with worship of Lord Indra, the Ruler of Clouds and Giver of Rains. Thorough spring-cleaning as well as the discarding of old belongings is carried out to signify a fresh start. Oil lamps are lit, new clothes are donned and colourful designs in rice flour are created on the floors of houses. This is similar to how we Chinese do spring cleaning and buy new costumes for Chinese New Year! On the second day, 'Surya Pongal', the Sun God is honoured. Every household cooks a pot of rice with milk to offer up to Surya at dawn. Pongal means to ‘overflow’, hence the pot of rice has to bubble over to symbolise prosperity and abundance. This is then served to members of the family as well as any visitors to the house. It is a very social period, as relatives and friends visit each other and exchange greetings. We think this practice is very beneficial as it allows everyone to bond stronger together. This is like how we Chinese visit our friends and relatives’ houses for Chinese New Year. The third day, called 'Mattu Pongal', is set aside to honour cattle – cows are sacred animals in the Hindu religion. To remember the work they do, the cattle are scrubbed and their horns painted. Multi-coloured beads, tinkling bells and flower garlands are placed around their necks and they are fed special snacks as a treat. We feel that this is quite special as we know of very few festivals that give such honour to animals! It is nice to know that the Indians show appreciation for other creatures too. The last day, called 'Kannum Pongal', is all about the community and strengthening ties. Younger members seek the blessing of the older members of their families. Landlords distribute clothes, food and money to their workers. Offerings are made at temples even as special prayers are conducted. This can teach them to be gracious and kind. Overall, we feel that there are some parts of this festival that are similar to our Chinese New Year. However, it is also quite different and special, but very meaningful.

Reflections:

Throughout the 3 days of going to the different cultural places, we learnt a lot more about the Malay and Indian culture that we have didn't give much thought and also realised that we knew very little about our fellow Singaporeans of different cultures. We learnt that the different cultures have their many differences and reasons for it. For the Malay culture, it is more on respect to oneself and others, discipline, empathising with others, and also about treating the entire Malay community as family, which is something we feel that we as Singaporeans can learn from for our country to be more united, by treating other Singaporeans as family so when disaster strikes we can still be united as one and get through difficulties together.

For the Indian culture, we learnt that they have many customs and beliefs that relate to health benefits, and also for having a simple, content and better life. For example, they wear bangles as they believe the circular shape may improve their blood circulation. They also believe that praying can allow for them to have a content life and not to be arrogant and greedy.

This is also similar to the Chinese culture, in which there are many reasons why we pray, such as to have better health and prosperity, etc. Instead of wearing white for purity, our traditional costumes are mainly red  as it was believed to chase away an evil spirit called Nian, and symbolises prosperity. Our Chinese culture also focuses more on family and prosperity.

Singapore is a multiracial society with many cultures, which are all different, diverse and special in its own ways. That is why we should embrace and cherish our multi-cultural country, something that gives Singapore its identity, and take the initiative to learn and understand more about the cultures of our fellow Singaporeans and to respect their culture despite the differences we may have. This will then allow us to learn how to appreciate our diversity in culture and also keep a vulnerable and small country like Singapore united as a nation! We are very thankful that we had the opportunity to learn about the different cultures and now know of what to be mindful of when talking or visiting people of different cultures so as to not offend them.

     

This is one of the many stalls selling Indian food at Tekka Market. The huge pot of food the stall owner is scooping from is actually the famous Briyani. This dish is very commonly eaten among the Indians, thus forming a part of their culture.

This is the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess, Kali. Many religious, social and cultural activities are held here, catering to the needs of many of the Hindus in Singapore. This is very important to them and their culture.

This is a stall selling Indian flower garlands along Buffalo Road. These garlands are usually offered to the Hindu deities and an important part of worship(puja). This is a custom of the Indian culture.

This are the traditional Indian costumes for the women. There is a huge variety of them, and they are all really pretty and colourful. These costumes are traditionally worn by the Indian women for a long time now, and is important to their culture.

These are jewellery which the Indian women wear with their costumes. They consist of earrings, necklaces and more, which are all really shiny and colourful. Jewellery have been traditionally worn by the Indians since a long time ago, and is part of Indian culture.

An Indian man wearing white covered clothes and playing the drum in the temple.

Temple-goers in white playing the drums and singing during the rituals conducted four times a day during festivals.

Group Blog: Kampong Glam

Food: There were many Malay food sold at Kampong Glam. We went to this stall at 18 Kandahar Street which sold Malay food such as Nasi Padang, Nasi Goreng and more. We chatted with one of the waiters there and got to know from him that Nasi Padang is steamed rice with a variety of other pre-cooked dishes like beef rendang, gulai or vegetables. It originated from Padang city. We also learnt that some Malay dishes are influenced by the Chinese and uses soy sauce! The waiter told us that this is due to the fact that Malacca was a trading centre which attracted many traders of other countries and cultures. As a result, the Malay culture was influenced by them. We also had a taste of traditional Malay kueh like Ondeh Ondeh and Putri Salat. They were sweet, savory and really nice to eat! We also got to know that Muslims can only eat Halal food, which means food that complies with the religious ritual and observance of the Islamic Sharia Law. Halal food is not simply no pork or lard, but also about how the food was cleansed and prepared. We must take note of this when preparing food for Muslim friends.

Fashion: There were many shops specialised in selling textiles, carpets and traditional Malay clothing in Kampong Glam, especially in the busy Arab Street, which is one of the few streets there that has retained its original name from the 1800s! Malay traditional clothes are namely Baju Melayu for men, while there are two types of traditional clothes for women, the Baju Kurung and Baju Kebaya. We noticed that the traditional clothes are typically colourful and patterned, and traditional clothes for women tend to be flowery. The shopkeepers told us that the difference between the Baju Kurung and Baju Kebaya is that the Baju Kurung is a straight-cut dress, while the Baju Kebaya consists of a blouse with a skirt, with a separation down the middle of the blouse. We also found out that the Baju Kebaya is a mixture of the Indonesian and Malay cultures, which was a surprising fact! Materials used to make the traditional clothes are silk and cotton. We were also told that the Baju Melayu is made up of a shirt, pants, and samping, which is wrapped around the middle of the body, from the stomach to the knee, and has traditional patterns on it. The shirt has 3 pockets, 2 at the bottom of the shirt, and 1 breast pocket.

Folklore: At the mosque, we found out from the guide that the mosque was actually facing the Mecca in Arabia, a black box which muslims pray to. If one walks into any mosque, one can see that there are no god or deity statues to pray to, and that the space that they pray at has no benches but is instead empty. This is because they believe that there is only one god, which is Allah, and making statues comes from their own idol worshipping, which is the greatest sin one can commit. Since they pray by getting on their knees and bowing, there are no need for benches. Mosques also follow the architecture structure of the region's temple or church, and since they have no statutes or benches, they make use of geometry to decorate the inside of a plain mosque.This shows that they are very open with architecture and very creative in their design. When praying, Muslim men stand feet to feet and shoulder to shoulder, representing that all Muslims are family and also show brotherhood. The women, pray on the second level instead of the first, to allow them to feel comfortable as they may be uncomfortable standing next to men not related to them. This shows that women rights are elevated in the mosque. If you look closely, there is a black ring at the top of the mosque made of glass bottles. These bottles were contributed by the poor because they could not afford to donate money like the rest of the Muslims for the building of this mosque. This shows that everyone is included but not left out despite having different backgrounds, which is very respectable. Before praying, one has to perform ablution to cleanse themselves before praying. Muslims also wear white when praying as they believe it represents purity.

Festivals:Lailatulqudar is a festival celebrated to show the night when the Quran was composed. This festival is very significant as it shows the muslims’ belief of how the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of prophethood and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started. The Quran was very important as it shows the beliefs and pillars of Islam like how they need to wash the parts of their body parts seven times with soil if a dog licked it and how their food must be cooked by experienced cooks who can meet the halal standard to prevent them from falling sick. This is quite new to us as we Chinese do not have something like the Quran. It is interesting to know that the Muslims have such rules to adhere to. Now, we can better understand why our Muslim friends do things in certain ways.

These are the dishes you can have with steamed rice in Nasi Padang. Nasi Padang is a type of Malay food, very commonly eaten among the Malays. This forms part of their culture.

This is Batik which has intricate designs of spirals and flowers. They are commonly worn by the Malays as part of their traditional costumes. It is a strong source of identity for them, and is part of their culture.

This is Baju Kebaya, a traditional Malay costume for the women, sold at one of the shops along Arab Street. Malay females have traditionally worn this for many years. This traditional costume forms part of their culture.

This is the Masjid Sultan, a mosque built for the Muslim population to do their prayers. This is important to their Islamic religion, and is part of their culture.

This is the main prayer hall of the Masjid Sultan, which is used for services like the 5 daily prayers. This is part of the Muslims’ religious practises, and is considered part of their culture.

Group Blog: Madrasah Aljunied

Fashion: At the school, we were honoured to attend a presentation put up by the students themselves, teaching us about the Islamic attire. We learnt that for the women, they are supposed to cover all parts of their body except their heads and hands. Both genders have to wear clothing that is loose, opaque and does not attract attention. This is a sign of modesty, respect for oneself and others. We also found out that this is also to emphasis on a woman’s inner spiritual beauty, rather than her superficial appearance. This is really heartwarming to know as Islam empowers women by teaching them it is the inside that matters, not the outside! Perhaps, you may think that the Muslims find it hard to keep to these restrictions on their attire. However, according to our guides, it is not the case at all! The women have hijabs specially designed for their ease and swimwear specially designed for them to follow the Islamic rule of attire even while swimming.

The students at the school there were all very friendly and waved to us whenever we passed by. Did you know that each student actually has to juggle with up to 15 subjects? They also have to attend lessons from 7.45am to 4pm. That is incredibly tiring! They have to take subjects such as islamic society, islamic history, Quran, Fiqh and more. They have to put in extra effort to learn about their religion and culture and we truly respect them for that. We also found out that this school has actually set for itself a tradition of academic excellence. That must be hard work and we all look up to the students for that. We wonder how much time and effort they must have put in for their religion and studies!

In the school hall, we got to learn about different forms of Islamic art and enjoy some performances! The first performance put up was the Maqamat, the beautifying of one’s voice in recitation of Quran. The students’ singing were really superb and pleasing to the ears. Much practise and training must have been put into use to master this skill to beautify one’s voice this way! This is a very special experience for us as we have never heard this method of reciting in our own religions. We were also introduced to Khat, the art of writing using letters of Arabic alphabet. This is similar to the English or Chinese calligraphy, but in Arabic alphabets. As our guide wrote examples for us, we got to witness the beauty of this form of writing! We got to know that this writing is usually for the Quran, which shows how dedicated they are to their religion. These two forms of Islamic art we have been introduced to have shown us that the Muslims want to beautify the Quran further, most probably so as to honour and give respect to it. This is new to us as it is never done in our religions. The concept of having a religious text for a religion is also really special and nice to know. As we wondered about the purpose of such a text, we think that this may be for the Muslims to have something in common to follow and adhere to, as part of their religion and cultural practices.

This is the school uniform for the girls of Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah. As you can tell, only the face and hands can be seen. The rest of the body has to be covered, according to the Islamic attire. This shows a custom of their religion and culture.

This is the school uniform for the boys of Madrasah Aljunied Al-lslamiah. The boys are not as restricted as the girls on what they can wear. However, according to the Islamic attire, it must not be too showy or extravagant too. This is important to their religion and culture.

These are the Islamic books in the library at the school. Some of them are prayer books for the students to refer to, to conduct their prayers. This is of importance to their religion.

Should Singapore continue to share her development experiences with other countries?

In my opinion, Singapore should share her development experiences with other countries. In this way, other countries can prosper and develop together as one, and we will be able to forge stronger bonds with neighbouring countries by helping them, so we can be interdependent. Singapore relies heavily on other countries such as China for their exports, so we have to develop together and forge bonds with these countries to ensure our own economic development as well. By sharing Singapore's development experiences with other countries, Singapore will also benefit in the long-term and this will be a win-win situation for both Singapore and the other countries. So, I think that Singapore should continue to share her development experiences with other countries.