By Wilfred Pilo

KUCHING, August 25: For 61-year-old Kapitan Tay Siaw Chuan, serving his community can take many forms – literally.

Tay was appointed captain 20 years ago and uses not only his problem-solving skills but also his artistic abilities to tackle the problems of those entrusted to him.

The Sri Aman community leader’s recent artistic contributions included the creation of a three-meter-tall horse puppet made only from bamboo sticks and paper for a spirit festival.

Tay told DayakDaily that since his youth, he has been making objects and figures out of paper glued to bamboo sticks instead of buying them from shops for his short-term collections.

“I enjoyed it when I was young because I could collect bamboo in the nearby forests and make models like lanterns and animals out of old newspapers.

“They weren’t perfect and didn’t last long, but it was fun to have your creations and collections. When they broke, I didn’t regret it because I could easily make new ones. Those who grew up with me know my craft skills, but I never developed them further,” he explained.

Tay revealed that his great-grandfather and ancestors were artisans in mainland China. They were basket weavers who made handicrafts from bamboo sticks.

He added that his artistic know-how was put to good use again 16 years ago in 2008 at the Ghost Festival in the town of Simangang.

“Since I was in the Che Chuan Khor Uplifting Society, we wanted to have these horse figurines as offerings during the festival. That’s how all the ideas started since we couldn’t find these objects in the city or in Kuching.”

To solve the problem, he began to make the horse figures himself and to apply his craftsmanship skills again.

“This year, as in the six years before, we decided to build a horse for the ‘King of the Ghosts’ that is taller than 2.75 meters and 3.25 meters long. All made of bamboo and paper. No nails or screws.

“I only do this because nobody does this in our area, and I don’t think even in Kuching, so I tried to make it happen.”

He continued to refine his craftsmanship and ideas when he saw a statue of the King of Spirits made from bamboo sticks on a trip to West Malaysia.

“I decided that during the festival I would make a horse and a ‘human’ model out of the bamboo stick and not just the ‘human’ alone (the king of the spirits).

This year’s offerings also include Tay’s 2.74-meter-high horse figure made of bamboo and paper, as well as five smaller horse figures measuring 1.22 meters high and 1.83 meters long for the “King’s Captains.”

As in previous years, he was assisted by his wife and daughter, who worked with him for two weeks to complete the project.

“Before these objects are used in the festival, special prayers must be offered to the temple deities to ensure smooth production of these objects,” he said.

Tay was happy to be able to contribute to the community with his artistic skills and he would do so again as long as the need arose.

“We made them (the dolls) specially to pray for two days during the Ghost Festival so that the souls can find peace. Later, all the dolls made and other items will be burned as offerings to mark the occasion,” he said. — DayakDaily

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