On the last week of Term 1, we had a Wayang Kulit workshop and a 3-day trip to Little India, Kampong Glam and Aljunied Madrasah. I was really excited for both the trip and the workshop, as I've never tried making shadow puppets or been to Little India and the Madrasa. Even going to Kampong Glam, which I have been to many times, was very exciting because this marks the first time I would be going on a (relatively) unguided trip!
On the first day of the week, we had the Wayang Kulit workshop. I did not really know what to expect, but I'll be frank: I was pretty disappointed at our allocation. We were already doing Chinese shadow puppetry in RV Literature, and I really wanted to learn something new like Indian Music. I mean, how different can puppetry get?
Well, I wasn't wrong. The basic elements of puppetry were still there. However, there was something that set Wayang Kulit apart from 皮影戏, and that was the difference in folklore! Before this, I've never known any Malay folklore, so this workshop was certainly and eye-opener and it got me interested in traditional Malay culture. Remember the 4 basic cultural forces? Food, Festive, Fashion and Folk? Well, these folklores are stories that shape culture. Retelling and passing of stories along people with common understanding would eventually develop their unique culture. And it got me thinking: no matter how similar practices between cultures may seem, each is made unique by a small yet significant aspect.
On the second day, we visited Little India. Having never been there before, I was entirely unfamiliar with the area. Also, because I went to mainly-chines primary and secondary school, I do not have friends of another race, so I was mostly ignorant of many Indian customs. Therefore, when we got to personally interview shop owners and stall holders, I really got a first-hand understanding of the 4 cultural forces. For example, upon arriving at Tekka Market, we managed to interview an Indian lady on the second floor on the clothes she sells. Before this, I never knew North and South India had any difference in culture (actually, I didn't even take into consideration different parts of India; I just thought of India as a whole!), but they actually have variants in fashion! It was really fascinating to see even a single country can be different culturally depending on their region. Imagine, however, if one do not understand and assumes their culture is the same throughout the country and moves there. They might offend someone due to their ignorance. How taxing it would be to adapt! Singapore is small, and therefore, we do not face the same problems in cultural understanding.
Of course, we got to try the Indian food there, and it was delicious! The Indian desserts were great, but one thing that we took note of was the extremely honey-sweet taste they had, as well as a hint of spice. It gave the dessert a nice kick. I was surprised, that even in sweet treats such as Motichor Ladoo, spice was apparent. The Indians sure love their spice!
We visited Kampong Glam on the second and third day. On the second day, we mainly roamed around in our groups, exploring and finding out first-hand how Kampong Glam was like. It worthy to note that in both Kampong Glam and Little India, although known to many as a Malay and Indian mainly district, this is not really the case! Take Little India for example. Just like any neighbourhood, there were HDBs around, and Tekka Market even had stalls selling Chinese and Malay cuisine. It may have once been an Indian-only district and is still where Indian culture is most vibrant but it has long evolved to opening its doors to people of other races, either to live there or to just visit and learn a little about their culture.
At Kampong Glam, we took photos of textiles and much more. We interviewed stall holders on the Halal cuisine that was common in that area and snapped photos before tucking into our meals. Before, I never really had much Malay food before, but through this experience, I think I would be willing to try more Malay cuisine, like the different dishes of Nasi Padang. However, upon returning to the trip, we found out from another group that when they tried to interview another stall holder, he became angry at them, so they politely thanked him and moved on. From this experience, I realised that maybe not all of the are comfortable talking about their Art, and we should respect their feelings by quickly leaving after an apology.
On the third day, we went to the Sultan Mosque and Aljunied Madrasah. In the mosque, we were explained to about the basics of mosque etiquette. This included taking off of shoes when entering, avoiding wearing revealing clothes, and the cleansing ritual before prayer. A fact that we learnt there was that the mosque is actually built to face Mecca, Islam's holiest city, and even when praying anywhere, they had to face in that direction.
I was really really excited about the Madrasah as I have never been to any other schools for an exchange before. Apparently, there are only 6 Madrasahs in Singapore currently, offering education from primary all the way to tertiary! It was fascinating to see another school, different from the regular, non-religious schools, in action. In a way, it sort of reminded me was RV, only that it was religious, had more subjects, and shorter CCA times. They had CCAs such as rock climbing, archery, Tarannum, and many more, just correspond to their Islamic Arts and Cultures. The students there gave us a brief introduction on their school life, where they would have breaks for prayers, student councils, and the juggling of easily 13-14 subjects. That really made me think, that if they could do so many subjects all at once, then we, with a measly 6 subjects compared to them, should be doing ours without complaint.
Unknowledgeable as it may seem, I was not even aware of the existence of Madrasahs. Sure, I knew that these schools exist, but I never knew what they were called, what they taught, or even seen one. So to be able to enter one was simply mind-blowing, and our short but fruitful tour of the school was really a sight worth noting. They were just like us, sitting in classrooms and trying to juggle their subjects, having CCAs after school and physical education. Just like us, they face problems in their teenage lives.
Sadly, there wasn't nearly enough time for any of the three days, and I felt that the time could be extended slightly longer. However, this week of E and C really taught us the importance of knowing different cultures, and not just our culture, especially in a country like Singapore, which can only run smoothly with the peaceful co-existence of each race. If we only keep to our culture and are unwilling to reach out to others, things like the 1964 riots in Singapore would occur. Misunderstanding from ignorance breeds fear, which eventually lead to contempt. Only through understanding different culture can lead us to acceptance.
This learning journey was simply a door of opportunity to experiencing a different culture. However, it is really our choice to push open the door and step through to another experience.
