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Press Article: Making Heads For Lion And Dragon Dances – A Craft To Be Passed On (NST Feb 1, 1987)
Press article: Making heads for lion and dragon dances – a craft to be passed on (NST Feb 1, 1987)
Chop Kin Teck a sundry shop at Market Terrace, Ipoh looks ordinary enough, much like the family-owned crockery and sundry shops which live the street. Until you discover, it specializes in making heads for lion and dragon dances and is the only one in Ipoh! The owner, Mr Tan Khar Mee is the only few head makers of lion and dragon left in Malaysia. Tan learnt this craft at the age of 11 from his uncle who hailed from China. He has been doing so for more than 40 years since 1971. At first he specialized only in lion heads. Then seven years later, the Chin Woo Association, Ipoh (an international martial arts organisation) which had always ordered the heads for its dragon dance from Hong Kong, ordered a dragon head from Mr. Tan. Today Mr Tan not only supplies all of Chin Woo Association needs, but also export his creations to Melbourne, Australia. He says Malaysia is the third largest exporter after Hong Kong and China. He said, he tries to meet the demands for orders although it is not always possible as it is a time-consuming job done by hand. Sometimes it takes as long as a month to complete one dragon head and about a week to do the lion. It is more of a family business. My wife and children help to make the basic structure with rotan. Other materials used are aluminium strips, wood, paper , airbrush paints, satin cloth, rabbit fur and paints. The price for the dragon head rages RM5,000 to RM25,000. The lion head costs up to RM2,000. “If business is good, we make 40 to 50 lion heads and 12 dragon heads in a year. The shortest dragon is 65 and 70 feet. The longest, which is 125 feet, is owned by the Ipoh Chin Woo Association. Mr Tan says it is the longest in the country. It is a craft which Mr Tan intends to pass on to his children. The pieces are normally sold to tourist or locals as decorative items. His ideas are occasionally inspired by temple carvings and paintings.
[Mr Tan should be 76 years old now-2020]
To see a similar write up on Kin Teck click here: https://db.ipohworld.org/view/id/7583