We had the honor to pay a visit to the Ayer Tawar Heritage House, founded in 2016, last weekend. It was a great experience for us to learn more about the Kutien community in Ayer Tawar.
In the olden days, Ayer Tawar was known as The Seventh Road Settlement or Qitiao-lu (七条路) because of its location at the 7th Estate Road of the Sungai Wangi Rubber Estate. The Kutiens of the Foochow group were the early settlers here in the early 1900s.
The original intention of a Chinese settlement here was to grow rice. However, the land promised to them were inadequate and so these people turned to rubber planting. As the Foochow people are a hardworking and determined community, they prospered in the rubber business. Pretty soon, they became rubber land owners and Ayer Tawar continued to flourish.
Mr. Ling Sze Hing (President) : 6019-558 2543
Mr. Tian Chin Thai (Vice President): 6012 - 577 7227
We highly recommend you to visit this wonderful heritage museum if and when you have an opportunity. Do give Mr. Ling or Mr. Tian a call and make an appointment. They would be most happy to hear from you and they are incredible hosts with warm personalities.
The Manjung District was formerly known as Dindings; named after the Dinding River. The Manjung District comprised of Pangkor Island and the towns in Lumut and Sitiawan. It was actually a strip of Perak territory which was ceded to Britain in 1826 and remained a colony as part of the Straits Settlements until it was returned to Perak in 1935.
Dindings was renamed Manjung in 1982.
Ayer Tawar is a small town located in the Manjung District.
Kutien is one of the 10 branches of the Foochow dialect group. The majority of Ayer Tawar's population comprised mostly of the descendants of immigrants from the Kutien District of Fuzhou, China.
Old wooden Rice Milling machine
Mr. Ling goofying around with the stone mill! Stone mills were used to grind wheat or grains.
Old kitchen cabinet
Traditional barber shop
Tools to work the land
That tub is certainly big enough for a bath!!!
Donated from the Kutien people, sharing with the community their way of life back in the old days!
Chinese medicine grinders
Chinese traditional weighing scales
Traditional fire extinguisher and an old drum
Old records
Weighing scales
Old gramophone
Chinese Antique Opium Pipe
Antique irons
Antique jars for preserving eggs or vegetables
The wedding bed
Not suppose to smile as in the olden days, marriages were arranged! LOL
Wedding Lanterns
These lanterns have to be placed at the front entrance of the house once there is a wedding. The lanterns are only allowed to be taken down when a baby boy is born. So I am calling them the 'baby boy' lanterns!!!
Another interesting tradition which we learnt was when one is married to a rich Foochow family, a 'rubber tree' will be tied to the front of the wedding vehicle!!! That would show the community that your dowry might be a piece of land.
Our 21st Century photo shoot, Kutien style!
Traditional rubber sheet machines
Tapping rubber
Punishment for Adultery: Drowning in a Pig's Cage
The making of rubber tapping tools
We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and acquired new knowledge about the Kutien people and their way of life. Thank you Mr. Ling and Mr. Tian for such warm hospitality. Thank you for your time and generosity. Most important of all, thank you for beautiful memories that will stay with us forevermore.
We wish both of you never-ending passion and love for the Kutien community, and continuous growth and prosperity for the Heritage House that you have both established so well.
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