BERNAMA – A keen interest in traditional art and craft prompted Loh Ban Tatt and his wife Elaine Teoh to teach themselves how to knead dough figurines for the Chinese New Year, among other festive occasions.
This unique handmade craft, which depicts legendary cultural figures and animals, is a folk art that originated from China. It has existed for more than 1,500 years, but today, it is largely forgotten, lamented Teoh, 53.
The couple started making dough figurines six years ago and it took a whole year of experimenting with different techniques and measurements before they were able to produce the flour dough to perfection.
“We use a 100 per cent traditional method from the very beginning of the dough-making process until it is ready to form a figurine because we want to maintain its authenticity as made by our ancestors,” said Loh, 54.
“In the past, the figurines produced were only religious figures (with characters of Chinese opera and folklore like the Monkey king; and the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac). Today, we have updated them by making animated figurines (such as Pokemon) since we want to attract the interest of young people, especially children,” said Loh at his residence in Paya Terubong, Penang, Malaysia.
Teoh revealed the basic ingredients used to make the dough are a mixture of wheat flour, glutinous flour and water, which is then steamed for 45 minutes. Next, it is kneaded while still hot and it takes up to a week to get a perfect chewy, malleable and smooth texture.
After completion, the dough will be mixed with a certain colour and stored in a container to prevent it from hardening (as it is difficult to shape when exposed to air for too long).
Every year, the couple, who have three sons, produce animal figurines according to the Chinese calendar, and for the upcoming Chinese New Year, they have produced animated dragon figurines of various sizes.
All of the delicate figurines are kneaded and sculpted by Loh. Despite being ill, he remains meticulous and enthusiastic and even when he was warded for a month in hospital recently, his artwork was brought to him.
He wanted to carve a larger dragon statue for this Chinese New Year but had to temper the ambitious project as his movements are limited due to health issues. “To prepare one of these statues is not difficult. It only takes 15 to 20 minutes for a small figurine, but if it involves mastery and workmanship of complicated details, it can take up to a day, but the longest is the process of waiting for the dough for the statue to really dry and harden,” said Loh.
To ensure that the folk art is not lost in the modern world of made-to-order ‘factory clones’, the couple hold workshops and actively visit schools to teach the ancient art of making figurines based on flour dough.
“Many young people today are not interested in learning this beautiful art due to the complicated dough-making process but we hope that some will be curious enough to want to continue this legacy one day,” said Loh.
