Fuzzy Bus

There is a very close connection between the Chinese Opera and the Chinese Temple celebrations. The opera, known by the term Wayang, which is a Malay word that simply means ‘performance’, began many hundreds of years ago and was brought to Singapore by the Chinese immigrants. Most performances then, were done upon temporary stages set up and brightly lit on the sides of streets. During this time all actors were male, and young boys played the female roles. There was no price to attend these shows. Then, as well as today, the shows are often funded by the temples and coincide with various festivals and religious celebrations. Even the ones that are mainly for entertainment purposes now, started out in this fashion. Some festivals are similar to Halloween or Day of the Dead Festivals that occur in other parts of the world, such as the Hungry Ghost Festival. In these cases the dead are remembered, honored and appeased with dancing, feasts, sacrifices, and performances.

Today there are over thirty professional companies performing Wayang Opera. Should one be visiting Singapore and not know where to find a performance, the concierge at some of the best hotels in Singapore will have that information. These performances have a long cultural history and should not be missed. This is an art form based in traditional rituals and are very religious in context, over ninety five percent of them being performed on such occasions. This form of expression disappeared however, for almost 70 years. But with the growth of the country, there seemed to be something missing. The older generation has come together with the younger, as Singapore’s youth becomes more interested in the history of their city and their heritage, and many of the older generation remember the days when all performances were done on the street corners, before fancy opera houses were built and when the price of a ticket was simply the desire to be there.

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