Lebuh Chulia, Georgetown, Penang. December 2005
Who are the Teochew?
You cannot miss the building. Nestled among rows of old Indian Muslim carpet stores, jewellers and eateries, the ancestral temple of the Teochew Chinese stands out with its pronounced Chinese architecture and imposing doors featuring twin larger-than-life Chinese warriors in full regalia. This silent and formidable pair with their red faces and weapons, frightening to foes yet welcoming to members and visitors, have been standing guard to the temple's peaceful interior for more than a century. Their presence recalls to mind a rather popular Chinese tercet: "Like the spring rain to a lotus blossom, thou art welcome; come, rest within".
In southeastern China there is an ethnic group, the Teochew, that one occasionally hears about in Southeast Asia. They are a small group compared to the more numerous Cantonese and Hokkien immigrants in the region, and it appears they have a long history of migration:
The ancestors of the Chaoshan people moved to present-day Chaoshan as refugees possibly from central China due to various reasons. The Teochews were often called Fulao because they came mostly passed through Fujian during migration, with some well-maintained language and customs from ancient China. As was recorded in pedigrees and ancient inscriptions, one of the two groups who temporarily migrated to the capital city of Fujian later moved to parts of Chaoshan in batches during the Tang Dynasty, intermarrying with the local people.
(Wikipedia)
My friend CM in Singapore is very proud of her Teochew heritage especially in specific foods. So overshadowed by the other groups that immigrated from China, it would be easy never to learn anything about them at all. They speak their own unique dialect of Chinese and keep their own customs. The Teochew simply get lost in a sea of Cantonese and Hokkien immigrants.
The "Kongsi" (clanhouse) [see: Penang Clan House] was an important cultural focal point for early settlers from China who went on to establish businesses. Ancestral temples were equally important in that they kept a genealogical record of those who had migrated. Ancestors were honored in those temples and simultaneously community records were kept of who was part of the community. The lines clearly blurred between the clanhouses, associations, and temples - all of which served the function of binding together the community, yet with slightly different focuses. They were the Lions Clubs, Knights of Columbus, and "churches" of their day - all different organizations, but in the end, bringing together the far-from-home Chinese community.
Wandering the streets of Penang or Singapore one will surely run across a venerable "Chinese looking building". Is it a clanhouse or a temple? A place of business with a religious element or a religious place where people did business as well? Is the Western need to absolutely categorize everything unable to handle the blurred lines of the Chinese Overseas Community of Southeast Asia? I remain confused as ever.