Singapore’s last giant joss stick makers call it a day
After being lit up for close to a century, the incense will soon burn out at Singapore’s last giant joss stick maker, Tay Guan Heng, on Dec 4. Owner and master artisan Albert Tay, 63, and his brother Steven, 66, have decided to end the 90-year-old business started by their grandfather in the 1930s. They said their workshop in Ang Mo Kio is the last one making giant joss sticks adorned with elaborate designs of dragons, deities and other Taoist symbols.
Shaped and crafted from natural cinnamon wood clay, they are used in Taoist ceremonies as offerings. It takes several days to sculpt, design, spray-paint and dry these joss sticks – and even longer during the rainy season. Making handcrafted joss sticks is a skill that was passed down from their grandfather to their father, and then to them.
In its heyday between the 1980s and 1990s, giant joss sticks could go up to a towering 5.5m to 6m. The implementation of the Environmental Public Health (Burning of Joss Sticks and Candles) regulations in 1998, which restricted the size and number of joss sticks that could be burned, affected demand and profit margins, resulting in many exiting the trade. Their last competitor in Yishun closed down in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when most of the Taoist ceremonies were cancelled.
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'Our hands and bodies can't go on anymore': Joss stick factory in Ang Mo Kio calls it a day after almost 90 years
Tay Guan Heng didn't quite make it to the big 100. The joss stick factory, located in Ang Mo Kio, announced on Wednesday (Nov 9) that it will be shutting its doors on Dec 4, after almost nine decades of business.
Tay Guan Heng thanked its customers for their support over the years and mentioned that this was not an easy decision to make. "Our hearts would like to keep going but our hands and bodies can't go on anymore," the caption wrote.
The family-run business was founded in the 1930s and today, Albert is the only craftsman left standing. He does not only work on joss sticks though. Tay Guan Heng has diversified its work since the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Singapore’s last giant joss stick maker Tay Guan Heng calls it a day
Brothers Steven (left) & Albert Tay decided to end 90-yr-old business started by their grandfather. FOTO:LIM YAOHUI
After being lit up for close to a century, the incense will soon burn out at Singapore’s last giant joss stick maker Tay Guan Heng.
Owner and master artisan Albert Tay, 63, and his brother Steven, 66, have decided to end the 90-year-old business started by their grandfather in the 1930s. They said their workshop in Ang Mo Kio, the last one making giant joss sticks adorned with elaborate designs of dragons, deities and other Taoist symbols, will close on Dec 4.
Shaped and crafted from natural cinnamon wood clay, they are used during religious ceremonies as offerings. It takes several days to sculpt, design, spray paint and dry these joss sticks – and even longer during the rainy season. Making handcrafted joss sticks is a skill which was passed down from their grandfather to their father, and then to them.
Singapore joss stick-making family faces fading trade
Many countries across Asia are celebrating the Chinese New Year this weekend. The festival is a busy time for those in the business of making joss sticks - or cinnamon incense.
However, demand for hand-crafted joss sticks has been declining due to cheaper rival products and changing tastes.
This has caused problems for an 80 year-old family business in Singapore, which Ali Moore went to visit.
The Last Joss Stick Makers In Singapore Tay Guan Heng
We found giant dragon joss sticks, nativity sets and Santa Claus (wearing a face mask!) handcrafted under one roof. Yes, and by the same hands too!
Albert Tay shares the story of Singapore’s last giant joss stick makers and looks back at the years that passed - the good and the bad – as he continues the family business right to the end.
What do these craftsmen mean for our local heritage and customs?
Tay Guan Heng 9 November 2022
Hi everyone, with a very heavy heart, we would like to inform everyone that we will be closing the business after almost 90 years. Our hearts would like to keep going but our hands and bodies can’t go on anymore. Thank you for all your support over the years.
Our last day will be on 4 Dec 2022. If you’d like to visit us before our last day, we are open from 1pm to 4pm on the following weekends: 19 to 20 Nov and 26 to 27 Nov. Our address is at 4001 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, #01-25
We will also be having a closing down sale. Past figurines, moulds and packets of wood clay will be available for purchase.
Joss sticks are fundamental to Chinese rituals and festivals, and often burned as part of rituals conducted during Chinese New Year (including the eve of Chinese New Year), deities’ birthdays, and for religious purposes. The making of joss sticks can be traced back as early as 586-538 BC to the religious practices of the Egyptians, Babylonians, ancient Greeks and Romans.
Joss sticks come in different shapes, sizes and fragrances. There are perfumed joss sticks (香水香xiang shui xiang), large dragon joss sticks (龙香 long xiang) and small joss sticks (小香xiao xiang). Joss sticks are made from a mixture of joss wood dust, which can come from natural materials such as wild cinnamon tree. Large joss sticks are usually made from joss wood dust that are mixed with water, creating a dough which is rolled out and layered on a wooden stick. These can range in height from 3 to 12 feet (about 1 metre to 3.8 metres). They may be adorned with carvings such as dragon and phoenix motifs.
Small joss sticks are usually made from bamboo sticks that are dipped in water and rolled in joss wood dust and are about 28cm in length. The 28cm-long small joss sticks are more popular nowadays due to urbanisation as many people now live in HDB flats. Small joss sticks burn less and the ash they leave is easier to clean up. The regulations aimed at minimising smoke pollution- including restrictions on the height and cross section of joss sticks and the numbers that can be burnt at any one time, accompanied by the shifting religious landscape in Singapore, has resulted in a decline in the number of joss stick making stores.
Incense - Joss stick
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent.
Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms
taken by incense differ with the underlying culture and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses. Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.
Joss sticks are a type of incense. They are traditionally burned before an Asian religious image, idol, buddha statue, or shrine. But some joss stick burning rituals (and the prayers that come with it) do not need to be done in front of religious images. They can be burned before anything without limits; like in front of a door, or open window as an offering. In modern days, the burning of joss sticks can be used for any reason, like making the smell of a room better or lighting fireworks up.
What is a joss stick? A complete guide
Joss sticks or incense sticks, as they are commonly known as are substances burned for the production of a fragrant scent. The specific word ‘incense’ is a derivative of the Latin word called ‘incendere’. Incendere indicates to burn. Fragrance has been around since ancient times. Earlier, incenses were used in religious rituals in Babylon, Greece, Egypt, and India. Nowadays, incense has spread all over the globe and is used for many reasons. Some of these reasons are:
- Component of different religious practices
- As a way back keeping the home smelling fresh
- To repel evil spirits or demons
- To repel against any foul odors
There are primarily two components that are present in an incense stick. The first product is the aromatic material that is responsible for the production of the scent which you smell. The other product is the combustible material. This ignition material holds the molecules together in a specific shape. The aromatic materials that are used in the manufacture of incense can vary. These are primarily plant-based and are made from tree bark, raisins, roots, flowers, and other natural products.
The specific ingredients present in a particular incense can vary from one location to another. It primarily depends on the manufacturer which component they wish to use. However, some common aromatic ingredients in incense are:
- Patchouli
- Lotus
- Sandalwood
- Jasmine
- Rose
- Frankincense
- Musk
- Cinnamon
A 3rd-Gen Kim Zua Owner: This S’pore Millennial Makes A Living With Gifts For The Dead
It’s that time of the year again. The Hungry Ghost Festival falls on the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, when ghosts and spirits are believed to be let out of the Gates of Hell on the first day of the month. Despite no getai performances and live auctions this year due to COVID-19, joss sticks can still be seen lined up along sidewalks and many worshippers are still burning prayer offerings.
It’s a typically busy period for Ban Kah Hiang Trading, which is known to be one of Singapore’s oldest joss paper shops. This year unfortunately, seems to be a quieter-than-usual period for the business due to the pandemic. Ban Kah Hiang Trading was established in the 1950s, and was founded by the late Teo Chong Lim. The business was later passed down to his son in the late 1980s, and has since been taken over by his grandson in 2016.
The current third-generation owner is 32-year-old Alex Teo, who is also a father of three. In an interview with Vulcan Post, Alex shared that his grandfather had hailed from Fujian province, China and sailed down to Penang, Malaysia where he worked in a joss stick factory — that was where he first learnt the trade of making joss stick. His grandfather then migrated further down and eventually settled down in Singapore, where he continued to work at several joss stick factories before he decided to open a factory of his own. According to Alex, it was the first factory in Singapore to locally produce incense coil. Due to increasing operating and manpower cost however, the joss stick factory eventually closed down in the mid-1980s.