I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I ENTERED
THIS LINE OF WORK, MAKING
PAPER HOUSES AND FURNITURE
FOR GHOSTS.
..........................................
When I was younger, my family had a small
business selling iced water. They thought I
was going to take over, but I wanted to learn
something else. I became a mechanic, then
an electrician, but nothing stuck. Then, when
I was 18, I walked past a shop and saw a man
sitting on a stool making a paper horse. At
first I thought he was making a toy children
could play with, and I got very curious. I asked
him about a job, and he told me to sit and try
to make a paper horse like him. After an hour
my back started to ache, but I told myself to
persevere. I got up and walked around, then
came back and continued folding. He saw my
dedication and decided to let me work for him.
It was hard work, starting out. In the
past, people were more selfish, and kimzua
(paper eigy) craftsmen weren’t so willing to
teach others their trade. I didn’t really have a
teacher: I had to figure it out myself. One day
a customer came in looking for a paper dog.
Every other kimzua maker she approached
said they couldn’t do it, but I agreed to try.
I had never folded a dog before, but I used
my brain to think how I could do it.
Two years after I started, my boss fired me.
He wanted his son to take over his business
and told me to stop working. I wasn’t worried,
because I had already learned everything.
I soon found a job making paper eigies at
another place in the grave business, then
opened my own shop. At that time there
were about 20 kimzua businesses around
Chinatown; now there are only about five.
One by one the craftsmen have grown older
and passed away, and no one has taken up the
craft after them. I am old, too, but my energy
is good. My hair is still black. My secret? Don’t
trouble your mind with too many thoughts.
Only think about what you want to do.I work from morning till night, seven days
a week. I wake up at six and think about
what eigy I am going to make for the day.
This morning I started working on a house.
At about 12pm I break for lunch, then continue
working non-stop until dinner, closing at
around 9pm. Once home, I immediately fall
asleep. Every five days I have to make a new
batch of glue paste, which I make by hand.
It’s hard work, but I never really feel tired
because I enjoy doing this. Use your brain
to think and you’ll be able to do anything.>>ONE BY ONE THE CRAFTSMEN
HAVE GROWN OLDER AND PASSED
AWAY, AND NO ONE HAS TAKEN
UP THE CRAFT AFTER THEM.Right, from top
Lai Yew Onn building
a human effigy. Dolls
dressed in white such as
this are commonly used
to marry off ghosts who
were either miscarriages,
children or adults who
never married.A paper airplane, which
took two days to assemble.Page 050, from top
Every paper house Lai Yew
Onn builds comes with two
paper servants: one male
(the red face), and one
female (the white face).The dolls’ ‘skeletons’ are
made from bamboo, which
is then covered with paper.
For the shoes, Mr Lai often
uses flyers which he
collects from the post box.