An exhibition showcasing the culture and heritage of the smallest sub-ethnic group in Singapore's Malay community opens today and will run for eight months.
Singapore's Banjarese community, mostly hailing from South Kalimantan, were known here for their diamond trade in the 19th and 20th centuries, and many set up shop in Kampong Intan, or Diamond Village, where Jalan Pisang is today.
A 1911 census indicated there were 377 Banjarese in Singapore - the largest group in the Straits Settlements then - said Ms Suhaili Osman, a curator at the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC).
However, in a 1990 census, just 12 people identified themselves as Banjarese, she noted.
The spotlight on the Banjar community here is the MHC's fifth exhibition in its Se-Nusantara series of community co-curated exhibitions.
The Urang Banjar: Heritage and Culture of the Banjar in Singapore exhibition, will run from today until July 25.
Meanwhile, this year's Malay CultureFest, which was launched yesterday, will also feature Banjar cultural heritage.
The festival runs for two weeks until Dec 13, and will largely take place virtually but with in-person elements, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the exhibition and festival's launch yesterday, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong cited a Banjar idiom, "Haram manyarah waja sampai kaputing", which means "Let not the steel (of a blade) stop short until its very point".
He said the idiom "is an exhortation for a Banjar to undertake all endeavours with determination, and not to give up until his goals are achieved".
"It is through this steely determination that the Banjar community and MHC have succeeded in presenting Urang Banjar and Malay CultureFest 2020 to us, amid this pandemic," said Mr Tong.
Highlights of the festival include Kala: New Music for Gamelan Banjar, a gamelan performance in the Banjar style by experimental music group NSA Project Movement, and a cooking demonstration of Banjar kueh like talam banjar and bingka ubi.
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12
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Number of people who identified themselves as Banjarese in a 1 990 census, down from 337 in 1911, when the Singapore Banjarese made up the largest group of their community in the Straits Settlements.
Sisters Faridah Jamal, 58, and Fauziah Jamal, 64, whose father Haji Ahmad Jamal worked as a diamond trader and jeweller in Jalan Pisang for most of his adult life, said they were proud of their heritage and were honoured to have their stories told through the exhibition.
The sisters, who loaned artefacts such as their father's gem and diamond weighing tools to the MHC for the exhibition, said recounting their stories for the showcase brought back many childhood memories, like that of watching their father practise his craft at the family's home in the 1960s, which doubled as his office.
The public can find out more about the exhibition and festival at www.malayheritage.org.sg
Correction note: An earlier version of this article misspelt a word in the Banjarese idiom cited by Minister Edwin Tong. The National Heritage Board has since clarified the correct spelling.
