The last giant joss stick makers of Singapore are burning to the end
- Albert Tay’s business may well be the last of its kind in the Lion City
- His craft has been handed down through the generations, but young Singaporeans have no interest in it – and Covid-19 could be the killer blow
Bent over a wooden table, Albert Tay, 61, picks up a plastic knife – the kind that comes with a McDonald’s takeaway order – and gets to work.
His hands run down a winding log of reddish-brown clay that is shaped like a dragon without features. Using the knife, he deftly carves out small, protruding scales, one after another, until they eventually form a dense pattern across the dragon’s body, which dresses up a 2-metre-long joss stick.
With more twists and flicks of the wrist, he works on the dragon’s head, sculpting its eyes, nose and beard. The dragon comes to life, almost.
But in a modern city, it is a vanishing trade. Tay believes that his shop, Tay Guan Heng, could well be the last of its kind in Singapore. A competitor shut down in January.
“This is not a way for the kids nowadays to make a living. You cannot survive,” he says, adding that neither his nieces, nephews, nor even his own children are interested in taking over the business.
