2022, Local Bawean Singaporean having a smoke unaware of the significance to what
this would later hold to them in the next few years.
2022, Local Bawean Singaporean reading about her heritage through books written by
local Baweans infront of a mural that is being ignored by many passerbys that does
not know the signficance this holds to this street.
2022 ( Reflection)
After going to the book store and these places again after many years,I went to where the old kampung/ village of where the other community used to live and there used to be an evidence ,which was noticeboard, that the community was present. So, I went back to my old grandfather’s ponduk which has the same exteriors to reflect on these loses.
There were other things that I learn besides these loses.I learnt about how it is being Baweanse knowing how beautiful this sub-ethnicity is. I read in one of the books of how the pronounciation of Baweanese words are “halus”, meaning the sensitivity of the words when its being prounced can mean to different meanings. I was discovering the difference between the Malay identity, my ethincity group, and being Singaporean and how to certain people it can cause a clash of identity because one may say that being Malay is too traditional and being modern can cause a conflict in it considering how modern the Singaporean identity is being in a constant, changing, rapid city. I had discussions with how we can save the culture whilst trying to live in this globalised city. My eyes lit up when I was told how the Bawean community has made a constant effort to compile stories and their knowledge of Bawean island with the history of Singapore together and made them into books so that a history could be recorded for future generations. Even though, it is sad that comparing the other Malay sub-ethincity communities such as the Minang community and Bugis community etc. We have an effort from our own people. To which, I have hope to restore my heritage identity and for my people and many generations to come.
2023, Local Bawean Singaporean revisits their Grandfather’s ponduk, a house where one of the Baweanese Community used to lived. The Baweanese observed that the ponduk has now renovated with different colours and theres no table where they once sat. They read their book that gave insight to how the Baweanese community came together to be in that ponduk. There was a feeling of lost, unable to know what to do.
2023, Local Bawean Singaporean went back to mural to reflect on her culture and identity after research about her Baweanese Identity and discovers that the mural that was once on the wall is gone. There is a feeling of sadness to this mural as the history of this street is no longer reflected.
2023 ( Reflection)
It is funny how I was sad but smiling at how things can quickly changed in a year. Even though, the colours changes in the environment and mural gone, I evolved into a person that’s more grown into my own culture especially with what I wear now. It cant be seen in the videos but I’m wearing my kerosang/dokoh brooch, which is brooch that is usually worn with traditional wear, that I wear almost everyday and a scarf everyday to commemorate my mom when she had my brother and I. When I first walked outside my old grandfather’s ponduk, I could not recognised it. It gave me a thought of my grandfather. I wondered how would he felt when he first saw the exterior of the shophouse.
During my research, I went to Malacca to research about the Malay Identity and where erasure started and it has always been from the start of colonialisation where we were forced to be seperated into different groups and segerated from everyone else when it should not be like that. We should always be productive as a team to work with one another. Personally, I do feel that the erasure is inevitable at this point but I feel that we should archive as much as we can to preserve current histories and our insights for future generations.
Documentation through video compliations, 2023
Balik Ke Pondok is a documentation of my late grandfather and my observations through coming back from England to reflect on Bawean Erasure in Singapore. Every year, I will go back to this road specifically Everton Road which is where one of the Baweanese communities used to live to reflect how the surroundings have changed since I have come back and how my identity and thoughts have changed over the years. Captions are based on how I felt at the time of recording. I am planning to based this research to plan a project in different pieces of work in either an installation or a moving piece.