Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Malacca Chetties all set for Deepavali
MALACCA: The Malacca Chetties are all set for Deepavali tomorrow as the community in Gajah Berang is putting in last-minute preparations to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
It is only in Kampung Chetty, Gajah Berang, where about 300 Malacca Chetties live in 70 households.
S. Kanagalingam Pillay, 40, a Chetty born and bred here, said that members of the community are very close to each other, regardless of age and would use this time to renew their kinship with one another.
“After praying in the nearby temple, the temple management would then visit each chetty home with a float in the shape of a kuttu vellaku (lamp) followed by other chetties hitting the gendang and wearing traditional clothes,” he said.
Kanagalingam said that on Deepavali, the whole village would be celebrating like it was a carnival and everyone can feel the ambience of the festivities.
Chetty folk historically are known as a community of traders during the Malacca Sultanate era when the state had one of the busiest ports in the world.
Although many of them still own the land of their ancestors but most have taken up clerical jobs and government positions instead.
Kanagalingam said their style of dress remains their primary distinction, especially among the older generation who prefer the local Malaysian apparel to the more traditional Hindu saree for women and vesthi for men.
“Our customary events like weddings are just the same as in ancient times except that our older women often attend in baju kurung, instead of the saree and sometimes with the Sanbol linpang (Malaysian headdress). The older men often wear the jubar (Malaysian sarong),” Kanagalingam said.
