Chinese paper cutting is a folk art with close to 2000 years of history. Below are some amazing samples of great craftsmanship; most of the graphics are symbols of luck and prosperity, animals & pets, as well as reflections of daily folk lives…
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas is the latest project from my online friend Quachee. It’s an online cookshow showcasing the Peranakan (or Nyonya) cuisine.
Peranakan refers to descendants of foreign immigrants (primarily Chinese) who assimilated with the Nusantara community during the 15th & 16th century and created a unique culture of their own. Chinese-Peranakan is often referred to as Baba (male) and Nyonya (female).
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas revolves around a Peranakan grandmother teaching her grandchildren and friends on the art of cooking Nyonya dishes. Below are the first four (of eight) webisodes…
Vintage world map by Japanese mapper Nagakubo Sekisui, created in 1850…
Notice how huge Antarctica was portrayed back then; global warming lol?
[more Japanese antique maps at Joel's blog]
A bizarre traditional ritual in India where babies are thrown from a height of 50 feet onto a cloth sheet held below for the sake of good health…
Devotees say no babies were injured during the ritual, which is practised annually by Muslims and Hindus in a village in western India’s Solapur district for 500 years.
Speechless.
[video via eltelbarker@Youtube]
Roasted pigs in costumes were paraded on the feast of St. John the Baptist, a hundred-year-old practise in the Philippines. Festival goers also got to sample the roasted suckling pigs (lechón), a famous Filipino delicacy, for free…
Nakizumo (lit. crying sumo) is a traditional Japanese festival with 400-years of history. The event, believed to bring good health to the babies, is held annually in temples across Japan where the kids would face-off each other to see who’s crying the soonest (and loudest)…
The above video [credits to garyjpn@youtube for the upload] is probably from Hiroshima in 2009; there are other slightly different format in other places, including in Tokyo where some real sumo wrestlers were involved.
City of Kuala Lumpur in 1961. Video by Michael Rogge, (former) banker and cinematographer from Netherlands who was stationed in Asia in 1950s…
There’s a huge video collection of Rogge during his stay in Japan and Hong Kong from 1949 to 1961, which I absolutely adore… it’s a valuable cultural heritage imo. You can check all his works on his Youtube channel.
Found this website, Taipics.com which shares a large archive of old Taiwan photos. Sharing a few of my favourites here; check the site for more if it’s of your interest…
