Kampong Spirit - Gotong Royong: Life in Potong Pasir, 1955 to 1965

by Josephine Chia

Kampong Spirit brings to life the colorful characters with whom the author, Josephine Chia, grew up with at a kampong in Potong Pasir. But life was anything but simplistic. The book also chronicles Singapore's struggles toward nationhood and through the eyes of Josephine Chia, we get to discover the social and political events that took place during this turbulent time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Family, Short Stories, Historical

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Ms Josephine Chia is a Peranakan and is proud of her heritage. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. She has eight published books, including Frog Under A Coconut Shell, which has a second edition in 2010 and is currently being translated into Bahasa Indonesia. Josephine was one of the winners of UK's Ian St. James Awards in 1992 and has won other literary prizes.
Josephine runs Creative Writing Courses and is Mentor to aspiring young writers.

Reviews

[Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad Josephine Chia wrote this book.

As the days of poverty and the kampong way of life disappear from Singapore, it's important for us to retain records of our history, to understand why our parents can be so "kiasu"; to remember there was a time when Malay was the lingua franca for many Chinese and Indians; to remember how happy our countrymen got when the government didn’t ban the next pop culture craze sweeping in from the West; to remember what it was really like growing up as a girl with no prospects or money for shampoo or new clothes, threatened with arranged marriage, dealing with village horrors like lice, intestinal worms, and pythons, and scavenging trash for food.

It’s not particularly entertaining as fiction because Chia tends to insert too much exposition into her narratives, using her characters as mouthpieces to narrate historical events. If you’ve ever read a textbook that tried to teach a concept through awkward skits enacted by stock characters, you’ll have an idea of what I mean. Another thing that annoyed me was that she designed the essays to be read independently, but the chapter titles are so abstract that you can’t jump straight to the chapter where she celebrated CNY or the chapter on the race riots because you can’t tell which chapter is which. So you have to read the chapters sequentially, and when you read them sequentially, many explanations are repeated (we are introduced to pontianaks, P. Ramlee, and Ah Gu at least 3 or 4 times). That being said, Chia does tell a couple of moving stories, and her father and mother are strong and interesting figures.

For those of us who care less about a good story and just want to learn more about Singaporean history, kampong life, and Peranakans in particular, Chia does a good job explaining many local terms. She also helps us understand why lower- and middle-class Singaporeans from the 1950s and 60s idolised the PAP and Lee Kuan Yew so much, and how far they have brought us. The Indonesian documentary JALANAN and this book have sobered me to the fact that many people in our neighbouring countries still live in such "kampong" conditions, which Chia reminds us––were crushingly awful. People may reminisce on the extraordinary camaraderie in the kampong, but everyone who lived in one still wanted to escape from the squalor. I’m glad I bought this book, and I’m definitely keeping it around for reference, for inspiration, and for nostalgia.


Terms Explained:
- Alkaff Gardens
- Robinson’s Petang
- balik kampong
- char kiak / terompah
- sumbat sambal belachan
- Toa Payoh / Paya Lebar
- chap ji ki
- sanggul, chochok sanggul
- difference between Peranakan kebaya and Malay kebaya
- ang ku kueh
- Bras Basah / beras basah
- pontianak, polong
- ulu
- Tan Kim Seng Fountain
- lallang
- Ular Sawa
- kuih bingka ubi
- Tepak Sireh
- kereta-api
- kambing
- ketumba, jintan manis, kunyit: coriander, cumin, turmeric
- five-foot way
- nonya
- pantun
- Orang Cina Bukan Cina
- perkutut, burong merbok
- Bukit Ho Swee fire
- Good Morning towel
- dhoby-mark
- pantang: superstitious
- Joo Chiat
- makan angin
- Di Tanjong Katong, airnya biru
- stangee, bunga rampai
- bunga-api

[WF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book about growing up in a kampong in the 50s and 60s absorbing, and unexpectedly educational, for the author does not just tell us her memories of her early days, but sets her story clearly in the context of Singapore history. Events in the kampong are marked by events unfolding in the politics, growth and development of Singapore. It's a simple but great technique. I do think this book should join (or replace) some of the usual titles in a required reading list in Singapore schools.

There are repetitions from chapter to chapter that one notices if reading the book in one sitting, as I did, but these repeated explanatory notes or references are practical for readers who are dipping, or asked to read one chapter, as I imagine this may happen in a school context.

One small thing which didn't sit well with me was the repeated use of the word "spout" and "sprout" almost interchangeably, and when describing the wise sayings of Mak, the author's adored mother. It feels slightly inappropriate, with its negative connotation ("spout nonsense") it doesn't feel quite the right word. Still, relatively minor.

Another thing I really had issue with was to do with the print. The font really needs to be larger and /or bolder for more comfortable reading. The publisher should have considered that maybe many of this book's readers would be older folk.

These are what touched me in Josephine Chia's story:
- her love for her mother
- her gratitude for the opportunity to get educated
- her awareness of how far Singapore has come
- her sorrow for women who missed out on opportunities she managed to grasp
- her loving portrayal of the warm friendships in her community, the villagers' capacity for enjoyment of life, despite the hardships

Thank you, Josephine. Many others had kampong experiences similar to yours, but not many have written about them, and even fewer have written about them in such an engaging way.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly quite educational and I got to learn a bit more about Singapore's history. I liked how Chia not only wrote about her life, but injected nuggets of information throughout the book - thing like the meaning of road names (never knew Toa Payoh meant 'big swamp'), historical events and cultural practices by the various ethnic groups. It's an interesting glimpse into how Singapore was like just 70 years ago, when people still lived in kampongs with no electricity, and it's amazing to see how far the country has come since then. However, because the stories are designed in a way where you can read each stand-alone, certain explanations were repeated quite a number of times throughout. It's nothing major, but it did get tiring to reading similar things again and again.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's portrayal of Kampong life in Singapore. As an expat currently living in Singapore, I really appreciated the opportunity to gain an insight into past events that make Singapore the place it is today.

[Frans Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josephine Chia makes you want to meet her with her approachable style of writing. She helped me as an outsider understand Singapore’s recent history in a beautiful, personal way. In Singapore I was told, “I haven’t read this but I probably should.” Well, that’s right. You probably should.

[Bambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written memoir. It's amazing how the author was able to pull memories of her childhood, of her friends and family back then, and bring them all vividly come to life. I also learned a lot about Singapore's birth as a country.

[Clara Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look at Singapore in the 1950s through a obscure village. I enjoyed how the author intertwined major events in the village/her life with that of Singapore. Suddenly what I learnt in History textbooks takes on a different lens

[Kathy Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this very much. Very vivid description of kampung life.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to get a glimpse of Singapore history and the way to the independence from the narrative perspective of a Peranakan little girl

[Kes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small memoirs about growing up in a Kampong; good look into historical Singapore and living without electricity and running water.

[Vidhya Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The emotional chord that runs through the book holds your interest till the end. The kampong life insights are particularly valuable. I enjoyed it