By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Aug 19: A pair of Hakka lion king heads created by the Malaysia Hakka Cultural Society Sarawak branch have secured a place in the Malaysia Book of Records as the largest Hakka lion heads ever made.
This is the second record successfully achieved by the local Hakka society following its first entry in January 2020 with the most number of 71 Hakka lion heads ever presented in a performance at CityONE Megamall.
The eye-dotting ceremony to activate the two gigantic Hakka lion kings, measuring 10 feet tall, 7 feet wide and 16 feet long was participated by special guests Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government II Michael Tiang, and Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng, at MBKS square here tonight.
Sponsors of the two lion king heads Dato Boon Choon Shin and Pemanca Liew Shark Sen also joined to ceremonially draw on different parts of the lion king heads to ‘bring them to life’.
A frenzied Hakka lion dance with multiple performers working together to lift and move about the large costume also took place as part of the festivities.
To support the Hakka society, Tiang announced in his speech earlier, on behalf of Deputy Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting, that the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts would providing a fund of RM20,000 for the event tonight.
The Hakka lion dance is a performance art unique to the Hakka culture. Though similar in concept to the Chinese lion or dragon dance, the Hakka lion heads are visibly different as they look more menacing and sport different designs.
The design is distinctive with the letter ‘king’ (王) and ‘ba gua’ diagram on the lion’s forehead, which the Chinese lions do not have.
The Hakka lions also come in different sizes. Other than the two lion kings, there were 18 others that were of small and standard sizes. — DayakDaily
