On my grandfather's 70th birthday, my "Singapore aunts" came back to Sibu and join forces with my other Sibu aunts and uncles to buy a large gold pendant (seen in the photo) for him to wear.
It was a grand occasion which included a service held in Sing Ang Church in Sungei Merah, followed by a family dinner in his house on the top of the hill.
Gold gifts are so preciously regarded. They are given to baby boys (some baby girls) at their birth, girls when they got married, and the big birthdays of 60, 70, 80 etc.
But as a Foochow woman comes to the end of her life, she would prepare what the Foochows call, "End of hand" or chiu mui. She will distribute little pieces of gold or siler to her dearest relatives and especially sisters as a farewell and thank you gift.
My ngie mah (maternal grandmother) reserved one gold bracelet worth more than RM5,000 at today's value, for her third daughter in law, because she had promised her the gift. My third aunt was the one who cared for my grandmother until the end of her life. My grandmother, sadly was visually handicapped in the last 10 years of her life. That was a very sad period of our lives.
The Foochows value gold like most Asians. They would prefer to buy 24 karat gold rather than any other types.
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