The Ting family originally lived in 24 acres. Ting Siew Chai, a teacher who taught and retired from Sacred Heart School had studied in Chung Cheng School, Chien Nang Chong of Sibu related her family's Hoong Ngang making history to me.
She is married to my cousin Tie King Siang . Her Ting family originated from Dah Kou (Char Kou) which is famous as the traditional Minqing Foochow Centre of Hoong Ngang in Fujian.
According to Siew chai, her family might not be the only Minqing family from Dah Kou as there probably would be many others all over Sarawak.
But what is most significant was the fact that every family in Dah Kou made rice vermicelli or hoong ngang for a living in Fujian in the olden days. Her father had that skill and he brought it out to Sarawak.
Cousin Ting Siew Chai's parents were later immigrants as they migrated to Sarawak in the 1930's.
Her oldest aunt came to Sibu first and married a man in 24 acres. Together they started the first hoong ngang cottage industry there.
Later Siew Chai's father, Ting Kek Tak, came out from Fujian and joined his sister and brother in law. He worked hard in the hoong ngang domestic factory. Later he brought his wife, Wong Sing Ing, from Minqing out to Sibu and together they too started a business of making hoong ngang.
Later they had to move to Chien Nang Chong, a little further upstream of Chung Cheng School. There they built their little cottage industry, with machinery, one to knead the dough, one to press the dough and one to cut the dough, to make hoong ngang commercial on a fairly large scale. Actually besides her parents, there were two other families who made hoong ngang and they were just next door to each other. Thus they formed a little group of factories prpducing the highly demanded dried hoong ngang and chien mien for the Sibu market.
Their river side house was just well positioned strategically as a place to produce hoong ngang and later also chien Mien, as it was nearer to Sibu than 24 acres.
The families had to move to Chien Nang Chong because the Methodist Church wanted to take back the land in 24 acres for their own use. They had been staying in 24 acres because they were also tapping the mission's rubber trees.
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| Minqing's Chakou Hoong Ngang or Vermicelli |
They were rubber tappers (who were sharing with the church rubber tapping on a 50:50 basis). When they had to move away, they had to find their own place, or if possible find their own land with rubber trees already ready for tapping. They were fortunate to find such a place, like the other two families.
Following their move out of 24 Acres, the three families , may be by God's providence, all moved to the river bank area near the Chung Cheng Primary School. This area is called Chien Nang Chong, or Front Southern Village. Each family built their own Doh Tau (jetty) with good wood and later even cement.
Cousin Siew Chai said her father and brothers even invested in concretizing the path from their house to the jetty. They also reinforced their river bank by constructing concrete walls. But the waves made by the expresses were just too ferocious and in no time even the concrete walls broke apart.
Their jetty was also identified by a huge tree called Dui Chiu Moh.(Big Mother Tree). Every one in the Nang Chong area and beyond recognised their jetty, also known as Kek Tak Jetty. Every jetty in the Rajang was named after the owner, or the person who built it. A jetty was very much a part of the village life then and it brought so much convenience.
One of my earliest memories of hailing a motor launch to stop by our jetty (Lau Pang Sing Jetty) in mid afternoon. It was not easy to call the last boat from further down river plying to Sibu. It was a gentleman's understanding that they could not pick up passengers belonging to another TURF.
My cousin was feverish and she wanted to see a doctor. A white towel would normally help to call a passing motor launch to come and help transport some one who was having an emergency. However it was very disappointing and very sad if the motor launch just passed by on the opposite bank. We missed two boats actually and our hearts were sinking. But thank God, another motor launch appeared on the opposite bank and every one started to jump up and down and waved the white towel. The motor launch seemed to be passing by too but all of a sudden the boat owner who must have recognised my uncle's jetty. changed his mind.
It was a cliff hanger moment. He had to cross the Rajang River (against the outflowing currents) and thus my cousin was able to board the motor launch for Sibu. Once the last motor launch was missed a villager would not be able to go to Sibu that day. He would have to catch the first boat the next day, at about 6 a.m.
The Hoong Ngang making families had to find a river bank home because it was convenient to load the rice noodles and dried chieng mien on to the motor launches in the morning.
However the families did not realise in those days that the strong waves created by the express boats plying between Bintangor and Sarikei and Sibu would cause severe river bank erosion.
By the 1980's the Hoong Ngang producers had to seek other forms of employment and abandon their old skills. Siew Chai's brothers had to work for timber companies, with good offers of monthly salaries, instead of using their own skills to make hoong ngang and chien mien.
Land was eroded away, the jetties washed away and even the machinery used had to be abandoned with many parts being stolen or cannibalised.
Hence the legacy of the Char Kou (Dah Kou) Hoong Ngang disappeared from the history of Chien Nang Chong , and in general the Rajang Basin.
The original way of making Hoong Ngang is no longer practised in Sibu, but there is a factory using sago flour to produce hoong ngang (vermicelli). It is not the same.
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