gallery
The making of the lion’s head mask
01 Nov 2014 — There are two main forms of the Chinese lion dance, the Northern Lion and the Southern Lion. But around the world, especially in Southeast Asia, the Southern Lion predominates as it was spread by the Chinese diaspora communities. Only a few companies in Malaysia make lion's head masks according to traditional methods. Normally, the masks are imported from China because it is much cheaper, but the quality is not very good as they are commercially made and mass produced. The Malaysian Insider photographer, Nazir Sufari, had the opportunity to see and record the making of lion's head masks at a shop in Desa Pandan in Selangor. As said by craftsman Wong Soon Fai: “It is hard to play the lion dance, but to build the lion's head mask is much harder.”
A boy plays near rows of lion's head masks in Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Wong Soon Fai, 53, weaves together bamboo to make a frame for the lion's head. According to Wong, there are only four companies in Malaysia which make lion's head masks traditionally. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Wong Soon Fai whittles the bamboos so they can be bent according to specifications. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Diamond Ho Chen Leong pastes waxed paper mache over a lion's head frame. He is among the young people who are willing to learn the making of the lion's head mask. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Lion's head frames are hung on the wall of the premise. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Diamond Ho Chen Leong demonstrates the final step of pasting waxed paper mache onto the frame. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Waxed paper mache is pasted onto the frame using glue. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Leong Chang Tuck patiently paints a lion's head mask. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
A painted lion's head mask is set aside to dry. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
A completed lion's head mask is seen before being wrapped and sent to a customer. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Wong Soon Fai hopes that the young generation will inherit this art to prevent it from going extinct. For those who are interested in this art, Wong has something to say: ‘Think with your mind, see with your eyes.’ – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, November 1, 2014.
Please note that you must sign up with disqus.com before commenting. And, please refrain from comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature and note that comments can be edited, rewritten for clarity or to avoid questionable issues. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments