16 Feb 1956, The Straits Times
Sing Pantuns for me at my Funeral
Death wish of an old Singapore baba
by Philip Goh
The singing of Malay "p[antuns" will be an unusual feature at the funeral on Saturday of Mr Koh Hoon Teck, one of the old guards of the Singapore babas (Straits born Chinese)
At the funeral an ancient Chinese ritual, dating back to the Ming dynasty of more than 200 years ago, will be revived.
Mr Koh died at his Carpael Road home on Tuesday. He was 78.
It was one of his last wishes that pantuns (repartees in Malay in the form of rhymes - a feature, generally at Malay and Straits Chinese weddings) be sung before he was interred.
Himself a pantun expert, Mr Koh was one of the founders of the Dondang Sayang Association.
Members of the associations are arranging for a pantun party to be held at the Bukit Brown Cemetery.
History of a vow.
Mr Koh's other request is that he should be interred in the robes of the Ming dynasty period, dating back more than 200 years. The advent of the Manchus ended the Ming dynasty which was followed by the Ching, the last of the dynasties in China.
History has it that the Chinese vowed that while they would accept the Manchus as their conquerors, they would not, on their death, "tread the earth or see the sky" under their new rulers.
Son's part
In practice, this vow would require Mr Koh's eldest surviving son to don the robes of the Ming dynasty while standing on a chair. To shield himself from the sky, he would stand in a shelter of "kajang" (palm) leaves wearing a straw hat.
He would have to slip on the robes back to front. The silken robes come in layers, the numbers being indicative of the wealth of the deceased
(A wealthy Singapore Chinese is known to have worn 31 robes on his death). The final robe would be embroidered satin.
When fully robed, Mr Koh's son would sip a bowl of vermicelli and then pray. At the end of his prayers, he would shed the robes, which would then be used to clothe his father.
In the days when Chinese men wore their hair in queues, the eldest son would have to undo his queue and tie it into a chignon before he could wear his father's robes.
Mr Koh who lost 3 sons and a son in law during the Japanese occupation, leaves 3 sons, 4 daughters, 4 sons-in-law and many grand children and great grand children.
Before the war, he ran a firm of booksellers and publishers in Bras Basah Road. He introduced into Singapore the articical essence of "stangee" (scented wood" and bunga rampay (a sweet scented flower)
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19 Feb 1956, ST
While relatives cried kneeling before the grave, a friend sang to the accompaniment of a gong, drums and a violin,:
"Besimila muai petama,
"Dari Adam mulai ugama,
"Dunia bugan kita punia,
"Asal manusia pulang ketana
(Oh, from the beginning of life,
From Adam born of earth,
This world is not ours,
and Man returns to his origin)
Earlier at his house, Radio Malaya recorded some of the spontaneous rhymes sung in his honour
The tomb of Koh Hoon Teck in Bukit Brown is likely to be in the path of the proposed new road
