Home / Commerce and Industry

Joss carving

Joss carving are elaborate decorative pieces carved on joss sticks which are burnt as offerings to Chinese gods during special occasions. They are made of sawdust paste from the Kayu Manis trees or the wild Cinnamon trees found in Malaysia.

Joss sticks or incense burners are used by Buddhists and Taoists and various Chinese sects in religious ceremonies especially during Chinese New Year, birthdays of various gods and the Festival of the Hungry Ghost. The fragrance emitted is said to be pleasing to the gods and the smoke a signal to the gods that offerings are being made. Coming in various sizes, those for special occasions are carved with dragons, phoenix motifs, colourful divinities belonging to Chinese mythology and intricate palaces.

Joss carvings are made from a mixture of wood dust and water which are the main ingredients of the joss-paste. The paste is malleable when wet and hardens to a strong form. In the past the joss-paste was only obtainable from China but now they can be bought from Penang, its ingredients coming from trees grown there. Each joss stick consists of 4 layers of joss paste with the final layer being a smooth surface and taking up to a month to dry. The carving process begins when the layering process is completely dry. A mound of joss paste is mounted on the joss stick and carving begins. Small figures of about 15 cm take about 2 hours to carve and paint, while 1 m long ones take up to 3 working days. The carver uses a knife and ice-cream stick as spatula, and a bottle which he uses as a rolling pin. Annual joss-making competitions were held in China when every joss shop in the district would commission a master carver to make and design 3 high joss sticks.

Apprentices were trained by a master for 4 to 5 years, depending on their ability. They began their training with menial tasks, from sweeping floors to making tea. Today, the carvings are no longer done manually with large moulds used instead to shape the figurines. Modern innovations include spray painting the designs and mixing the paste using equipment found in industrial bakeries. Recently, the trend has been to set up giant joss sticks measuring up to 3 m or more and costing between hundreds to thousands of dollars each. The sticks are either doused with kerosene or wrapped with flammable material to help ignite it and it continues to burn for days, depending on its height.



Author
Andrea Craig



References
Joss carving: A vanishing trade. (1985). Goodwood Journal, 2nd Qtr., 30-33.
(Call no.: RCLOS 052 GHCGJ)

Singapore's giant joss sticks, an art that goes up in smoke. (1990, January 12). Jakarta Post, p. 7.


Further Readings
Ban giant joss sticks - they are not traditional. (1995, August 14). The Straits Times, Forum, p. 32. 

Reaching for the gods. (1993, October 9). The Straits Times, p. 30. 

The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Commerce and Industry>>Labour and Employment>>Vanishing Trades
Skilled labor--Singapore
Carvers (Decorative artists)--Singapore
Arts>>Decorative arts>>Carving and carvings
Business, finance and industry>>Economics>>Labour economics



All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.