Kampung Emas
#mural
Kampung Emas or “Village of Gold”
in malay pays tribute to gold –
the legacy of Nam Hing Gold Smith, and
its various forms in history.
1. Botanical gold: the Gelam tree
Likely namesake of Kampong Glam, and native to the area. Spot the bottle brush-like flowers of the tree which produced spices, firewood and even the cajuput oil for Tiger Balm.
2. Cultural gold from foreign lands: Batik
A wax-dye art form invented by the Javanese. Arab street was also known then as Kampung Jawa(Java), as many settle here or land enroute to Hajj.
Look out for traditional royal patterns of sawat (wings of garuda) and parang rusak (broken sword) and the foreign influences in the pesisir (coastal) style of mega mendung(sun-cloud forms) and buketa (bouquet).
3. Symbolic gold: the Royal Regalia
The 5 symbols of the right to rule over historical Singapore as the Sultan of Johor-Riau-Lingga.

