The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1950-05-04
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
by Hazel Brannon Smith
Penang, Malaga
(Delayed)

Inc DeauIlIul lSIdnQ OF eDdn
is one of the principal tourist
centers in the Federation OF
Malaga. 1t is located just off the
northwest coast of Malaga and
comprises a territory of about
four hundred square miles.
The visitor to Penang usually
comes in one of the hundreds of
row boats which serve as ferries
from Penang harbor, where the
big ships anchor, to the island of
Penang. There is only one dock
at this harbor and it is usually
taken up with ships loading car
go. Most ships anchor off the is
land and passengers go back and
forth in these small, bright
colored row boats. These
boats are a never-endin G
source of interest to the
tourist. The Malayans have to be
licensed to handle them vie with
each other in trying to have the
most attractive boat-thus cap
turing more business. The bright
colors are the most popular.
The prov is higher than that of
the normal row boat some times
carved and always painted with
unusual designs. The design al
most always features a pair of
eyes which is supposed ward off
evil spirits. The boatman never
sits down to row-always re-
remains in a standing position.
He makes a fine picture as he
plies rapidly through the lovely
phosphorescent waters with his
passengers pleasure-bent for Pc
nang island. Here the principal
city is Georgetown, clean and
attractive.
To sea-bred people of any race
Penang is a natural home. 1t has
everything that Malaga has. The
original inhabitants, the pirates
of early days, no doubt knew its
charm. They rowed up the river
to Datoh Kramat through the
swamps and there they made
their orchards and buried their
dead. AT Batu Ferringhee, where
the tree-crowned rock projects
into the bay, cunningly they lay
in wait for becalmed sailing ships.
In the north are the paths that
leads to Muka Head, skirting the
hot sand beaches, but cool in
the jungle shade. Here the Ma
lays are fishing. In the heart are
the hills with their endless tracks
and paths. their minute flowers
and orchids, ferns and MOSES. In
the south r the padi lands
which CLEAN golden at the har-
vest
TIL people themselves give the
spice of variety to life in the
Island. Each have their own Sc
parate customs and festivals,
strange and coiorful, many OF
them seeming horrible to people
of the western world.
Everyday a part of Hindu life
is apparent in their temple even
song. Then the Gods are garland
ed with roses and jasmine buds
and bathed with milk and water. |
But the Chinese, perhaps most
of all, have left their mark upon
the island. Both in the town and
on the hillside are their temples
and pagodas, curving roof-tops,
jade green dragons, fragrant joss,
a Buddha bathed in rose-petalled
water, a Taoist medium with
blood-stained knife, a White
Tiger" smeared with pork.
Then there are the Great Old
Uncle" that ever-popular diety
of prosperity, their market feast,
puppet shows, theatres. The very
names of their temples make mu-
sic: Supreme Content, Purple
Bamboo Grove, Vision of Bliss,
Immortal Cliff, Precious Virtue,
Golden Harmony, the Mystical
Dragon.
Perhaps the best known is the
Aver tam Temple, set against the
green slopes of Penang Hill. its
delicate coloring enhanced by
the soft haze that seems to hang
like a cloud around it. Common
ly called the Temple of Para
disc, Aver Itam is visited by
thousands of persons annually
and is probably the most interest
ing temple in Malaga. In 1t are
seen the Bhuddas from all parts
of the Orient, fish and turtle
ponds, pagodas and temple gar
dens. 1t is thought to be the clean
est temple in the east and the
only one of its kind outside Tibet.
There are due to be some thous-
and steps in the structure.
Everywhere in these temples
the figure of Buddha is enshrined
deliberately and the devout come
regularly to battle it in per-
fumed water.
Another of the temples visit
ed by all the tourists in the Snake
Temple, the only one of its kind
in Malaga. Here are found the
real, live, uncaged snakes that
creep and crawl all over the tenn