Cakes from the past get a future

Traditional Brunei Malay food should be served not only during the festive Raya season, but also at national events to prevent them from going extinct, says a workshop facilitator.
“That’s why my workshop today is not about introducing, but instead taking a closer approach to these cakes,” says 24-year-old Siti Nor Sollehha as she conducts a workshop at the Language and Literature Bureau Library in Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.
“Some of the people here know things like cincin because their grandparents sell them, but they don’t really know how to make them,” she says.
Her “Understanding the Heritage of Traditional Brunei Malay Cakes Workshop” targets children aged five to 12, but Siti says even some adults are unaware of the existence of some of these cakes.
The Universiti Brunei Darussalam student didn’t know many of Brunei’s traditional Malay kuih-muih cakes existed until she did research. “There are traditional cakes that even locals have seldom heard about, such as Si Bujang, Ampong, Biraksa and Saku,” she says.
Asked why she researched the cultural heritage of the cakes, she says our Bruneian forebears made these delicacies and it’s the responsibility of present and future generations to ensure the knowledge is passed on.
The workshop aimed to raise awareness about the traditional Malay delicacies among children while building their confidence to interact and cooperate with others as a team. “These kids can help spread awareness and get more of their friends interested,” Siti says.
But her long-term goal was to publish a book. “We don’t have a proper book that illustrates all the traditional cakes and also has the recipes. I hope my book will encourage more Bruneians to start making of these cakes again and save them from becoming extinct.”
Parents of children participating in the workshop praise the benefits. Hjh Nisa, 40, says it’s educational for her daughter. “Instead of just hanging out at malls, children here get to learn about Brunei’s cultural heritage and history,” she says.
“They also get to develop their communication and interaction skills with children from other schools.” The mother of three says knowing that her daughter was attending workshops reassures her that she’s safe. A mother of eight, Marini Mohd Hassan, says the workshop is a perfect time-filler for the December school holidays. “Sometimes my kids head to a bake shop – they know what a cake looks like, but they do not know what it’s called,” she says.
“This workshop teaches my children the names of traditional cakes and learning how to make them gives them another hobby to fill their time.”
A Maktab Duli student who volunteers for the workshop, Khoo Jia Kok, says more information is available via the social media. “Uploading the photos of these delicacies to Facebook attracts curiosity,” he says. “It encourages others to dare to try something they’ve never heard of before.”