BUNGA MANGGAR MAKING COMPETITION

A group photo to round up the event

The beauty of bunga manggar evokes a celebratory mood

Our principal presenting prizes to the winners

With our vice principal and the teachers involved in the competition

The creative arrangements the students came up with

Dancing to the beat of the kompang

With a group of happy and well-deserving winners

Our principal, the sweetest lady of Kg Bunga Manggar

Rohini looked totally shock when I presented her with a bunch of flowers

Arranging the bunga manggar at the end of a pole

Students hving a go at making bunga manggar

Hidayat engrossed in his bunga manggar

A demonstration at the beginning of the competition

The Bunga Manggar board explains its significance

We prepared our bunga manggar on the eve of the competition

BUNGA MANGGAR AND ULIT MAYANG

Organised an inter class Bunga Manggar Competition for the Sec 4 & 5 students. Each class had to send a team of four, comprising different races and gender. The students came dressed in batik sarung and pelikat. They had to bring their own equipment to earn bonus points while the teachers supplied the basic materials for making the bunga manggar.

We also had a board to explain the significance of bunga manggar to Malay weddings and why they are displayed at the groom's or bride's house.

After a short demonstration on how to make the bunga manggar, the students had to complete their task within 90 minutes. Their finished product had to be decorated and judges assessed their work for creativity, visual impact and the use of unique ornaments for the final touches.

The competition became hilarious when the team had to hunt for their form teacher for a group photo so as to earn more marks.

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An article in The New Straits Time of Malaysia talks about the origins of bunga manggar.

In the old days, the Malays tied bunches of coconut palm blossoms (mayang kelapa) to one end of bamboo poles. Bunches of tiny blossoms on a tall coconut tree are not visible from the ground. Some of the blossoms, when mature, will become coconuts. The blossoms are exquisite in off-white colours and the texture is smooth and medium hard.

It is no wonder that the beauty of the blossom earns it a place at the head of processions especially for weddings and other traditional events. Usually, there will be two bunga manggar bearers leading the procession, followed by a kompang (traditional tambourine) group and others.

In Terengganu, the original bunga manggar is used in the famous traditional dance called ulit mayang (ulit means crooning). Watch the clip below to know more about this song.

Today, perhaps due to the difficulty in getting the original bunga manggar, the Malays have settled for the artificial ones. Though these are less exotic, they still evoke the celebratory mood.

Enjoy this short clip on 'Ulek Mayang'