Kee Ancestors Lineage
The Kee
Ancestors Lineage is more than 170 years old and I am the fifth generation in
the lineage.
It is now in the eight to ten generation as some of my nieces and
nephews are married and are with kids of their own.
As the Kee
Ancestors Lineage has a long history, I would like to share a bit of what I
gather from surviving relatives on how my ancestor Kee Lai Huat came to Malaya
in the nineteenth century.
The Kee
Ancestors in Sungai Bakap, Penang started with my great-great great
grandfather, a Teochew man named Kee Lai Huat.
He also was the man who built
Sungai Bakap town. (Sometimes pronounced as Taochew, Teochiews or Taochiew.)
As a young
man of 19, he took a barge from his Thenghai home town in Swatow, China. He
arrived in Bukit Tambun, then the principal port of Province Wellesley. (I went to Guangdong in 2018, looking at the same river that carried our forefathers to Penang made me wet with tears. The rivers were wide and mighty strong current)
Born in
1834, he worked as a clerk on the sugar plantation of Batu Kawan pioneer
settler Khaw Lau Hup.
"Chor
Chor Lai Huat"(To pronounce "great great great grandfather" is
too long, so "Chor Chor" means at least 2 to 3 generations ago
grandfather, for his case 4 generations deep) was very industrious and
hardworking.
He was
promoted to a supervisor for the sugar plantation owner Khaw Lau Hup.
Young Kee Lai Huat Ancestral founder Sungai Bakap town |
Kee Lai
Huat's Marriage
Khaw Lau Hup
has a daughter Khaw Bee Gek of marriageable age. It seems her first betrothed
died after they got engaged. So her father consulted the geomancer to find a
match for her. Chor Chor was "hand and face picked" by a feng shui
master.
The tycoon
seek the feng shui master's help and was told, a certain young man coming in
the next boat with such kind of facial expression will be suitable for his
daughter. Dutifully Khaw Boo Aun, (her brother) waited at the shore to pick up
the young man.
So started
the Kee Ancestor Lineage tradition. When they first got married, Chor Chor was
not rich and Khaw Lau Hup would sent a "cream cracker" tin of
Spanish
coins for his daughter use.
Tek Kooi, Tek Kow,Tek Leng,Tek Seng,Tek Phang, Tek Chye |
Chor Chor
had six sons, named from the eldest Kee Ancestors Lineage:
Tek Chye (1st Son)
Tek Kooi (2nd son)
Tek Phang (3rd son) (my lineage)
Tek Kow (4th son)
Tek Seng (5th son)
Tek Leng (6th son)
(on the picture, the sons photos were arranged not by hierarchy. Do not be confused)
Now since he
has six sons in the Kee Ancestors Lineage, he got to make sure they stayed
together. In doing so, he built Sungai Bakap township, in the same replica like
the homes in China then under the Manchus.
His Legacy
Chor Chor
died at 58 in Sungai Bakap and his remains were taken back to China. He
maintained close ties in China.
Even after
his death in 1892, a substantial amount of money is sent back to his relatives.
Chor Chor was a strict man but was fair to all.
Chor Chor
wrote a will six months before he died which stated that his sons were not
allowed to gamble, smoke opium, contact veneral diseases or break the Law.
He ruled
that "the wrong doer get nothing, only 2000 Spanish dollars. He left
specific instructions that the family need not over spent on funeral expenses
and be frugal and guided by discretion.
1st and 2nd Lineage of the Kee in main altar |
There are
three sections with altar and name tablets. Chor Chor's name tablet sits in the first line as
the first generation on the center of the main section altars. Below him
are the six sons.
So it means the "center" altar housed the first and
second generation of the Kee Ancestors Lineage. First
lineage, is Chor Chor is "Lai", then 2nd lineage is the
"Tek".
3rd Lineage of the Kee, on the main altar's right |
Middle names were given and prepared by Chor Chor. The Tek, Hup, Ban, Chin, Yong, Thuan are middle names in the Kee Ancestors Lineage.
The 3rd lineage are those with middle names Hup, Ban and Chin. My own Kee Ancestor Lineage after Great great father Tek Phang is Ban Chuan.
4th Lineage of the Kee, on the main altar's left |
Now the fourth lineage is the Saik and the Yong. My late father is Saik. If dad is alive today, he would be 109. My late father has no more surviving sisters or brothers but for the Yongs, I met Uncle Kee Yong Hee.
There are other cousins I recently met after writing this post since 2013. This is the same post but I updated a little more of what I gathered over the past years since 2013.
When my
father was alive back in the 80's, we used to meet up with Uncle and Auntie
Saik Poh (father's cousin brother) and late granduncle Kee Ban Hoe (Uncle Saik
Poh's father).
Khaw Bee Gaik with 6 sons and 2 daughters and families |
He too
passed on at a ripe age of 97 in the year 1996. It was fun talking to Cheat
Chneh Kong (7th granduncle and cousin to my late grandfather). He has lots of
stories and jokes to share.
His sense of
humor was great. Even in his nineties, Grand Uncle Ban Hoe and his buddies
would be walking around town.
When you
talked to him, you need to be careful with your words. Even at his age, he is
mentally alert, as he could catch you misusing words.
On a few
occasions, I had this to tell. He would asked, "Have you all eaten?"
and we said "not yet". Then he would ask, "What you like to
eat?"
We would
reply chin chye, "Anything also we eat."...literal speaking, we can
eat anything because won't want to trouble granduncle) "okay, Grand Uncle
Ban Hoe would replied", Ok let us go and eat (lang bah) human meat.
Then we
would correct ourselves and he would roar to laughter. Really those were good
great times we had. The house behind the ancestor main hall had a big playing
ground in the courtyards.
They had all
kinds of pets. Homing pigeons and scorpions in pits. Sometimes, men folks will
be towing the iguana back form hunting. We would see then skin it.
Last week, I was at Sungai Bakap "Tua Chu Lai or Kong Chu", or the Kee Kongsi. Uncle Kee Yong Hee (now deceased) was there to explain to me the Kee Ancestors Lineage. My last visit was in Year 2000, when uncle Kee Saik Poh passed on.
The late Ah Nui Kor Kor gave me this |
Our Kee ancestors home is so rich in our heritage. It is such a waste to be so silent about it. Despite effort to restore the kongsi, I feel a calling for the descendants to come home with your new family, to explain to them their heritage.
Descendants need to understand their roots, their culture and tradition. Chor Chor built this with a VISION that the descendant have a permanent place to come home too.
The fifth
generation are my brothers Thuan.I am trying to make sense of my writing on
ancestor worship. Why I keep coming to this subject. Why I wanted to start
writing? I will write more after my research.
I hope
someone who has more knowledge of olden days history and will share more of
their own stories.
Pearly Kee
6th Apr 2020
6th Apr 2020
Comments
To be honest, I never really took interest in our lineage perhaps because I was preoccupied with my work as a police Commander in Hong Kong Police Force, from which I only retired from on 14th October this year 2021 after just over 36 years of service. I retired as a Superintendent if Police, the equivalent of a Divisional Commander by rank.
Anyway, just recently, I met a fellow clansmen of Chiu Chow origin, who was also from Chinghai, China and he has,through his contacts, actually located the original Kee family grand residence in Faulong, Chinghai. There is so much more to say that might interest you all. If you want to make contact, please email me at alexkeeky2011@gmail.com. Cheers from Hong Kong !