This display showcases one of the many rituals in a Peranakan wedding. The hair-combing Chiu Thau ceremony is a coming-of-age ritual which both bride and groom perform in their respective homes before the actual wedding begins.
This three-tier (sam kai) altar is used to honour the highest god Ti Kong. It would have been placed in the outer reception hall, facing the street. The bamboo tray (niru) symbolizes the world. The bride or groom would step onto the tray, and sit on a measuring scoop for rice known as the Gantang.
A female master of ceremony, Sang Kheh Umm would assist the bride, and an older man, Pak Chindek would assist the groom through this ritual.
The bride or groom would sit on the Gantang, hold the prayer book in their lap, with the items to remind them of their new roles they would be stepping into. The scales to act justly, a pair of scissors to make all things equal as husband and wife, a razor as a warning to be cautious, and mirror to tell good deeds from bad, a comb and a 3 1/2 meter thread to represent long life of 3 1/2 generations.
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