A litttle story of Kuching, Cat City. Once upon a time, a person named White Rajah James Brooke arrived in Sarawak in 1839, met a friendly local and asked the name of the nearby township on the river.
The local could not really understand what he was asking and thought that he was pointing to a cat prowling nearby and he asked the local. "Apa nama itu?" (what's that called?). The local, thinking that he was referring to a small animal prowling nearby and answered him "KUCING" (new spelling) in Malay' or "CAT in English. I guesst that is how the capital city of Sarawak in Malaysia's Borneo got its name - KUCHING -
There is another story that the word come from cochin, a Chinese word for a port or harbour, but the most likely explanation has to do with the fruit of a tree growing by a small stream. The mata kucing, direct translation it means cat eye's fruit which is a relative fruit of the lychees, and its transparent flesh and black kernel resembles a cat's eye when peeled.
In Brooke's day, a clump of these trees grew next to a small river, the sungai mata kuching, which entered the Sarawak River opposite the township, and hence the town, originally known as Sarawak, eventually took its name from the river.
No matter how the name "Kuching" comes from, it is known as Cat City. It is well known that Kuching is the home to the world's very first Cat Museum.
Kuching comes from the word kucing in Malay for "cat" - a rather unique name for a city that was home to three generations of White Rajahs and is now the capital of Malaysia's largest state.
Cat Museum is located in Petra Jaya after passing Satok and it is on the way to Santubong Damai Beach. This musuem is known as The World’s first Cat Museum in Kuching City North Hall, Kuching.
It is open daily to the public and admission is currently free of charge. However, for those of you who wants to take snapshots for souvenir a reasonable price is charged. Cat Musuem close during the public holidays. Closed on Public Holidays? I wonder why.
Cat Musuem is far more than just a collection of artifacts. A lot of material has been given and donated by many countries from all over the world. Other than it is a place for cat lovers this musuem also acts as a useful research centre about the history, legends and various beliefs about cats from ancient times till now.
You can also find a section of the museum dedicated to the five species of wild cats found in Borneo and this species is only found in Borneo's rain forests.
If anyone is interested to know why the ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows when they mourn during the family cat died or details about the fascinating roles of the cat in Chinese, Japanese and Malay societies, then the answer is here.
The ancient Egyptians believed anyone who killed a cat was put to death. It is also believed that they have a cat goddess named Bastet who supposedly protected crops, made rain and symbolised motherhood.
The Cat Museum is open to all ages of the public. Small kids will be having a great time clambering over a giant statue of Walt Disney's Aristocats, while elderly ladies were fussing over door-sized photographs of cute fluffy kittens etc. For those who wants to know more education on cats this is a good place to do your research. Do visit Cat Musuem to know more stories about cats.
The Cat Museum is under the management of Kuching North City Hall. The cat artifacts (statues about cats) that are displayed in the Cat Museum were previously on show for the first time at National Museum, Kuala Lumpur, in 1987 as one of its gallery.
Not long after that, the cat artifacts was brought to Kuching under the care of Sarawak Museum and was put on display for the very first time on 1 August 1988, the tim ewhen Kuching was proclaimed as a Cat City. The establishment of Cat Museum was the idea and brandchild of the former Chief Minister of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud and his wife Laila Taib.
Cat Museum is a good place to get more inforamtion from there. Many people come here to do research and it is a good tourist spot too.
Where is Cat Musuem located:
SELAMAT DATANG KE MUZIUM KUCHING (WELCOME TO THE CAT MUSEUM)
The Cat Museum is located at Kuching North City Hall, Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara Petra Jaya, Kuching.
Tel : 082-446688.
It is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily and closed on Public Holidays.
Taking pictures are allowed with a fee : RM 3 for handphone cameras and normal cameras, RM4 for digital cameras and RM 5 for video.
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