摘要：This qualitative study describes the procedures undertaken to explore the Intangible Culture Heritage (ICH) preservation, especially focusing on the inhabitants’ garments of different ethnic groups in Weld Quay, Penang, which was a multi-cultural trading port during the 19th century in Malaysia. Social life and occupational activities of the different ethnic groups formed the two main spines of how different the inhabitants’ garments would be. This study developed and demonstrated a step-by-step conceptual framework of narrative analysis. Therefore, the procedures used in this study are adequate to serve as a guide for novice researchers who are interested in undertaking a narrative analysis study. Hence, the investigation of the material culture has been exemplified by proposing a novel conceptual framework of narrative analysis. This collaborative method has been utilized to ascertain the narrative data collected from an interview with visual and semiotic analysis. The information derived from the narrative interview is about the materials, colors, and elements of the garments of different ethnic groups (i.e., the Chinese, Indian, Malay and British). This collaborative process provides much valuable contextual and historical information to the researcher, as the interpretation and implicit understandings that underlie the stories people tell are beneficial in preserving and safeguarding this ICH. Therefore, this narrative study validates that the inhabitant’s garments are a means of intangible culture heritage (ICH) preservation and suggests guidance about how to conduct narrative analysis for mining historical data in a more explicit manner.
