Taoism in Singapore

Taoism is adhered to by 8.5% of the entire population of Singapore. In general, nearly all adherents of Taoism in Singapore are associated with the mainstream Zhen Yi school, although most adherents of Taoism focus on worshipping of Gods and Deities with little or no knowledge of Taoist scriptures, least to mention cultivation.

History

Taoism first arrived in Singapore with the first Chinese settlers in Singapore. The majority of these settlers worshipped 妈祖 ("Ma Zu" or "Matsu") to guide them safely in on their arrival in a new foreign country. Taoist practice later flourished as an increasing number of Chinese merchants and coolies settled in Singapore.

Many Taoist followers worship Buddha as well, thereby leading to obscured delineation between the two religions. Subsequently with the rise of Buddhist activists in the 1980s, the pool of worshippers who worship both Taoist deities and Buddha realigned to declare themselves as Buddhists even if they were primarily worshipping Taoist deities (defined as families which worship Taoist deities at home). This led to a statistical decline in the Taoist population in Singapore and a confusion of Taoism as a religion in its own right.

Role of Taoism in the Chinese community

Taoism itself forms the nucleus of Chinese customs amongst Chinese Singaporeans, and such beliefs are also adopted by Buddhists. Deities, such as Guan Yu, Xuan Tian Shang Di, and the patron deity are some of the most popular deities among Taoist adherents among the local Chinese community. The Yin Yang concept, being an orthodox Taoist principle, is only ancedotally practiced by the common Taoist believers.

Taoist martial arts, notably Tai Chi, is practiced in community centres.

Today, most of the 300-odd Chinese temples in Singapore, a figure derived from the 2000 census, enshrined and worshipped Taoist Gods alongside with the Buddha. One of these Taoist temples is the Thian Hock Keng, built by the late wealthy philanthropist Dr Tan Tock Seng, which also serves as the root of the Singapore Hokkien Association. There are other notables temples such as the Soon Tian Gong in Geylang and the Guan Yin Temple in Waterloo Street.

Ancestor worship

Chinese Ancestor worship is a Taoist practice by nature, practiced by a large number of ethnic Chinese in Singapore. Taoist, Buddhist and even Roman Catholic Chinese practice ancestor worship. The only exception are Chinese people who adhere to various Protestant denominations, and possibly Muslims, in which case Chinese ancestor worship is viewed apparently as pagan rituals but are nevertheless accepted owing to the overwhelming majority of practitioners.

In the past, Chinese families owned ancestral tablets with the ancestors' names inscribed on them. Such tablets are placed on ancestral altars and urns meant for placing joss sticks, and food offerings are usually placed in front of it. Ancestral tablets found in Chinese homes only state the names of patrilineal ancestors and their wives. With the advent of modernism, and perchance owing to the decline of traditional Chinese values reinforced through Taoism, filial piety and thus such practices have almost vanished. At most only Taoist or Buddhist altars are found in Chinese homes.

Families may choose to have their ancestors cremated or buried in columbariums and cemeteries respectively. Families would visit their ancestor's resting place, especially during the Qingming Festival. They would bring joss sticks, incense paper and food offerings to the ancestors.

According to Chinese custom and tradition, people worshipping ancestors at Chinese cemeteries or columbariums must first lay out their offerings and prayer items before burning the joss stick. The worshippers may then recite prayers before proceeding to place their joss sticks on designated areas.

The worshippers then burn the incense paper and collect the food after worship.

Incense Paper

Incense paper used for ancestor worship comes in several forms; each represents a present for the ancestor's spirit. Paper coloured yellow with a gold foil printed on it represents a gold tael; that with a silver foil represents a silver tael.

Another variant is single-coloured paper which is manufactured with a rougher surface on one side and a smoother surface on the other side. Such paper come in varying colours. Incense paper of this type is to be rolled up and snugged tightly at both ends. The smoother face should form the exterior surface. Incense paper of this variant is used to represent clothes for the ancestor. Paper with a soft and rough surface printed in brown recycled paper serves as cloth.

Hell bank notes of various sizes as well as "Kai chin" are used to represent money. All of this incense paper is arranged and collected into a bundle known as "Yi bou" in accordance to significance. The brown incense paper serves as the base. Usually, the base must have an even number of "cloth" papers, and one sheet will serve as the nucleus of the base. They are followed on by the bank notes, "Kai chin", clothes and taels, and the "Yim bou" is gathered up, and burnt with a candle before throwing it into the urn. Joss papers manufactured into the shape of shirts and trousers are sometimes burnt together with the "Yi bou".

External links

* [http://www.taoism.org.sg/ Taoism.sg]