ST: Why Taoist god is named Datuk Kong, "Straits Time Article"

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Thanks to Ms Ai Lin of Singapore Heritage eGroup for the sharing of this Article.


Picture by VICTOR YUE

STRAITS TIMES
May 10, 2007
Why Taoist god is named Datuk Kong
An online group explains Singapore's unique Taoist traditions in English
Reported By Lee Chee Keng

AT A Taoist temple in Old Tampines Road, separate altars have been set up to honour the Hindu elephant god Ganesha, an earth god by the name of Datuk Kong, as well as the Chinese deity Tua Pek Kong.

Curious about how these different gods came to be housed in the 80-year-old Jiu Tiao Qiao Xin Ba Na Du Gong Temple, or about Datuk Kong's curious Malay-Chinese moniker?

Explanations - in English - can be obtained from the people in the online community called the Taoism-Singapore e-group (taoism-singapore@yahoogroups.com).

Its members keep each other informed about Taoist traditions and festival days at temples across the island.

Some take pictures of temple events and post them online with captions and articles explaining the history and deities of each temple.

The e-group, a boon for those who do not speak or read Chinese well enough to find out more about Taoism, was set up three years ago this month. It has already pulled in more than 300 members and more than 11,000 postings.

Mr Victor Yue, a 54-year-old engineer, pioneered the e-group. Things started rolling when Mr Yue, himself a heritage buff and a member of the Singapore Heritage e-group singaporeheritage@yahoogroups.com, saw a tourist at a temple procession one day and offered to show her around.

It turned out that the tourist - professor of anthropology Jean DeBernardi from Alberta University in Canada - was no newcomer to Chinese popular religious culture.

It was while Mr Yue was helping her to get information on Singapore temples that he decided to start an e-group for Taoism-related discussions.

He said: 'There is little written in English on Taoist temples and deities in Singapore. It will be a pity to miss out on this rich heritage just because our command of Chinese is not good enough.'

The e-group has brought together heritage lovers from all walks of life who want to share what they know and learn from others. They range from Ms Su Yin, a civil servant in her 30s, to theatre actress and lecturer Margaret Chan, 57.

Mr Jave Wu, a 26-year-old human resources executive, is one of the e-group's more well-informed members who is happy to share his knowledge. Hailing from a traditional Taoist family, he was reading Taoist scriptures in classical Chinese at age seven.

Other knowledgeable members are Dr Leon Comber from Monash University, who wrote the first English-language book on the Chinese temples here nearly 50 years ago, and Professor Choi Chi Cheung, a history professor from Hong Kong's Chinese University.

Visitors often provide members of the e-group opportunities to meet in real life.
Group member Tan Wee Cheng, 38, who works in finance, noted that visitors to Singapore are often fascinated by the rituals at the temples and surprised that they are not publicised as part of Singapore's tourist attractions.

Ms Geraldene Lowe-Ismail, who has been conducting heritage tours in Singapore for more than 40 years, said the rich, interwoven cultures make Singapore unique.

How Datuk Kong came to be part of the Taoist pantheon here is an example of this uniqueness: The early Chinese immigrants brought with them Taoist deities they were familiar with from their hometowns, but as they settled here, they also appealed to a new earth god they adopted and named Datuk Kong - 'Datuk' meaning 'chief' in Malay and 'Kong' meaning 'Lord' in Chinese.

cheekeng@sph.com.sg