Report 02: Cemetery Tour in Bukit Brown on Sat 10 Apr 2010 (安樂山之福地遊)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Other

Thanks again to Bro Victor of Taoism-Singapore Online Group for sharing with us on the Report.

~~~~~~

Hi folks,
Especially those of you who braved the soggy ground for our second tour. Look at the members of today's tour, raring to go, not knowing what to expect. (^^) Billy and Charles will send us their professional group photo to share with you. This one below was taken when everyone was preparing to pose. (^^)



The next time when we organise, we must give more "warnings" as some came in slippers or slip-in shoes. Not a problem but for "po-tuey lang" (city guys) this might be a challenge. Ask the Nepali porters, it was no problem. (^^) The first stop was the same as the last one, except that the coloured papers seemed somewhat faded. All were ears and eyes with their hands busy taking notes as Raymond and Jave share about the tomb - how to read the information on the tomb, what does the shape of the tomb represents or remind you of, and why the coloured papers. According to the story, it was to be 7 colourerd papers. Someone checked out the coloured paper and counted 6. So, we have some research to do. (^^)

The Tua Pek Kong temple, where one should "report" to and pay their respects before going to their ancestors' grave, looked a tad worse. Over the week, apparently, with the rain, the roof could be caving in. It will take a while for everyone to sink in the information that Raymond shot like like rapid machine gun. (^^) The linkage between this temple and that possibly in Selat Rd where the original Temple was and where once upon a time there was a cemetery there.





If you look at the pictures below, see how the colour papers were so lovingly arranged. Might give Gilles some idea about art in the cemetery. (^^) As Jennel observed, you could see the sparkles in Raymond as he talked about pioneers of Singapore. How History came alive as he talked about Khoo Teck Puat's father and the tomb. This tomb is a treasure of information, poems and even stories. Ah, I think someone (Raymond?) must map out and record every picture and word of this tomb. But some of the words could have faded.





Wow, this freshly recoated grave of Tan Boo Liat stood out amongst the ancient looking tombs. And probably the only "surviving" largest tomb of Ong Sam Leong was the "climax" of the tour. We were late, probably, by minutes to observe what was going on there. There were lighted candles, joss sticks and burning joss papers. And many "Lor Ji" (will need Jave to give us the actual name, meaning money for the road, probably as kind of toll fee) were strewn all over. By common understanding, the descendants would not throw such Lor Ji (but correct me if I am wrong) and if so, could these recent offering be from the descendants or someone else? A call for the investigators. (^^)



Every tomb tells a story, or perhaps a long story. That's what Raymond is trying to piece them together. And here, he shares yet another tale of yet another tomb. Gosh, I have to stick close to him to be able to get all the valuable information. I have suggested to him that we strap a tape recorder to his body to record his presentations. In time to come this could be an oral archive in its own rights. (^^) How he deduce which tomb was connected to which, through the names of the sons and daughters. For many in the old days, their names on the tombstone could be posthumous names. You will not see Tan Tock Seng's name on his tombstone.



Darren and I noticed some interesting sights. On one tomb, it was all flowers (orchids) strewn all over the tomb with some orchids and jasmine placed on the tombstone. And in front of the tombstone, a lotus candle. Must be Buddhist.The other has an additional pillar at the back. Maybe, Raymond can tell us more. (^^)



Yet another one was only orchids all over the tomb and crysanthemum by the side of the tombstone. Could this be offered by the Christian descendants? What was sad was looking at offerings place on a site that I supposed was thought to be where the tomb was to be, or somewhere. In the old days, the descendants could only recognise the tombs from certain landmarks. From the early days when I came here only to do birdwatching, it was still like a plain. Now it is a forest! A number of the tombstones were covered by plants. For the earlier descendants who could not read, it was a challenge.



I am sure you have more interesting pictures or tales learnt from Raymond, Charles and Jave to share. Do drop some notes of your observations and impressions to share with us.

Some of you were asking about temple tours. Ah, this is in our planning board. And if you are keen to start sharing information about Chinese Temples and Taoist Heritage, you are most welcomed to join our now international forum.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taoism-singapore

Or you can just send a blank email to: taoism-singapore-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

For general heritage, you could join our Singapore Heritage List at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/singaporeheritage

And if you are interested in the activities of API (Asian Paranormal Investigators)

http://api.sg

Those of you present today, thanks for coming and I hope you have had an enjoyable experience.

Three cheers to our leaders who share their knowledge so willingly:

Raymond, Charles and Jave

Victor
Singapore