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.

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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

Report: Cemetery Tour in Bukit Brown on Sat 3 Apr 2010 (安樂山之福地遊)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Other

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

~~~~~~

Hi folks,
What a wet and humid day it was today. But I suppose it made all the more interesting and gets one to appreciate and reflect better after a hot bath and relaxing at home. (^^)

The thunder was roaring as I stepped out of my apartment this afternoon at 12.45pm. Ah, I thought to myself, would it be a repeat of the last time when a similar tour was abandoned halfway when it poured. I hoped not, all raising all the excitement. Just as Terry and I [we met along the path from Newton Circus MRT Station - and Terry told me he could recognise me from the ST photo, I was wondering if was my pouch (^^)] were getting to the Newton Circus Food Centre, tiny drops of rain came. As more participants came, the fine rain started.





We thought that it would stop, as in most cases in Singapore. And so, after the P stop for some, we took off. The drizzle continued, on and off, as we made our first walk along the PIE expressway (from the Kheam Hock Rd underpass). The Aljazeera TV team caught up to capture some scenes of Qing Ming in Singapore.



What would have been open space with the tombs facing the vast valley below, this was secondary forest. It made locating the tombs all the more difficult for the descendants, but it did not stop them. The first big tomb we came across was covered with multi-coloured papers. Jave gave a brief explanation on the coloured papers and the joss papers used. He brought alot some to show to the participants.



The next stop was the Tua Pek Kong temple, the main guardian of the Cemetery here. This was the temple that Raymond and Charles stumbled onto looking for other tombs. While it was a find for us, to the regulars, it was the temple that they would go to offer their respects, and I suppose to seek permission or inform that they are going to the tombs. In fact, in our recce tour with Yen Feng, we came across this 70+ old lady who came with her son and brother to offer their final respect to her father-in-law. She was explaining to us that on the tombs, you can see the sons, daughters and grandchildren's names, but not the daughter-in-laws. She said that it was assumed that the sons would have wives. (^^) Today, when we passed that tomb, the resident of the tomb has been exhumed. She was telling us that they would come one night to have it exhumed. In the Chinese belief, the dead must not meet the sun, and so, it is better to do it in the middle of the night.



With the ground wet and our group being pretty big, it took us a while to move. And at times, I think we could be a few hundred metres long. (^^) We have members coming from all walks of lives and so, while listening to the three leaders' explanation, they also got to know each other. We have foreigners living in Singapore as well. And we have professors to architects to students to some even looking for long lost tombs. One found her grandaunt's tomb!



For Singaporeans who know a little about our short history and the Chinese pioneers, many of their graves are here in Bukit Brown. Khoo Teck Puat's father's tomb was there with elaborated but faded stories and poems. I wonder if the experts could help restore and read the contents before they are gone forever. Or has it? And yes, there was Boon Lay's grave (most of us might know the road name or the MRT station, and not much about the person!) And Mrs Lim Nee Soon? Ong Sam Leong's grave must be the biggest in Bukit Brown! The saddest story must be the relocation of the graves of Hong Lim from Alexandra to Bukit Brown, from his own land where it was acquired by the government for urban renewal. The request from the affected family was that he be given a good fengshui spot, which was granted, but the other graves of his family did not get as good. The Chinese believe that a good fengshui of the tomb will bestow prosperity (which could wealth and health) to the descendants. It is kind of investing in the future. In those days, as in a few graves, they were built while the intended resident was still alive. He not only think about catering for his future generations by providing properties and money, but also a tomb that could ensure continuity in that sense!



My bnef report, as always, does not do justice to what Charles, Raymond and Jave had shared. It is just a glimpse of what I caught, hoping from place to place, and from person to person. (^^) And if you have more to add, or correct, please do. we all learn more in the process.

We had a wonderful group which were all ears and eyes, with hands busy making notes, even when their notebooks were wet. There's so much to absorb that I think we will need to attend the same lesson many more times! (^^) Ah, maybe, we should video tape the guides each and every time and edit them into a series. The guides are normally prompted by questions from the tour members.

Bravo for braving the rain and for being such great participants! Kudos to you and our three leaders who shared their knowledge with us. Along the way, some participants also shared their knowledge with us.

Victor
Singapore