Victor
posted this question at the forum that started an interesting discussion...
Hi! There used to be a number of temples in P.Ubin - Taoist and
Buddhists - and I think there are still many of them. The one that
most visitors will see is the Tua Pek Kong temple at the town square.
Anyone has information on the temples, their history, to share?
Recently, I traced the Ubin Tian Hou Gong (dedicated to Mazu) to
Riverdale Crescent in SengKang. So, a piece of Ubin history has
now been transplanted back to mainland Singapore. Love to hear from
you.
Siva's
posting:
See Ubin stories
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/ubin/stories/2004/05/ma-zu-temple.html
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/ubin/stories/2004/06/legend-of-ma-zu.html
Insights shared by Mr KP Tan in an email to Ria
No one knows the true age of this temple but it is estimated to
be more than a hundred years old. Some old folks told me it was
already a very old building built of bricks and cement when they
were young children in the pre-WW2 days.
A near correct date may be dredged up if anyone can gauge the year(s)
rubber trees were first planted in Singapore as it was during this
period that Ubin was settled by Chinese migrants. (The original
inhabitants were Orang Selatar aborigines and later some Javanese
from Indonesian Bawain (Boyan) island.)
As every single structure/house in Ubin in pre-WW2 was built of
native material like wood and attap (nipah palm leaves), so the
original temple should have been no different.
Typical of people or migrants from China in the old days, they'll
build a temple to honour their favourite deity for divine protection
and general well-being. The deity Tua Pek Kong is the favourite
Taoist Deity for the Hokkiens so I believe it was the Hokkien early
settlers who built the original temple.
The 'real' Tua Pek Kong Temple really looked old and ancient up
to 1995 when it was left alone. After the renovation in 1995 it
appeared to have lost it old old mystic charm and revered dignity.
I think, they should not have renovated it at all. Although the
structure no doubt was neglected and in need of some fresh coats
of paint and some repairs, it was structurally sound and was in
no danger of collapse and hurting someone.
There are really two Tua Pek Kong temples in Ubin today or ever
since 1949 or 1950. The original Tua Pek kong temple is situated
on the hillside just opposite the NPark's Utility structures across
the road, just about 200 metres up from the now disused Community
Centre and basketball court.
The reflection (in Chinese term but 'duplicate' in English term)
of the hillside Tua Pek Kong temple is right in the village square
next to the Ubin First Stop Restuarant. Every time there is a religious
festival, the Diety is invited down from the hillside temple and
temporarily take up residence at this 'reflection' (duplicate) or
secondary temple. After the festival, the diety is invited and escorted
back to his permanent residence until the next festival.
Many Tua Pek Kong devotees from the mainland do not know there are
two temples and so pray or worship the duplicate temple in the village
square, thinking that is the one and only. Does this means the Deity
will not be listening to their prayers or their prayers and pleas
will be all be in vain, blown away by the wind? Not really, the
temple in the village square acts only as a mirror and so devotee-Deity
communication is via a hi-tech periscope system of sorts.
Ubin was the first territory captured by the Japanese during the
fall of Singapore to bottle up the British Naval base in Sembawang.
And there is this legend that Ubin islanders suffered relatively
far less atrocities than mainlanders and Pulau Tekong folk because
of the divine protection of Tua Pek Kong.
However, I think if this was true than it was because Ubin was occupied
in the early initial months by real Japanese task force soldiers
who are very much proffessional and disciplined than the occupation
mercenary soldiers who were mostly made up of Taiwanese and/or Koreans
who went all out to compete among themselves to be more cruel just
to fufill their ego or lust to inflict miseries or to prove that
they are as real soldiers as the Japanese themselves.
In those days of the Japanese command, to be cruel to the vaquished
was considered high virtue and honoured attainment as use of terror
was the most effective method of control and subjugation by so few
against so many, a practice used by many armies from the Greeks
to the Roman and Mongolians since biblical times.
Today, devotees mostly pray at the Tua Pek Kong Temple for Totto,
4-D and other get-rich-quick numbers as it has established a reputation
that this Deity protects Ubinites but 'enriches' outsiders by dishing
out winning combinations of numbers.
The other temple known as "Wee Thor Temple" is and was a private
temple in the sense it was not built/owned by community efforts
but by an individual family. The original owner was the grandfather
of the psesent caretaker. This temple existed since before WW2 as
a 'wayside spirit shrine' or hut and was 'upgraded' by the family
just after WW2 into a traditional Toaist temple.
This temple was noted for vesting in "kong-tow" and "dekong-tow"
(input and extiguishing of 'black magic') in the old days especially
in the affairs of love and other off-beat activities like resurrecting
or recalling of spirits etc. But today it has settled into an ordinary
Taoist temple that dispenses blessings, good luck and everything
that is 'good', including winning combination of numbers and I heard
still ocasssionally in 'affairs of the heart' if the customers ask
for it.
The other existing temple is the Thai Temple (Buddhist) which is
relatively new as it had 'quietly' moved in only in the mid 70s
from a location in rural Bedok not very far from the present Bedok
Methodist Church in Bedok Road.
Please kindly note that Buddhism and Taoism are two very different
"religions". Buddhism is a breakaway branch of Hinduism since more
than 5000 years ago. In contrast to Hinduism, Buddhism in its original
form does not acknowledge or believe in any Gods or Deities but
exists only to promote a way of life or living it.
Taoism on the other hand acknowledges/believes in spirits and animism
and similar to the Hindus, has almost limitless number or gods and
deities perhaps a army of them.
It is rather persuasive to see Budhism and Taoism as similar or
the same religion because the Chinese as a race and culture, adhere
and respect their culture more than any religion throughout their
history. As a consequence, religious cross-overs and mixing into
a rojak is no big deal to them, especially to the Taoist devotees.
Even Prophet Mohamamed has been inducted and 'Taoised' and is now
known as "Datuk Kramat".
You can find at least three Datuk Kramat shrines in Ubin if you
just ask and look around. This Deity is also empowered to dispense
blessings and get-rich-combinations of numbers just like the rest
in the army of deities in Taoism.
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