Century-old festival documented in new book following nationwide study

SINGAPORE - A festival that has been celebrated in Singapore and South-east Asia for over a century was the subject of a nationwide study spanning two years, involving over 100 students and 15 temples.

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival, recognised as part of Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage, is a Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month, when some temples will conduct a ceremony to welcome the Nine Emperor Gods.

Throughout the nine-day festival, some devotees will dress in white or yellow to represent purity, take vegetarian meals, abstain from sexual relations and recite prayers. They believe that the Nine Emperor Gods bestow wealth and longevity on devotees.

On Sunday, a new book based on the first nationwide study of the festival was launched at the Asian Civilisations Museum by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

Titled The Nine Emperor Gods Festival In Singapore: Heritage, Culture And Community, the two-volume bilingual work in English and Chinese explores the history, traditions and cultural heritage of the festival.

It is funded by the National Heritage Board and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC).

Through documenting the festival, Assistant Professor Koh Keng We of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the project’s lead investigator, saw the opportunity to get tertiary students to engage with traditional cultures and communities.  

Prof Koh discovered that students in tertiary institutions here, especially those in NTU’s history programme, were detached from traditional festivals and communities in Singapore. Besides a lack of proficiency or confidence in some dialects and languages, they may also be more exposed to Western culture through the media.

The study between 2016 and 2018 involved over 100 students from NTU and other educational institutions like the National University of Singapore, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Besides the field documentation and research, some of them also helped with the writing and designing of the book.

Most had responded to an open call through the tertiary institutions, while others were introduced by NTU students. They hailed from different religions and ethnicities. 

Prof Koh said of the response from students: “It highlighted the interest among youth in the traditional cultures and communities in South-east Asia. They are interested in learning not only about their own cultures but also about other cultures and communities.”

This is a very important part of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious harmony that Singapore has built and protected, added the 51-year-old.

In his address at the book launch, Mr Tong noted that the month of July is Racial and Religious Harmony Month in Singapore. Racial Harmony Day in Singapore has been broadened to Racial and Religious Harmony Month so that more people can understand what religious harmony is all about.

“One facet of this is taking the effort to understand and learn about other cultures – appreciating differences and identifying commonalities in our beliefs and practices,” he said.

He believes the bilingual publication will further support such efforts.

“It not only connects the academics, but also people from all walks of life, both locally as well as internationally, by giving readers a deeper appreciation of the Chinese Taoist culture, heritage and history in Singapore,” he said.  

The festival connects Chinese communities in Singapore and other South-east Asian countries, including Malaysia and Thailand. 

The researchers found that there are similarities in the way the festival is observed in South-east Asia and China, such as the emphasis on a vegetarian diet and on purity arising from a regime of physical and mental abstinence. 

The use of yellow as a colour for the Nine Emperor Gods and the festival is also common between both regions.  

However, unlike in China, devotees and festival helpers in Singapore and South-east Asia also don white. The tradition of receiving and sending off the Nine Emperor Gods by the sea and rivers in this region is also unique to the region. 

“The Nine Emperor Gods Festival came to embody the expressions of Chinese identities and Chinese-ness in South-east Asia and their memories of China,” Prof Koh said.

Mr Esmond Soh Chuah Meng, who was an NTU history undergraduate when he worked on the project, observed community-building efforts during the festival – devotees of different ages and occupations would come together to actively contribute their contacts, manpower and resources to the festival.

He said his greatest gain from the project was the exposure to diverse sources and individuals.

“I engaged with various people, including ordinary devotees, religious specialists and organisation leaders, to understand their perspectives on the festival,” said the 29-year-old researcher who plans to take up a lecturer position in NTU’s history department.

“We endeavoured to incorporate as many viewpoints as possible into the book to make it comprehensive and insightful.”

The 1,400-page book will be distributed to libraries, temples and research institutes in Singapore and overseas. The public can download the book from SCCC’s website at 

www.singaporeccc.org.sg