Managing The Tortoise Island:
Tua Pek Kong Temple, Pilgrimage, and Social Change in Pulau Kusu, 1965-2007Speaker:
Chia Meng Tat Jack,
Department of History,
National University of Singapore
Chair:
Tan Shiling Cheryl,
Department of Sociology,
National University of Singapore
Date:
Monday, 24 March 2008Venue:
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Blk AS7, Level 6
Research Clusters Meeting Room A
Time: 3.00 – 4.30pm
Abstract:
This essay examines the Guiyu Fushangong Tua Pek Kong Temple龟屿福善宫大伯公庙and religious activities in Pulau Kusu as they intersect with the larger forces of social change, state management, and development of the Southern Islands since the independence of Singapore for the period from 1965 to the present. It contends that the state’s interest in the economic potential of the Tua Pek Kong Temple, and the attempt to seek profit from its religious activities in particular over the last two decades, has very much affected the temple and contributed to the commercialization and “touristization” of the island. The state authorities have tried to reduce the autonomy of Pulau Kusu, exerting more control over the temple, and management of the island. They also sought to profit from the religious activities, as seen from their monopoly of goods and services, promotion of commercial activities, and their attempt to transform the island into a tourist site.
About the Speaker:
Chia Meng Tat Jack is a MA Candidate in history at the National University of Singapore. His research interests include Buddhism, Chinese popular religions, and the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore. He is currently researching on the transnational temple-association networks connecting the Nanan community in Singapore with China and Malaysia
Light refreshments will be provided!
We gratefully request that you RSVP with your name, affiliation, contact details, to Jack Chia at: mengtat@nus.edu.sg.
