Using his 'snake whip' - he clears a path for the mediums away from the temple to their transport
Yew Keng
Taiwan and Singapore not only have different traditions, but different words to describe similar phenomena. The following photos are of a yew keng (游境) in Singapore, which is Singaporean Hokkien and an abbreviated form of yew keng siu sark (游境收煞) meaning ‘walk territory, receive / keep, stop’, in other words, in a military manner, an inspection / policing of the territory to eliminate unwanted elements. Put into a spiritual context, the spiritual inspection of territory removing evil and malign elements, or going on a procession to take in all the bad entities, which has been explained to me is in Chinese terms as, “the good will go and "suck" in the evil, like into a hulu (葫蘆)”, a hulu / horlor being a bottle gourd which is traditionally associated with kung fu magic used to “to suck in the bad entities”. In Taiwan, the same religious parade would be called a yia lao leh (迎鬧熱) meaning ‘welcome, make noise, make hot’ in Taiwanese Hokkien, and in Mandarin, a rao jing (遶境) meaning ‘patrol border’. In Singapore, a yew keng is usually performed by a tua (壇), which in Singaporean Hokkien means ‘altar’ but may better be translated as ‘congregation belonging to a particular temple’, while in Taiwan, a tua refers to an actual altar or table for offerings.
In present day Singapore, the yew keng has become celebratory, and often marks the anniversary of a temple or deities birthday. Thus it is also an opportunity for devotees to express their devotion as well as for the temple or tua involved to self-publicize. In Singapore, it may even be interpreted by some as a method of expressing ‘Chineseness’ in what is essentially a multi-ethnic society with religious diversity and toleration.
There are three noticeable differences between yew keng in Singapore and Taiwan, most notably, the absence of self-flagellation amongst tang-ki in Singapore, and similar absence of body piercing (‘satay’) in Taiwan, though neither is exclusive to either location. Secondly, firecrackers were outlawed in Singapore in March 1972 after two unarmed policemen were attacked on New Year's Eve as they attempted to prevent celebrants at Upper Serangoon Road from letting off firecrackers without a permit. The permit system, a precursor to the Dangerous Fireworks Act, had been set up after Chinese New Year celebrations in 1970 caused 6 deaths, 68 injured victims and at least S$400,000 damages, whilst in Taiwan, strings of highly explosive fire crackers are an obligatory accompaniment to street processions and contribute to the celebrations and sacred nature of the occasion. It may be speculated that the absence of fireworks to intimidate ‘wandering ghosts’ and malevolent spirits has led to the increased use of the ‘snake whip’ in Singapore, whereby an envoy, often skewered with either the 5 generals or 36 generals precedes the mediums, thus clearing the path with an exorcising ‘snake whip’. Lastly, in Singapore, there is an absence of both troupes of ‘Imperial Generals’ Guan jiang shou (官將首) and deities personified by giant puppets da xian wang zi (大仙尪仔), both Taiwanese religious icons which are in the process of cultural dissemination, and subsequent popularization in Singapore and other Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asia.
The intricately made-up Imperial Generals and majestically swaying giant deities both provide a visual feast for spectators, which, it may be speculated, is provided in Singapore by the costumes, make-up and physical personification of deities by spirit mediums, all of which are less exaggerated in Taiwan. However, similarities between yew keng in Taiwan and Singapore, as would be expected, far outweigh the differences.
The origins of Chinese spirit mediumship date back to at least the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and have gradually evolved through the course of time. According to the research of Margaret Chan, Chinese spirit mediumship and ritual processions from which modern yew keng have evolved may have originated with Nuo exorcism in the Zhou dynasty. “Nuo rituals were processional and always led by a warrior exorcist known as the fang-xiang- shi (方向士) who has been variously described as ‘warrior of the four directions’ or ‘the manic general who clears the way’… (who was) … armed with a lance and shield, and dancing wildly” (Chan 2009: 3). Chan points out the commonalities between this image and the image of the modern tang-ki.
Furthermore, descriptions of spirit mediums by de Groot, a Sinologist and Historian, who researched extensively in Fujian in the 1880’s, match closely with the ritual practices performed during contemporary yew keng showing that modernization including the use of trucks to transport the mediums has not changed the fundamental religious traditions and practices.
“A few (of the entourage) carry long whips of braided cords with short handles … wherewith they flog the spectres away. Five boys bear banners of the five principal colours, representing the divisions of the celestial army … therewith to lead on the mighty host of invisible gods against the common foe. They are escorted by gongmen and drummers, inciting the divine warriors by their noise. Close by, some men having their faces painted black, red, green or otherwise, with whips swords or bells … represent the generals of the Celestial Army, or are incarnations of these divinities for the time being, as the mediums are of the temple gods.”
There are diverse reasons for holding a yew keng, with each individual event being unique. Some reasons may include the celebration of deity’s birthday, the anniversary of a temple or tua, the public initiation of a new medium into the religious landscape or perhaps the renewal of the mandate of the Jade Emperor for the temple or spirit medium engaged in the yew keng.
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Dragon Mountain Temple yew keng - 12/12/2010
This album is about a yew keng I went to see on Sunday December 12th, Dragon Mountain Temple visiting two temples, Yu Huang Tian combined temple and Dou Tian Gong, both close to Jurong West Avenue. I left where I am staying at 10:45 to give myself plenty of time to get there, but didn't arrive at the closest MRT, Boon Lay until 12:15, and searched for a taxi as I didn't want to miss the yew keng which I expected to start around 12:30. Alas ... only found a queue for a taxi with about 15 people in front of me, so, guided by the sun, worked out which way was north, and walked as fast as I could to what I thought was the Jade Emperor temple. No sign of a yew keng, so I asked a friendly looking chap if it had arrived yet, and he told me that it would not arrive until at least 1PM, and would visit the temple behind first, so not to worry, and come have some lunch.
Hot, dehydrated, and unfed, I was once again struck by the amazing hospitality of Singaporean people, especially those associated with religion. Around the back of the temple was a kitchen area, with 5-6 elderly folk watching police controlling a riot on the news on a large flat screen TV. I thought to myself ... 'that looks a bit like England' (I am behind the times on the international news) and then the picture showed Prince Charles and his car being attacked by rioters in London. One of the pleasantest of the old folk brought me a cup of iced green bean soup and asked me where I was from. "Europe" I replied, then rather red faced ... "erm ... London"!
Anyway, it was a great breakfast of rice, salt fish, vegetables and ginger soup, and I called my friend Victor (Singapore’s expert on Taoism and templing) to see where he was as I expected to see him there with the anthropologist Jean DeBernardi (I highly recommend her book ‘The Way That Lives in the Heart: Chinese Popular Religion and Spirit Mediums in Penang, Malaysia’- it is beautifully written, informative and a pleasure to read). I wanted to tell him the yew keng hadn't arrived yet in case he was rushing to get there. "Victor, where are you?" I asked "at the Jade Emperor Temple" he replied, "so am I" I said, "see you soon". After thanking the folk heartily for the breakfast, I went to look at the temple behind where I had breakfasted so well, and there I found Victor and Jean. In my haste, I had gone to Dou Tian Gong next door to the Jade Emperor temple by mistake, one of those wonderful mistakes which provides breakfast and re-affirms faith in human nature. Anyway ... I have diversified.....
The yew keng soon arrived with 17 mediums from several different temples. None of the mediums were skewered, but the helpers with the snake whips had skewered their arms, and this of course attracted much attention as they prepared the way for the mediums in great style. Of note is that piercing the skin with skewers capped with the heads of deities is known locally as ‘satay’ which is both a verb and a noun: “Are you going to satay today”? “Yes, probably about 36 satay today thanks”! Anyway …
Over a period of quarter of an hour, the procession of mediums entered the temple, each with a flamboyant display before entering. It was a pleasure to watch! I asked Victor for help identifying the deities tranced by these mediums, and I believe they include Lian Hua San Tai Zi 莲花三太子 ( a child deity popularized in the Ming dynasty novel ‘Investiture of the Gods’), Shi San Tai Bao 十三太保, Zhang Gong Shen Jun, Sun Wu Kong 孫悟空 (Monkey from ‘Journey to the West’), Shan Cai Tong Zi 善才童子 (a helper to Guan Yin), Ji Gong 濟公 (the drunken monk), Xuan Tian Shang Di 玄天上帝 (a soul of the Jade emperor – True Warrior of the North and Lord of the Dark Heavens) and several local deities.
Once inside the temple, each medium paid respects to the temple deities. The central deity of course was the Jade emperor, and his icon is one of the finest I have seen. Then, the tang-ki went to the rear of the temple to pay respects to the 60 Tai Sui. It was while observing this part of the yew keng that I noticed the amazing tattoos on some of the mediums. As far as I am aware, the purpose of the yew keng was for the renewal of the mandate of the Jade Emperor for Dragon Mountain Temple.
Anyway … I then returned to Dou Tian Gong to watch the procession as it arrived. For me, one of the most memorable images was of a very old man on his knees passing incense to the mediums as they arrived at the altar outside the temple. This made me contemplate Confucian ethics which dictate 5 cardinal relationships (五倫), cardinal relationships which don't explicitly say, but implicate, that the young should pay respect to the old: ruler and subject (君臣), father and son (父子), husband and wife (夫婦), elder and younger brother (兄弟) and friend and friend (朋友), yet here was an extremely old man, and no doubt a man of high standing in his religious community on his knees supplicating and genuflecting to these young mediums. I realize that he was not paying homage to the mediums, but to the deities that they were trancing, but this only served to amplify the image in my mind of the devotion and the intensity of his cultural and religious beliefs. I was quite moved, and stayed rooted to the spot watching in quiet awe as this old man performed his religious duty. Rarely, have I seen this kind of piety. Unfortunately the photos don't quite portray his humility in the presence of the mediums.
I would love to have the opportunity to speak to the old man, and hear the story of his life, of his original kampong and move to a new district of Singapore, the construction of the new temple, and the changes that he must have seen in the religious landscape .... that would be a rare privilege. Perhaps I will return to the temple and meet him before I return to Taiwan. But I am getting sidetracked …
So, the yew keng soon moved on to its next venue. I believe it visited 11 temples. I didn't go any further as Victor was kind enough to let me tag along with him and Jean (via a rather good Indian restaurant) to see an old temple soon to be relocated, and the new temple structure into which it would move with two other temples. One final thought. As the yew keng moved off, it did so in small trucks. In Taipei, most processions go on foot, but watching the tang-ki in what is essentially an age-old tradition, finely dressed in costumes depicting deities of old sitting in modern vehicles, it brought home the effect of modernity on religious tradition. The contrast, in my mind at least, between the tradition and ancient nature of the deities and their modern mode of transportation was quite dramatic.
