The Temple of Mysterious Virtue is a temple dedicated to helping members of the public, and is well known among the religious community for attempting efficacious cures for those with serious or apparently terminal illness. This particular event marked the 25th anniversary of the temple, and, living up to their reputation as healers, involved the cooking of medicinal oil that was given freely the next day to those with aches and pains.
There are many unique aspects of this temple. For example, the temple architecture is far from typical. As shown in the first photograph, it is located in an industrial estate warehouse far from any residential neighbourhoods, and the sanctity of the sacred space is maintained by numerous symbolic means including an external altar to the Underworld Camps representing the Underworld Deities of the Five Directions. These spirit armies are commanded by five Underworld generals who are represented by their flags outside the temple, and again inside the temple at the altar as anthropomorphic representations among the numerous Underworld deities. The main altar is also organized in a unique manner, with the top level housing the deities that have existed since pre-history, the middle section housing deified humans and animals deified in human times, and the bottom layer housing the Underworld pantheon. This is unusual for Singapore as it is more common to house the Heaven deities at the front of the temple, and the Underworld deities at a separate altar at the rear of the temple. The Temple of Mysterious Virtue respects all religions, and it contains both a Malay Datuk Gong (拿督公) and a Hindu Ganesha, and both Chinese and Indian spirit-mediums trance deities at this temple. The deities most frequently tranced are the from the Chinese pantheon including the Underworld enforcer Tua Ya Pek (大爷伯), the 12th century Buddhist monk Ji Gong (濟公), and the Bodhisattva Guan Yin (觀音), and from the Hindu side, the Underworld deity Madurai Veeran. Tua Ya Pek has been described to me by his mediums as half deity, half ghost.
Madurai Veeran meaning ‘Warrior of Madurai’ is a Tamil folk deity believed to have been a great warrior who lived around the 14th century. According to legend, he was the son of a king, and his bravery and talent earned him a chance to enter the army as a Commander. He enforced strict discipline, especially to criminals, and passed harsh laws to help eradicate robbers from the country. However, his enemies plotted against him, and persuaded his father the king that he was also one of the robbers, and must be punished. The king, who was already jealous of Madurai Veeran, sentenced him to mutilation by having a hand and a leg removed. Madurai Veeran died as a result of this punishment. Later the King realized that Madurai Veeran was innocent and regretted his act. Here lies a similarity between Tua Ya Pek and Madurai Veeran, namely, that in the Chinese Underworld, one of the punishments is the cutting off of limbs, an act which is overseen by the enforcer Tua Ya Pek. A more direct link between them is that Madurai Veeran in the counterpart of Tua Ya Pek in the Tamil version of the Underworld. It should be noted that in Singapore, Tua Ya Pek is a rank, not an individual, and there are many Tua Ya Pek in the Underworld. This particular Tua Ya Pek claims to be 700 years old, and bears the family name Su (蘇). In contrast, in Taiwan, Tua Ya Pek is commonly known as General Xie (谢将军), and while in Singapore Tua Ya Pek is one of the most frequently tranced deities, in Taiwan, his counterpart General Xie is rarely worshipped or spoken about as the subject is largely taboo.
Anyway, this event was both memorable and quite surreal. I arrived early while the preparations were still being made for the ‘oil wok’ ritual. The medicines had been laid in boxes on the ground, and the wok was about to be placed in position in the area immediately outside the temple. There were five spirit mediums already in trance, and the leader of the ritual was the resident Ji Gong. I was armed with two cameras, and determined to try putting my hands in the boiling oil if allowed. The oil used was a mixture of sesame oil and vegetable oil, and some rice wine was added.
First however, a ritual space had to be created in what was essentially an industrial estate car park. This was accomplished by several rituals which marked the area as sacred. Around the edges of the ritual space were wooden blocks, each holding two candles and some incense sticks, and these marked a ritual boundary. There were eight of the blocks marking each of the primary compass points (also corresponding to the eight sides of the bagua), and a temple member cracked a snake whip several times to reinforce each of these boundary markers. This is an example of what is known as ‘thunder magic’. It is a common belief that it is the whip itself that scares away evil spirits, but in Taoism, it is the sound of the whip cracking, a noise symbolic of thunder that has the power to dispel malevolent forces. This tradition evolved from ancient China when it was believed that the deities used thunder as a weapon in battle. In Chinese mythology, Lei Gong (雷公) is the deity who, when so ordered by Heaven, punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human beings by producing thunder with a drum and mallet.
An inner ritual space was then created by the spirit mediums dancing around the wok of hot oil, and using towels, splashing the oil over themselves, onlookers, floor, and over both of my cameras. The smallest sacred space was that created within the wok, and this was accomplished by laying joss money in the base of the wok before the oil was added. The herbs used to make the medicine included everyday cooking ingredients including ginger, lemon grass, holy basil and fungi along with six less common (read: secret) herbs and roots. After the spirit mediums had finished, the public were allowed to put their hands in the hot oil: it was hot, but not boiling at this point. The herbs were then added, and each of the spirit mediums climbed into the wok and sat on top of the medicine. It was then covered, and the event continued inside the temple where Tua Ya Pek was about to enter the body of the resident spirit medium.
The spirit medium was sat in a wooden chair, one arm of which was carved into the effigy of ‘Ox Head’ (Niu Tou 牛頭) and the other of ‘Horse Face' (Ma Mian馬面), the two Underworld deities who come to collect the soul after death, and escort it down to the Underworld. Of note is that spirit mediums trancing Heaven deities use a throne with dragons carved into the arms, the dragons representing authority and auspicious power, while Underworld deities use the chair described. It should be noted that in Chinese culture, the Underworld, even though it is where the spirit goes to be punished (the fact that the spirit is punished with physical weapons is a fascinating paradox, the logic of which I am now researching) for sins committed while in a human (or animal) body, is not the same as the Christian ‘Hell’. In the Chinese belief system, Heaven represents ‘yin’ energy, and the Underworld ‘yang’ energy, and together they represent a balance which is represented by the yin / yang symbol. The belief is that after being punished for sins, the individual drinks from the ‘Cup of Forgetfulness’, and then awaits a new incarnation, the nature of which is determined by one’s actions in the previous life (i.e. the punishment does not wipe out the previous life karma).
Anyway, the temple members then began an invocation to invite / summon Tua Ya Pek into the body of the spirit medium. This was accompanied by loud drums and gongs. As the crescendo increased, the medium rocked violently back and forth in the chair, each time bringing his head closer to the ground. The force of his momentum was so great that three helpers had to hold the chair steady so that the medium’s body wouldn’t overturn the chair. In theory, as Tua Ya Pek is an Underworld deity, at the moment when a full physiological trance is attained, as the head goes down, the Underworld deity enters the medium through the floor into his head, and the medium’s soul is displaced to various receptacles in the temple. As this medium entered a full state of trance, he slapped the floor with both hands, and then stood up in a rigid martial posture supported by his helpers who then dressed him in the robes that Tua Ya Pek is accustomed to wearing. Tua Ya Pek then led members of the temple and public in paying respects to the Jade Emperor, to Heaven deities and to the Underworld pantheon, and then strode outside to inspect the medicine.
When the lid was taken off the wok, there was a pungent but aromatic smell, and the oil was bubbling fiercely. After stirring the oil and medicines, he laid his hands on the oil, and proceeded to rub it on his arms. This was something new to try, and a queue formed. The medium held each person’s wrists, and touched the palms of their hands onto the surface of the boiling oil – this time it was seriously hot and left the palms of the hands stinging as one rubbed the medicinal oil over the hands and arms.
After this, Tua Ya Pek returned to his chair inside the temple. In front of the chair were three piles; one of yellow lengths of cloth, one of people’s personal artefacts, and one of glass ‘fortune money’ made in the shape of traditional silver boat shaped blocks to commemorate the anniversary. Here he proceeded to use a piece of a broken cup (which I think had been especially smashed for the purpose after having been used to offer drink to a deity) to slice his tongue until it bled. The cloths, artefacts and money were then passed to him, and, using his tongue, smeared his blood on each. When the flow of blood stopped, he picked up a shard of broken china, and made fresh lacerations until all of the objects had been marked. It is believed that the blood of the possessed medium carries the power of the deity that he is possessed by, hence this activity. It may well be asked why someone would want an object carrying the power of an Underworld enforcer, and for me, this is when the most interesting part of the night began.
Tua Ya Pek then returned to his accustomed position in front of a desk containing talisman and other ritual objects as well as large amounts of alcohol and cigarettes. His chair was carried there for him, as this is the place where consultations usually take place. He motioned for me to follow him, and referred to me as ‘the blue eyed boy’. He then commented that I had taken many photographs, but that I hadn’t paid respects to the deities in the temple first. This was true, and I assured him that I would pay respects to them immediately. However, he continued the conversation, and asked me if there was anything I would like to ask him, so I put my mind in top gear, and began to question him about the Underworld, soul and sin. Did Western people go to the Chinese Underworld, or was it ethnically exclusive? If French and German and Swedish people all went to the Underworld, were there French, German and Swedish speaking Tua Ya Pek? Taking into account that different countries follow different laws, are there universal ‘sins’ that everyone will be punished for? How about when the laws of two religions contradict each other, which one will you be punished for? If you are ‘bad’, will you be reincarnated as an animal? How bad would I have to be to reincarnate as a dog? How many souls do we have? Is the soul divisible? Are deities from all religions equally real and on and on. We chatted for about one and a half hours, during which time he had drunk at least eight small cans of Guinness, most followed with a large Martel Cognac chaser (Underworld deities traditionally smoked opium and drank alcohol when tranced through a human body, but opium has been replaced by tobacco in contemporary Singapore), and I was becoming self-conscious as there were other people waiting to consult him, but he pressed me for more questions.
“Ok” I said, “Can you tell me why a Chinese Underworld enforcer drinks Irish stout?”
Wow, that one made him laugh! He told his helpers to open the cupboards. There was Cognac, Scotch (good single malts), Saki, rice wine, red wine, sparkling wine and a dozen different beers. “You think I only drink Guinness? Ha ha ha. I only drink Guinness because I like it” he replied as one of his helpers lit another cigarette for him. “You think I am getting drunk?” he asked me. His eyes were red, his speech was slightly slurred, and, with a drunken smile, he was swaying back and forth in his chair, so I gave it my best diplomatic guess, “well, erm, maybe just a tiny little bit tipsy”. “Wait until I return” he said (meaning, wait until Tua Ya Pek returns to the Underworld) and then get the spirit medium to breathe on you. Smell his breath. It won’t smell of alcohol or cigarettes. I am taking all of that with me back to the Underworld”. I agreed to try. He then tried to cajole me into making a bet with him, suggesting that all my photos would be out of focus as I hadn’t lit incense and paid respects before taking them. It isn’t a good policy to be betting with any deity, especially so an Underworld deity, so I politely refused. Then he challenged me to take out my camera there and then and look at the photos as proof that he was right. I have a Nikon D90 with a 50mm F 1:4 Nikon lens, an excellent camera / lens combination and one of my most prized possessions, so I was sorely tempted to take him up on the challenge, but noticed several people shake their heads, and once again, politely declined.
He then picked up a can of Guinness and asked me how much I thought he could auction it for (temples auction alcohol and other material objects for very high prices to devotees at big events to raise money for the temple or for charity), so I guessed 1,888 dollars, eight being a lucky number associated with prosperity in Chinese culture, and 1,888 often the price at which items are sold for in temple auctions (I have seen a 70cl bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu auction for $3,888 Singapore / £1,950). Tua Ya Pek laughed and said he would rather give them away, and did so to several people. Well, discussing the nature of the soul with Underworld deities is thirsty work, so with a nod of my head, a wink and a smile, I communicated that I would very much enjoy imbibing a Guinness too, and thus it was that I drank a couple of cans of Guinness with a Chinese Underworld deity in a warehouse temple on the eighth floor of an industrial block in Singapore. With the second can, raising it to his good health, I paid respect to him, after which he said, “Ok, now that you have paid your respects, your photos will all be in focus”. A fitting end to our conversation.
I did wait around until the medium came out of trance. It is an unfortunate medical fact that if someone is in a genuine physiological trance, the individual usually suffers from genuine amnesia, a fact which makes my life as a researcher particularly complicated as no spirit mediums remember talking to me after they come out of trance. Anyway, within 2 minutes of coming out of trance I approached the spirit medium and asked if I could smell his breath. “Why, who are you?” he asked, in a genuinely sceptical manner. I noted that his eyes were clear, his speech perfect, and his body language said ‘boxer in good training’ not ‘10 cans of Guinness and 6 Cognac chasers’, so I explained. He let me smell his breath, and to my surprise, and I was genuinely taken aback, there was no trace of either alcohol or tobacco on his breath.
Anyway, during my interview with Tua Ya Pek, he gave me a talisman, promised to visit me in a dream, and forced the Indian spirit medium into a spontaneous trance by summoning Madurai Veeran to deal with a devotee’s problem while he chatted to me, but these are other stories, each deserving of a full report, so will be told at a more appropriate time.
