IDNO

N.53885.ELT

Description

View of the porch of a temple in Singapore used for Ch'i-t'ien Ta-sheng (齊天大聖, qi tian da sheng, 'Great Saint Equal with Heaven' (commonly transcribed as the 'Monkey God') ceremonies.
The temple is probably the former Soon Tian Keng (Shun Tian Gong) at 19 Bukit Permei. [suggested by Taoism Singapore Facebook Group]

In the porch are a number of people, and a painted sign balancing on benches. The temple has a thatch roof, painted figures and scenes over the porch. [EB 10/3/2017]

Place

SE Asia; Singapore; Bukit Permei; Soon Tian Keng; Shun Tian Gong

Cultural Affliation

Chinese

Named Person

Photographer

Elliott, Alan J.A.

Collector / Expedition

Date

1950 - 1951

Collection Name

Elliott Collection

Source

Elliott, Alan J. A.

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.62994.ELT to N.62999.ELT and N.53873.ELT to N.53976.ELT were found inside the album now numbered A.154.ELT.

Facebook Publication: Image published on Taoism Singapore (Closed Facebook Group) on 22/5/2018 with the caption and comments:
[Posted by Victor Yue] #ElliottCollectionsinMAA A fantastic collection of Allan Elliott. Check this picture on Shun Tian Gong, that was probably at Bukit Purmei? Thanks to Fabian Graham for the connection. :) Check out Collections under Eliott and you will see a treasure trove of Singapore's yesteryears. Maybe you can help to narrow down each picture to the temple. :) Crowdsourcing!!
‪[Reply from Marvin's Kylove Kaylove‪ This temple was located at Bukit Purmei in the 1950s and have already been demolished but the statues were currently resided at Telok Blangah.‬
[Posted by Victor Yue] ‪‪On this website, you can click to look at 1966 street directory. And hence Bt Purmei area. Can anyone recall where it was? https://ohm.onemap.sg/#/index/main‬
‪[Reply from Ronni Pinsler]‪ The temple referred to by Elliot, was probably demolished early 80s. I visited many times, it was a very special place, a group of old guys and several white cockerels lived there playing mahjong, Chap Gee Kee etc. I felt like going back in time, loved the place and took countless visitors to experience it. There was a third sin tua higher up the dirt tracks where 2 story HDBs were built, but that could have been someones home, with aw leng kee etc.‬
‪[Reply from Ronni Pinsler]‪ Elliots book was my bible in those early days and was a guide to drive my own interest in "popular religion", hardly any thing else was studied about it except for articles and reports by folk like Viviene Wee, Topley , etc....‬
‪[Reply from Ronni Pinsler‪] Interestingly, Keith Stevens who photographed almost every Singapore temple in the 1968-1980s period, seems to have omitted this one... At least not in his files/lists now in my possession....‬
[Reply from Marvin's Kylove Kaylove‪] Ronni Pinsler I believe this temple have already been demolished by then.‬
‪[Reply from Ronni Pinsler‪] No Im almost certain that the temple was still standing in up to 1983...possibly later. KS documentation, including the Tangah Bio was before that. He started already in the late 1960s‬
[Post from ‪Maidi Lei‪] ‪Maidi Lei‪ Old maps with temple location. http://libmaps.nus.edu.sg/‬ [image of map showing the Bukit Permei areaThe 凸 shaped building possible location?‬
‪[Reply from Ronni Pinsler‪] Hard to pinpoint as the map splits at the location. From memory I can say from St Theresa church carry on road past the Tangah bio/ Shun Tian gong...about 100 yards on a dirt track the temple is visible. Almost at top of the hill. From location you look down at the church and the temple.‬
‪[Reply from Maidi Lei]‪ Ronni Pinsler The rectangular building on top of David House is Tangah Bio , the road is Bukit Purmei.‬
[Reply from Ronni Pinsler] ‪I'd have to physically go there to resuscitate the 30+ year old memories: what I can say is that The Great Saint temple is/was higher up the hill from Tangah Bio about another 200 yards on and towards the right, ie around , above with its own dirt track access. Not easy to locate unless you read Elliot first ‬‪:) Leon and KS seemed to have missed it. Elliot himself ( i believe) says he was taken there by friends in the early 1950s heyday. The book was first published in 1955, (LSE-anthropology dept)and another Singapore hero, Donald Moore, reprinted it the common version 1964.‬
[Reply from Meidi Lei] 1965 aerial photo. Bottom right is St Teresa Church. [http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/c0c49707-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad]
‪[Post from Maidi Lei‪] Address is 19 Bukit Purmei.‬
[Post from Victor Yue]‪I think there were Tangah Bio and Soon Tian Keng. Would be great to trace the history of these two temples. Must visit the current Soon Tian keng (Shun Tian Gong) at Man Shiu San (Wan Shou Shan) to take a closer look and look at the statues from those days. ‬‪:) Anyone who knows more? Or who knows someone related to the temple? Let's gather more information to make Elliott Collections more complete too! ‬
[Post from ‪Jennzz Tan]‪ This is where ‬‪👇🏻 soon tian keng monkey god status residing at‬
http://www.beokeng.com/disptemple.php?temple=ban-siew-san-kuan-im-tong [EB 05/06/2018]
[Post from Esmond So Imba] [Hyperlink] http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/960ebe93-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad Link to photograph with caption 'THIS IS THE OLD "TAI SENG YA" TEMPLE AT BUKIT PURMEI WHICH WAS VERY WELL KNOWN IN THE 1950'S AND DOCUMENTED BY DR ALLAN ELLIOTT'
[Post from Esmond So Imba] [Hyperlink] http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/freepress19500928-1.2.67?ST=1&AT=filter&K=%22spirit%20medium%22&KA=%22spirit%20medium%22&DF&DT&Display=0&AO=false&NPT&L&CTA&NID&CT&WC&YR=1950&QT=%22spiritmedium%22&oref=article [Link to newspaper article 'Clerk turns spirit medium on off days' The Singapore Free Press, 28 September 1950, Page 5 [EB 19/06/2018]

Publication: Image published in a Digital Lab Online Exhibition by Gemma Ovens, 2024. 'Chinese Spirit-Medium Possession: Exploring Ritual and Religion in the Photographic Archives of Alan J. A. Elliott' and captioned "View of the porch of a temple in Singapore used for 齊天大聖 (qi tian da sheng, 'Great Saint Equal with Heaven) ceremony. MAA N.53885.ELT." [source: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/chinese-spirit-medium-possession-singapore/, JD 12/02/2025]