IDNO

N.53904.ELT

Description

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

The Dang-ki (spirit medium), an older man enacting the Ch'i-t'ien Ta-sheng, has his face painted and wears a collar and silk trousers. He is standing at the front with knees slightly bent, probably in a trance state with his eyes closed. On his left and right, younger men (cropped by the frame on the right) support his arms. A small group of onlookers stand behind the medium. [EB 10/10/2017]

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.

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 "After consultations, the tang-ki gives a signal that the shen is going to ‘return.’ He does a leap into the air and is caught by an assistant and lowered into the dragon chair. MAA N.53904.ELT." [source: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/chinese-spirit-medium-possession-singapore/, JD 12/02/2025]