IDNO

N.53918.ELT

Description

Dang-ki (spirit medium) performance for Zhongyuan Jie (中元节), Gui Jie (鬼节) or Yulan Festival (盂蘭盆節, Hungry Ghost Festival), inside Hoon Sian Keng Temple (云仙宫, suggested by Esmond Soh Imba via Taoism Singapore Facebook group) at 112 Changi Road in Singapore [based on Elliott's listing and newspaper article].
The Dang-ki, an older woman, wears a white five-pointed headdress and white robe. She is standing on an offering table holding a wooden staff or key horizontally across her body. In her right hand she holds up a glass of water. On the left, a man stands with hands on the table looking up at the Dang-ki. [EB 10/10/2017]

Place

SE Asia; Singapore; Changi Road; Hoon Sian Keng Temple [云仙宫]

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.

This image is reproduced in newspaper article by Alan Elliott (THE MEDIUMS OF CHINATOWN
The Straits Times, 17 September 1950, Page 10. Available from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19500917-1.2.69?oref=article-citation) with the caption 'The woman medium was performing for a festival of Hungry Ghosts at 112 Changi Road, Singapore.'

Bibliographical Reference: Chinese Spirit-Medium Cults in Singapore. Alan J. A. Elliott. (Monographs on Social Anthropology, No. 14.) London: London School of Economics and Political Science, 1955. Related text on p. 112 reads "One rite is peculiar to this cult. The dang-ki is handed two glasses filled to the brim with plain water. Standing on the offering table, she holds these aloft, one after the other, and then both together. The assistants invite worshippers to look carefully and try to perceive the images of good or evil spirits inside the glasses. After much peering, it will be announced that someone has seen a Buddha, or an evil spirit, as the case may be."

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 "A female tang-ki wearing a five-pointed crown, holding a glass of water and a staff during the ‘Hungry Ghost’ festival. MAA N.53918.ELT." [source: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/chinese-spirit-medium-possession-singapore/, JD 12/02/2025]