IDNO

N.54143.ELT

Description

Initiation of young spirit-mediums at a Chinese temple in Jalan Eunos, Singapore. Under the temple awning, a young medium sits on a wooden chair, slumped to one side. A group of onlookers and a second spirit-medium stand watching. A paper lantern hanging from the awning has Chinese characters which may give the name of the temple or deity. [EB 13/07/2022]

Place

SE Asia; Singapore; Jalan Eunos

Cultural Affliation

Chinese

Named Person

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Elliott, Alan J.A.

Date

1950 - 1951

Collection Name

Elliott Collection

Source

Elliott, Alan J. A.

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.54088.ELT to N.54191.ELT were found inside the album now numbered A.156.ELT.

The index pages of the negative album provide descriptions of some of the images. These have been transcribed.

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. 60-61

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 possession, the young tang-ki sits collapsed on a chair, his assistants stand behind him. MAA N.54143.ELT." [source: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/chinese-spirit-medium-possession-singapore/, JD 12/02/2025]