IDNO

N.54552.ELT

Description

Exorcism by a dang-ki (tangki, spirit-medium) of 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'), in a private house in Singapore. [Elliott's listing]

The dang-ki (tangki, spirit-medium) applies make-up or greasepaint. An older man wearing a cloth apron, he is standing at an open window with a second man behind him. [EB 24/08/2022]

Place

SE Asia; Singapore

Cultural Affliation

Chinese

Named Person

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Elliott, Alan J.A.

Date

1950 - 1951

Collection Name

Elliott Collection

Source

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.543516.ELT to N.54647.ELT were found inside the album now numbered A.160.ELT.

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

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 "During a ceremony of the ‘A tang-ki gets ready to perform an exorcism of a private house in Singapore. MAA N.54552.ELT." [source: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/story/chinese-spirit-medium-possession-singapore/, JD 12/02/2025]