Living culture on our street

A stilt performer playing the role of Monkey - the Heavenly Sage.

Hello!

Now that the 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar is well underway, I’d better get the posting up for the last procession that was held in our neighbourhood.

Many thanks to Wai Kin for sharing his pictures of the street parade that was held to mark the birthday of the Monkey God whose temple is on Eng Hoon Street.








Such temple parades and performances are a part of the long lasting Southern Chinese folk culture. Recently, China managed to get UNESCO to recognize the Mazu Belief and Customs as Intangible Cultural Heritage.





The temple medium as the Great Heavenly Sage, while in trance. This tradition is explained for the very first time, comprehensively, by Margaret Chan, in her ground breaking book 'Ritual is Theatre, Theatre is Ritual'. Now available at one of my favourite book shops - Select Books at Tanglin Shopping Centre.

A visiting friend from Beijing had not seen such events before back in China, and found it wonderful that we in far away Nanyang had preserved and sustained tradition in a way generally not seen back on the Mainland. See what she shared on her blog.



The devotees carrying the sacred sedan chair where the spirit of the deity is resting. It is said that the chair is lighter than normal when the deity is present in the chair.





The procession passing Chay Yan Street. The big headed doll is not so often seen these days.




By going around the estate, the procession renews the blessings of the deity to the estate. Believers see this as a form of spiritual protection for the estate. Minimally, the dances, dragons, cymbals - would create so much 'noise' - the louder the better - as the 'lau jiat' atmosphere serves to drive away all lurking spiritual baddies.


Perhaps one day, other forms of festivals and folk opera will be equally recognized.
Enjoy!

There was another parade recently... posting up soon....

Yet another hotel in Tiong Bahru - ironically, on the street of Virtuous Clouds (Eng Hoon)

Uh Oh! I think that many of us are concerned BEYOND the issue of depressed property values. It is that this place may end up being devalued in all aspects - most importantly, as an area for residents who appreciate the community life that this estate has, which is family friendly.

We lost the authentic heritage attraction of old singing birds to one hotel,



and end up with new 'birds' being brought in by another hotel (no pictures needed, we can all imagine) on the street of Virtuous Clouds....


The Straits Times
June 8, 2009
By Jessica Cheam

Tiong Bahru residents worry that Hotel 81's presence might give area a sleazy image

AN ALMOST completed, nondescript building in one corner of Singapore's bustling Tiong Bahru estate is raising eyebrows within the community.

Several residents are concerned about the latest addition to their estate - a new hotel built by budget accommodation chain Hotel 81.

The prospect of an hourly-rate budget hotel in their estate has got them worried that the development might give a sleazy image to the neighbourhood, and depress the values of their properties.

When contacted, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which approves the use of buildings as hotels, confirmed it had 'granted approval for a hotel development at 1-9 Eng Hoon Street' on Sept 12 last year.'

The proposed hotel development on the subject site is acceptable from the planning point of view as it is located in a mixed-use area where there are existing hotel developments in the vicinity,' it said.

Although a sign proclaims the name of the hotel to be 'Hotel 81 Osaka', it is unclear if the hotel will be an hourly-rate one or one that charges only a full-day rate.

Hotel 81 declined to comment when contacted.

The budget hotel chain has aggressively expanded in the past few years to a network of 30 hotels islandwide.

Most are located in the red light district of Geylang and other areas such as Joo Chiat and Balestier.

The chain has one hotel in a residential area - Hotel 81 Kovan.

Residents said they are hoping the hotel will at least be one that offers a full-day rate.

'Short-term stays lead to other social problems,' said resident Eugene Yip, 38, an advertising executive.

Another resident who declined to be named pointed out that there are already a growing number of female hostesses from China living in Tiong Bahru, due to the estate's proximity to bars - such as the Tiananmen karaoke lounge - in the Havelock Road area.



'At the moment, they live here and solicit their business elsewhere.We don't want them to start touting for business here too.We don't want it to go the way of Joo Chiat,' he said, referring to the district in the east which in the past saw an influx of bars, massage parlours and prostitutes together with hourly-rate budget hotels.



Recently, The Straits Times also reported the rise of illegal dorm use in the estate, where landlords have been cashing in on the demand for cheap housing by converting conserved pre-war flats into dormitory-style housing for foreign workers, leading to concerns over noise, littering and overcrowding.

The laidback, historic charm of Tiong Bahru has in recent years attracted a growing number of young professionals and expatriates.

It is gradually being gentrified.

'Many owners have invested heavily into rejuvenating their flats, and want to keep the estate clean,' said Knight Frank realtor Alvin Yeo.

So while mid-tier hotels, such as Link Hotel Singapore, have sprung up, residents want to know how chains like Hotel 81 get approval to set up hourly-rate hotels in residential areas.

The Singapore Tourism Board's hospitality arm, which gives the approval for the type of hotel licence, refused to comment when contacted.

The estate, which was designed in the 1930s in the Art Deco style, was gazetted in 2003, where 20 blocks of pre-World War II flats as well as 36 units of shophouses have been conserved to keep the charm and identity of the estate.

It has even been suggested, among Singaporeans, as a nominee for Singapore's first Unesco World Heritage Site.

World Heritage Sites in Singapore - Tiong Bahru?

Another discussion article has appeared in the Sunday Times on 15th Feb.
What do you think?


Sunday Times, 15th Feb 2009
World Heritage Site in Singapore?
One Singaporean Thinks so and His campaign has triggered a lively debate

By Tan Dawn Wei

Malaysia has three, Thailand has five and Indonesia has seven.
Between the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, there are 21.
When it comes to Unesco World Heritage sites, South-east Asia certainly has not fallen off the world map.

But for all of Singapore's World No. 1 recognition - whether for its airport, business-friendly economy or nation branding - this city-state is
conspicuously missing from the Unesco list.

It is not the only country in South-east Asia that does not have an
internationally recognised heritage site: Brunei, Myanmar and Timor Leste have also not made nominations to the world body for this prestigious title.

But does Singapore have what it takes? Is the Raffles Hotel worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as India's Taj Mahal or China's Great Wall?

One Singaporean thinks so. Having been to more than 200 Unesco World Heritage sites, university lecturer Tan Wee Cheng is convinced that this island has something to offer.

A month ago, he started a group on social networking website Facebook to campaign for Singapore to get itself on the coveted list. It has since
attracted 200 members and a lively online discussion.

'It occurred to me during my years of travelling that this status is like an
ISO for historical monuments. For a long time, people have said Singapore is a cultural desert. I want to tell people out there this is not true,' said the 39-year-old former investment banker. He is an adjunct associate professor at the National University of Singapore, teaching accounting.

Most of the 878 cultural and natural heritage sites on the list are nowhere
as famous or impressive as the Taj, Great Wall or Petra in Jordan; in fact, many are little-known sites, said Mr Tan. If they can be on the list, surely Singapore has a shot, he argued.

His picks: the Botanic Gardens, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the civic district.


'Increasingly, those listed in the last five to 10 years are groups of sites
within a country or a city. Penang's George Town and Malacca are listed as a single entry. In Singapore's case, the civic district and ethnic quarters can be grouped as a historical centre. Another could be one that incorporates the Botanic Gardens and Sungei Buloh,' suggested the heritage buff.

To get on the list, a site - whether a complex, city or forest - needs to be
deemed as having outstanding cultural or natural importance to humanity.

Since 1972, when the programme was launched with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, properties in 145 countries have been inscribed. Italy leads the pack with 43 sites listed.

There is no reason why Singapore cannot be on the list, said Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society.

He cites Tiong Bahru as a candidate for being 'one of the very few remaining Art Deco-style public housing schemes that still exist'.

The precinct had sprung up because of the mass housing movement in Europe. While it had its roots there, it was adapted to Singapore's tropical climate, which distinguished it from other Art Deco buildings. Five-foot ways are one such unique feature, explained Dr Tan, an adjunct professor of law.

Architecture restoration specialist Ho Weng Hin also believes the old estate has a shot at Unesco stardom.

'Taken as a whole, the estate is like an open-air museum of how architects and planners thought about how the urban man could live,' said Mr Ho, who does consultancy work on conservation projects.

Another crucial factor that makes Tiong Bahru a viable candidate is that it is still very much a living community - although the buildings were designed in the 1930s, the place is still relevant today and features a good mix of communal amenities, he argued.

'The unique thing about Singapore is how its public housing programme is the only successful example compared to where it originated. In the United States and Britain, they have degenerated into slums,' said Mr Ho.

Another front runner mooted by heritage experts is the Botanic Gardens, home to important botanical studies - not least of all, rubber.

Founded in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society on the current site, the
Gardens embarked on botanical research after the colonial government took over its administration and launched a scientific journal.

Last year, the Gardens was awarded a Michelin three-star rating, putting it in the ranks of Paris' Eiffel Tower and New York's Empire State Building.

It was also named by Time magazine as Asia's Best Urban Jungle, with a
collection of more than 10,000 types of plants, including the region's most significant living collection of documented palms, orchids, cycads and gingers.

Associate Professor Johannes Widodo, a jury member of the Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation, thinks the Gardens is Singapore's only hope given that most of the country's built heritage has been lost to urbanisation and development.

'World Heritage sites must have a universal value. Buildings such as those in the civic district - Raffles Hotel, City Hall, St Andrew's Cathedral - are probably valuable for Singapore, but not so much meaningful beyond this particular context,' said the lecturer at the National University of Singapore's Department of Architecture.

'Sites like Botanic Gardens have strong connections with the history of the colonial economy in the past, and ecological value in the present - which has become our global concern.'

Since rejoining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation in 2007, Singapore has been familiarising itself with the
various conventions under the world organisation, according to the
secretariat for Singapore's Sub-Commission on Culture and Information for Unesco.

The sub-commission, led by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, advises the Singapore National Commission on Unesco on issues related to culture and communication.

In a statement to The Sunday Times, it said it is working with relevant
government agencies to study the feasibility of nominating 'various cultural landmarks and districts of historical significance for a World Heritage site
listing'.

As part of the study, it will look into Unesco's assessment criteria, the
benefits and costs of a listing.

A cost benefits analysis that Britain's Department for Culture, Media and
Sport commissioned in 2007 showed that a World Heritage site listing has
benefited tourism and attracted additional funding, education and civic
pride, among other things.

The value of a World Heritage status also means stronger protection of a
particular site, since it is subjected to international preservation
standards, said Prof Widodo.

dawntan@sph.com.sg