| TANKI | | The Ancient Gods, Rituals and Spirit-Mediumship of Folk Taoism in Modern Singapore | |
Tan Wee Cheng, Singapore 
weecheng.com Tanki
- Gods & Mediums Mainpage
Chinese are commonly described as Buddhists or Taoists,
although there are large number of Chinese Muslims and Christians in China as
well as in the Overseas Chinese communities scattered across Southeast Asia and
the rest of the world. What is
seldom said is that in the deep southern Chinese countryside as well as in
Taiwan and Overseas Chinese communities worldwide, an ancient and mysterious
faith prevails.
That mysterious religion is the worship of spirits, gods
and lesser deities, whose commands are transmitted through ordinary humans who
act as messengers of gods. This is
variously called Shamanism, Shenism (after Shen, or gods in the Chinese
language), Tankism (after Tanki, or mediums, in the Hokkien dialect, also known
as Southern Fujian /Taiwanese dialect), spirit-mediumship or traditional Chinese
religion.
The priest conducting the ceremony with the skyscrapers of Singapore behind
As I wrote in my essay on the Festival
of the Nine Emperor Gods:
Southern
China was once the land of the Min and Yue tribal kingdoms, whose inhabitants
were experts in magic, spells, and the art of communication with the dead,
spirits and Gods. Fujian and
Guangdong were incorporated into the Chinese Empire during the Qin and Han
dynasties 2000 years ago, and in the following millennia, its indigenous culture
merged with that of the Taoist Han Chinese settlers from the North.
The result is a hybrid, exuberant mix with a rich spiritual as well as
architectural and gastronomical heritage that is evident in southern China
today.
With
the emigration of the Fujian (or Hokkien) and Guangdong (also known as
Cantonese) peoples to Southeast Asia, Taiwan and the rest of the world during
the last five hundred years, these mystical manifestation of communication
between the man and the mysterious divine spread with the Diaspora to other
parts of the world.
Here in Singapore, where the early peasant immigrants from
southern China found themselves in a foreign urban environment, they recreated
temples devoted to their gods back at home in order to find solace and security
in a new environment. Since then,
these beliefs have continued by the descendants of these immigrants and
prospered even though many of the traditions have disappeared in the old
homeland through social upheaval, revolutions and wars; and that Singapore
itself has become a prosperous, modern and technologically driven city-state
which is also an international financial centre.
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| Lonely Planet: Singapore | DK Eyewitness Travel Guides: Singapore (Eyewitness Travel Guides) | Lonely Planet: Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei |
|
Tan Wee Cheng 2004 |
Divining Youth