FOLK RELIGION IN SINGAPORE: GHOSTS, FENG SHUI AND SUPERSTITIONS

FOLK RELIGION IN SINGAPORE

Chinese temple deity

Chinese folk religion in Singapore is a syncretic tradition that combines elements of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, animism, and local spiritual beliefs. Practiced mainly within the Chinese community, it centers on ancestor worship, veneration of deities, ritual offerings, and practices intended to secure protection, health, and prosperity. Religious activities often include the use of incense, divination, feng shui, and prayers directed toward gods, ancestors, and local spirits. Although many followers identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists in official censuses, scholars often describe Chinese folk religion as a form of “diffused religion” because its practices are integrated into daily life rather than organized under a single institution. [Source: Proquest, William Peterson, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, Thomson Gale, 2006]

Historically, spirit mediums, healers, and diviners played important roles in Singaporean society. Among the Chinese community, spirit mediums were often consulted for healing, fortune-telling, and communication with deities or spirits. Similar figures also existed within the Malay community, where they are known as bomoh. Spirit mediums became less visible in Chinese temples after the 1950s, but some temples still offer forms of divination, such as interpreting joss sticks or divination blocks, often for a fee. Today, many mediums and healers operate privately from homes and receive clients through personal referrals.

Worship practices involve a wide range of deities and spiritual figures. Popular figures include Guanyin, widely regarded as the Goddess of Mercy, as well as deities such as Tua Pek Kong and numerous local spirit gods. Worshippers commonly burn joss sticks and present offerings at temples, household altars, and roadside shrines. Small neighborhood shrines are common throughout Singapore and often serve both religious and community functions, helping preserve local customs and traditions. Many deities worshipped in Singaporean Chinese folk religion are based on historical figures, military heroes, officials, or scholars from earlier Chinese dynasties who were later deified. These gods are often viewed as part of a celestial hierarchy resembling an imperial bureaucracy, with different deities responsible for specific roles, places, or forms of protection.

Festivals and ritual ceremonies remain central to folk religious practice. Major observances include the Hungry Ghost Festival, during which offerings are made to wandering spirits and ancestors. Divination practices using wooden blocks, fortune sticks, or spirit consultation are also common methods for seeking guidance. Singaporean Chinese folk religion has historically absorbed influences from other traditions, including Malay indigenous beliefs and Hindu deities such as Ganesha. On Campbell Lane there was an Indian fortunetellers who used parakeets and playing cards to tell fortunes and predict the future for a dollar. When a fortune was told a bird was let out of its cage. It trotted over to the cards and picked out the cards from which the fortuneteller reveals the fortune.

Despite Singapore’s rapid urbanization and modernization, folk religious traditions remain widely practiced and are often integrated into everyday life. Household rituals, temple visits, festival observances, and belief in spiritual protection continue to shape cultural and religious practices among many Singaporeans. National Geographic journalist Kenneth MacLeish visited a temple in Singapore where a crowd gathered around a papaya that somewhat said resembled a human hand to absorb its magical powers. At the same temple food offerings were made at an alter and then packed up and taken home. "The spirits eat only the spirit of the food. No need to waste the rest," one man told Macleish.

Superstitions in Singapore

Superstitions in Singapore reflect a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian cultural traditions and continue to influence aspects of daily life, business practices, social behavior, and beliefs surrounding luck and death. Many of these beliefs are rooted in Chinese folk religion and traditional customs, although similar ideas about spirits, fortune, and omens are also present in Malay and Indian communities. [Source: Google AI, Time Out Worldwide]

Numbers are strongly associated with luck and misfortune. The number 4 is widely regarded as unlucky because its pronunciation in Mandarin and several Chinese dialects resembles the word for “death.” As a result, some buildings omit the fourth floor or avoid using the number in room and unit numbers. In contrast, the number 8 is considered highly auspicious because it sounds similar to the Chinese word for prosperity and wealth, making it especially popular in business, telephone numbers, and vehicle registration plates. Another common belief is that shaking one’s legs while sitting may “shake away” good fortune or wealth.

Beliefs about spirits and ghosts also remain common. Activities such as whistling at night or cutting fingernails after dark are traditionally believed to attract wandering spirits. In hotels, some people knock on the door before entering a room to symbolically alert spirits or unseen occupants. Certain customs involving clothing are also linked to luck, including beliefs that hanging underwear too low or passing it over someone’s head may bring bad fortune.

Food and dining customs are often associated with respect and prosperity. Children are commonly told to finish every grain of rice on their plates, with the warning that wasting food may result in an unattractive future spouse or other bad luck. During meals and social gatherings, etiquette surrounding toasts is important, and it is considered disrespectful to raise one’s glass higher than that of an elder, host, or senior person.

Gift-giving practices are also shaped by superstition and linguistic symbolism. Giving clocks as gifts is widely avoided because the phrase for presenting a clock in Chinese sounds similar to the phrase associated with attending a funeral. Shoes are also considered inappropriate gifts in some Chinese traditions because the word for shoes can carry associations with evil or separation, symbolizing that the recipient may “walk away” from the relationship.

Superstition Thrives in Modern Singapore

Philip Lim of AFP wrote: “Whenever Christina Tang is overseas and returns to her hotel room, she always knocks on the door before entering even if she is the only occupant. The 25-year-old Singaporean marketing executive said knocking on the door is meant to seek permission from the "good brothers" — spirits that might have taken over her room while she was away — for her to stay over for the night. "It's just like visiting a friend. You would definitely not barge in without the courtesy of a doorbell or a knock on the door, right? To me, it's just respect." [Source: Philip Lim, AFP, August 19, 2012 ^*^]

“Singapore might be one of Asia's wealthiest and most well-educated societies, but quirky superstitions are part of daily life in the predominantly ethnic Chinese city-state. Superstition comes to the fore during the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival. Chinese superstition holds that the gates of hell are opened for spirits to wander across the mortal realm before they return to the underworld. During the month, property sales fall because it is considered inauspicious to make major purchases, and people refrain from staying out too late to avoid otherworldly encounters. Noisy streetside shows called "getai" featuring professional singers are staged to entertain the visiting spirits — but don't sit on the empty front seats because they're reserved for the invisible guests. ^*^

“Traffic jams are typically caused not only by crumpled cars obstructing traffic but also by drivers slowing down to take note of the license plate numbers so that they can bet on them in the hugely popular four-digit lottery. Having bird droppings land on your head is also seen as a good omen for gamblers because it's so rare for one to be hit in the concrete jungle. A tree in a western suburb has attracted a following due to the likeness of a monkey on its bark, which believers say resembles that of a deity from Chinese mythology. The "Monkey Tree" drew so much attention at one point that authorities had to explain to a local newspaper that the visage was a "natural" response by the tree to various "minor accidents over the years". ^*^

“Even national icons are not immune to superstition. Operators of the bayside Singapore Flyer, said to be the world's largest ferris wheel, reversed its spinning direction in 2008 so that it revolves towards the financial district and not the sea. Masters of feng shui — the ancient practice of balancing energies in any given space to attract good fortune — advised them that the wheel's revolution should bring fortune into Singapore, not suck the good luck away. ^*^

“Superstitious practices are often mistakenly associated with religion in Singapore, where many Chinese are followers of Buddhism or Taoism, said Chung Kwang Tong, a high priest with the local Taoist Federation. "The religion itself does not have such practices," he told AFP. "A lot of them will just try because to them there is no harm in trying." Ang Swee Hoon, a sociologist at the National University of Singapore, said even well-educated people resort to superstitious practices because of the highly competitive environment in Singapore. "Hence, to get a leg up, Singaporeans engage in more activities that will give them an advantage. Superstitious behaviours seemingly offer that," Ang said. "So, instead of superstitions being irrational, it may be perceived as rational." ^*^

“Ang said the opening of two massive casinos in 2010 further boosted superstitious practices in gambling-mad Singapore, which already has horse racing, sweepstakes, numbers games and sports betting operations. Red underwear is seen as sexy in many countries, but to Singaporean gamblers, it's just another way of attracting good fortune because red is regarded as a lucky colour among Chinese. Gamblers and financial traders often wear red undergaments before placing a bet or playing the stock market. "Gamblers are generally a more superstitious lot," Ang said. ^*^

Luohan Fish

In the early 2000s, luohan, small brightly-colored fish with bulbous foreheads, became all the rage among ethnic Chinese in Singapore in part because they were regarded as good luck. The fish are named after the Eight Immortals of Chinese Taoism, which are regarded as very auspicious, in part because the number eight is regarded as lucky. Some luohan have markings that resemble Chinese characters and lucky numbers, making them even more sought after.

Luohan became so popular that they were featured in New Year’s cards and shops were opened that were devoted entirely to the fish. They sold tanks, food and other hardware necessary to keep the fish alive. Luohan with particularly auspicious and rare markings and coloring fetched as much as $40,000 a piece and theft of valuable fish were reported in the newspapers.

Luohan are the product of an artificial breeding effort in the Malaysian mining town of Ipoh. They first appeared in 1997. No one is quite sure how they were created or who did it but they are believed to be a cross between “feng shui” fish, or a “sparkling mamonon,” with a “redface monk.” They breed quickly, eat almost anything and no two fish have the same markings.

An ideal luohan is about six to eight inches long and has a body that is roughly one and half rimes long as its height. The face should be bright red and the fins and tail should be in good condition and be symmetrical. The forehead should be large but not grotesquely large. They only problem with keeping luohan is that they are very territorial and two of them can not be kept in the same tank without one tearing the other to shreds.

Feng Shui in Singapore

Feng shui is widely practiced in Singapore. Many businesses, including Federal Express, Fuji Xerox, Wal Disney, Motorola, Pepsico and Lucent Technologies have hired geomacers for advice. Professional gemocacers charge between 50 cents and US$1 per square meter for for advise. Singapore’s School of Feng Shui has no trouble attracting students.

Feng shui is a Chinese system of geomancy based on positive energy (or ‘qi’ in Chinese). Five elements areinvolved — wood, fire, earth, metal and water – each with its unique association to certain colours, materials and symbolism. For example, the colour of the fire element is red, while that of wood are green and aqua-related colours. A geomancer's key instrument, called a compass, is a round board with components that include nine flying stars, eight lunar mansions and the five elements of earth, fire, metal, water and wood.

Ian Lloyd, a National Geographic photographer and long time visitor to Singapore, said, “Even in matters of religion and spirituality Singaporean practicality shows up. I know of a number of businessmen who have had their furniture rearranged by a feng shui geomancer because it might mean better business prospects—even though they didn’t necessarily believe in feng shui. In one famous case, a geomancer advised a struggling hotel to reposition its doors on an angle, and sure enough, shortly afterwards, business did pick up.”

Marina Bay: Singapore’s Feng Shui Central

Deborah Choo of Yahoo! News wrote: “Feng shui experts have called the Marina Bay area a hub of prosperity for Singapore. And as long as the landmarks around it prosper, so will the country. Master Gwee Kim Woon of Fulu Geomancy Centre told Yahoo! Singapore that the three-tower structure of Marina Bay Sands represent luck, prosperity, longevity. The subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands posted a record S$1 billion record revenue in the forth quarter of forth quarter of foscall 2011-2012. In the filing, MBS’ hotel occupancy averaged an incredible 98 percent even at $341 a night. MBS is flanked on its right by the Singapore Flyer – which symbolises a water wheel that rotates clockwise to usher in positive energy which is contained in the Marina Barrage, said Master Gwee, who has been in the fengshui business for nearly 40 years. [Source: Deborah Choo, Yahoo! May 15, 2012 /~/]

“On its left side is the Art Science Museum – a lotus designed structure that “creates stability for revenue growth”. Directly opposite MBS is the statue of the Merlion, which Gwee says guards bad ‘qi’ (or energy) from entering Singapore and protects the nation’s prosperity. The position of the Merlion itself, he adds, is also “ruled by the Green Dragon which symbolizes increase in population” as it attracts luck and wealth. /~/

“In early 2009, months after the global financial crisis hit, the Merlion was ominously struck by lightning, causing a stir among citizens. Repair on the then-36-year old statue took over two weeks and damaged areas were re-plastered and the structure was assessed to be structurally sound. Professor Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore's faculty of engineering had suggested that a lightning rod be placed on or near the Merlion to prevent future accidents. /~/

“Two other feng shui veterans, Master Lee Yuhon of leeyuhon.com and Master Jo Ching of destinyasia.com.sg, agreed with Master Gwee on the importance of Marina Bay as a hub for wealth. Ching says the reason for the prosperity of Marina Bay is that it forms the “mouth of Singapore”. “It is a very important feature in the study of landform feng shui as it governs the prosperity of the buildings in its vicinity. Hence, with such a water mouth being created there (due to land reclamation), it enhances the feng shui there, “ he said. Ching said it’s no surprise a financial hub (Marina Bay Financial Centre) and several other up-market luxury condos such as The Sail and Marina Bay Residences were built around the “water mouth” so that it could contribute to Singapore’s economic growth. /~/

“However Lee cautioned that energies cannot be “tapped” wrongly, or else disaster would strike. For example, he said the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer all had to be “tapped” in the right way. “The symbol of the Merlion is wisdom, education and reputation,” he said. “MBS represents competitive strength, and the Singapore Flyer that of authority. Each of their symbolic energy has to be tapped accordingly for best results. If tapped wrongly, competitive strength can turn into aggression, and authority can turn into betrayal,” he said. /~/

“While Master John Lok, principal consultant of FengShui0011.com, agreed that MBS is ideally situated within the prosperity hub, he warned that there is a flip side relative to Singapore’s birth date: economic prosperity at the cost of social unrest. “This is a good position for promoting tourism, but it is not good for society as it will raise debate and argument among Singaporeans, especially how Marina Bay Sands is operating a gambling business,” Lok said. /~/

Investing in Asia? Better Call a Geomancer

On investing in Singapore in 2006, the Year of the Dog, Chan Sue Ling of Bloomberg News wrote: “Singapore home prices will rise this year at more than twice the 3.8 percent pace of 2005, according to the forecast of Chong Swan Lek. His prediction comes not from studying the real estate market or economic data, but from feng shui. "It's the year of fire and earth, which means you'll make money out of property," said Chong, 65, a fourth-generation Chinese geomancer. "We can expect anything between a 7 and 10 percent rise in property prices."[Source: Chan Sue Ling, Bloomberg News, January 28, 2006]

Investor Louis Wong agrees that home prices will rise, though he doubts the precision of Chong's tools. Still, human behavior is affected by the chi, or energy, that surrounds us, Wong said. Sometimes, geomancers get it right. "There have been predictions in the past about catastrophes, epidemics and natural disasters, which have come true because of the movement of the stars," he said. "But for trends such as property, I don't think it can be accurate."

Tan Khoon Yong expects an even bigger increase. The 11th animal in the Chinese zodiac will usher in an "energetic" year for the property market, the Singapore geomancer said. He sees home prices rising 10 percent to 15 percent. Tan, 51, also bases his forecast on his compass, taking into account the dog's characteristics. Trends from past years support his prediction, he said. "Property prices usually drop drastically during the Year of the Tiger and recover slowly but steadily in the subsequent years," Tan said. "The last two years of the Tiger, 1986 and 1998, were very bad years."

Tan has been right before. In 2004, the Year of the Monkey, he predicted that Singapore's Straits Times Index would break 2000 by about midyear for the first time since Dec. 13, 2000. The benchmark measure reached 2003 on Sept. 15 and ended the western Gregorian calendar year at 2066. This year, the index probably will rise 10 percent from the end of 2005 to a record 2600, Tan said, adding that the impulsive nature of dogs means the gains may not be sustained. "The Year of the Dog is a strange year, because it's a 'volcano' year," he said. "When it erupts, there'll be very quick, very large gains, but then it will sink quickly and to very low depths as well."

Geomancers also are tapped to choose auspicious dates for weddings and advise on the design and interior layout of buildings. Tan said he charges a minimum of $237 for wedding dates and $850 for arranging homes. Merrill Lynch in Singapore consulted a geomancer when a building with "sharp" metal edges arose near its office, said Kong Eng Huat, managing director of the lender's private banking arm. Sharp edges are said to direct negative energy. "We actually had someone come in and take a look," Kong said. "They gave us a few suggestions, like changing the location of plants, but nothing drastic.”

Trances and Mediums in Singapore

Mediums in Singapore skewer their cheeks like shish-kebabs and slice their tongues as they if were pieces of steak. Journalist Bryan Hodgson observed one two hour ritual that ended with a medium slashing his own back with a sword; raising cruel welts but no blood. When the ritual was over Hodgson ended up sharing a meal of fermented bean curd with the medium who turned out to be a regular guy.

On a “temple medium" that turned out to be a sexual molester, AFP reported: “A repeat sex offender who pretended to be a "temple medium" to molest a woman has received the maximum sentence of two years' jail, media reports said. Loo Chee Seng, 51, convinced a 27-year-old woman in 2000 that he was an incarnation of a god and molested her after saying it was part of a ritual to cleanse her of bad luck and make the moles on her body disappear, the Straits Times said. District judge Kow Keng Siong said in court when he sentenced Loo on Friday it was "clear" that the maximum sentence was necessary. [Source: Agence France Presse, October 2, 2004]

Loo was released from jail in 1998 after serving a four-year sentence for a similar con job, in which he convinced a woman into performing oral sex on him and then raped her. Defence lawyer David Ng said in his mitigation plea that "there was no physical violence involved". But deputy public prosecutor Adam Nakhoda replied that a deterrent sentence was needed as Loo was "unrepentant" and had caused the victim "mental anguish", the paper said.

Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore

Every year, usually in the month of August, the Chinese in Singapore observe a large-scale tradition of paying respects to the dead. Taoist Chinese believe that during this month, the “Gates of Hell” are opened and souls of the dead are freed and allowed to roam the earth. Evil spirits are placated during the Hungry Ghost festival with prayers and by the burning of fake money.

The best places to watch how the traditional rites are practised in Singapore are in the soul of the heartlands, where fellow believers congregate to burn incense sticks and present their offerings in the form of prayer, fruit such as Mandarin oranges, food such as roasted suckling pig, bowls of rice and occasionally a local Chinese cake made especially for the occasion. It is not uncommon to see various forms of tentage set up in open fields during this period, for the Chinese also believe in entertaining the spirits with boisterous live wayang and getai performances not only depicting tales of the divine gods and goddesses, but also bawdy stand-up comedy with a local twang, song and dance numbers in the various Chinese dialects and even sensually acrobatic pole dancing by felinely lithe spandex clad dancers. [Source: yoursingapore.com, Singapore Tourism Board]

Everyone is welcome to watch the show as long as you don’t sit at the front row, which is reserved for the “special guests”. The festival is so widely-practised here that special joss paper bins have been set up for believers to burn their paper money in, believed to translate into great fortune in the afterlife. Small altars can also be seen outside many homes, both on private property and in public housing areas. From grand feasts costing thousands of dollars to a mélange of puppetry, opera and singing performances, the various ways with which the Chinese appease these roaming spirits is fascinating to watch, these festivities usually take place across the various neighbourhoods like Chinatown, Redhill and Geylang — so check these out if you’re feeling a little adventurous and want to lose yourself in a truly local experience.

Double Hungry Ghost Festival in 2006 in Singapore

In mid summer 2006, Reuters reported: “It's the time of the year many Chinese businesses dread — the hungry ghost festival, when families avoid moving house, couples postpone their wedding plans and tourists shy away from beach resorts. But businesses may be hit by a double whammy this year due to an oddity in the Chinese lunar calendar that results in two "seventh" months — also known as the hungry ghost festival or Mid-Summer Ghost Festival when the gates of hell open and the dead walk among the living. [Source: Reuters, August 5, 2006 */]

“But it's not all gloom for Chinese during these two months. For some Singapore gamblers, this is a rare opportunity to hunt for lucky numbers to play the "4-Digits" (4D) lottery. "People will often use this chance to ask ghosts for lottery numbers," said Lee Inn Peng, a Taoist medium who has been practicing for 21 years. "These people are desperate, and will try anything. Sometimes they are at the graveyards with talismans, burning offerings asking for numbers." In Singapore, where 75 percent of the population is ethnic Chinese, business associations often run street performances, known as "getai," to entertain the living and the dead. Traditional female Getai performers will dress in more conservative outfits and costumes while the younger may tend to wear more revealing outfits and sexy costumes like those found here. */

“Apart from inviting popular singers from overseas to perform, these "getai" shows also include auctions for auspicious items such as oranges, pineapples and charcoal — which are associated with wealth in Chinese, and which are stacked on gold-tinted plates and elaborately wrapped in red ribbons. "Some people will bid up to S$10,000 ($6,300) for these items because they believe it will bring them good luck," said Aaron Tan, who runs a company that organizes street performances. Low said these items are usually packed with a slip of paper with several sets of four numbers, so that winners of the bid can use those numbers to bet in the 4D lottery. "There are people who have struck lottery on these numbers and believe it is time to pay back the spirits who have helped them, so they don't mind paying a high price at the auctions," Low said. */

Singapore Ghostbuster at Work

Describing a Chinese ghostbuster at work in Singapore, Philip Lim of AFP wrote: “The corner looked empty...’There's an old woman standing there, wearing an old blue dress, and she has curly hair,’ professional exorcist Chew Hon Chin told his stunned client in the brightly-lit living room. ‘Let's ignore her for now. Let me clear your house of dirty stuff first and I'll move her out later,’ the 64-year-old Chew told housewife Zhang Qiao Zhu, who hurriedly led him to one of the flat's bedrooms.” [Source: Philip Lim, Agence France-Presse, February 12, 2011]

“Inside, the stern-faced Chew produced a pair of metal rods bent at a 40-degree angle, stared at the black balls swaying gently at each end and finally pointed to a closed cupboard. ‘There is a blue towel with a striped pattern inside,’ Chew told Zhang in Mandarin. ‘Take it out and remove it from the room.’ Zhang, 56, complied meekly, not questioning Chew's pronouncements or his apparent ability to peer through closed wardrobe doors to identify "tainted" objects within.”

“Chew exorcises ghosts and repels curses for a living, and the word "Ghostbusters" is spelled out in English in a red sign with gold lettering above the entrance to his shop. Zhang called him when she sensed there was something strange in her neighbourhood, or more specifically her house, after feeling someone — or something — choking her every night whenever she tried to sleep.”

“On a another house call, Chew used his metal rods to pinpoint what he said was the spirit's location, then flung coarse salt into a small bronze urn filled with burning charcoal. A helper tossed in onion skins to produce an acrid burst of smoke. ‘Ghosts are afraid of this smell, when the salt crackles it's like an explosion to ghosts and they will run,’ Chew said confidently.” Later he took his clients to a quiet clearing in suburban Singapore, where he lit a ring of fire around them and instructed them to step over it. After the ritual, the clients were soaked in a tub of herb-spiced water. ‘Fire burns away all the evil from your body, water cleanses the soul,’ Chew said.”

Singapore Ghostbuster’s Story

“Chew—a BMW-driving former nightclub owner—said business was good. Chew, who says he handles three to four cases a day, offers services from "luck enhancement" costing 88 Singapore dollars (68 US) to "deceased appeasement" at "100 dollars per soul" — although more difficult spirits command prices reaching into the thousands.” [Source: Philip Lim, Agence France-Presse, February 12, 2011]

“Chew said he acquired his skills after being cured of a curse placed by a vengeful former employee whom he had sacked. He vomited blood, mosquitoes and metal filings for more than 10 years, Chew claimed. After his recovery, Chew said the supreme Taoist deity known as the Jade Emperor visited him, made him a "godson" and told him the secrets of divining and exorcism, which entailed 108 days of meditation on a deserted island in neighbouring Indonesia.”

“Today he says has a kind of sixth sense. "I have the eye of the heavens — when you come into my office I can immediately see the bad things behind you," the devout Taoist told an AFP reporter, pointing to the supposed location of a "third eye" on his forehead. Chew said this enhanced vision allows him to detect malevolent energy emanating from specific items which he describes in painstaking detail to customers visiting his shop.”

“Chew's shop, situated in a shopping mall a 15-minute drive from the financial centre, also doubles as a ghostly jail, with sealed plastic "cells" containing objects discovered during his work lining a wall beside an elaborate altar to the Jade Emperor. Vials containing dark liquids, macabre finger-sized dolls and wooden carvings of faces beneath an ominous sign saying: ‘Nice to see, fun to touch. Once broken, more business for us!’”

“Chew was sanguine about his close proximity to the spirit world, "As a policeman or soldier, I should not be afraid of criminals or war. As a ghostbuster, I should definitely not be afraid of ghosts, in fact ghosts should be afraid of me!"

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; National Geographic, Live Science, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Singapore Tourism Board, The Guardian, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Encyclopedia.com, The Conversation, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated May 2026