Jin Dong Fu Celebrates in Honour of Jin Mian Da Ren
-
Jin Dong Fu Celebrates in Honour of Jin Mian Da Ren
Jin Dong Fu, a local Taoist temple celebrates twice a year in honour if it’s resident Deities, in the first lunar month (1M22) and in the fifth lunar month (5M15). In the fifth lunar month, it celebrates in honour of its chief resident Deity, Jin Mian Da Ren (the Golden Face Lord). As with many small temples in Singapore, when they hold celebrations, they would build temporary tentage to accommodate the devotees as well as with the expanded praying paraphernalia. This year, Jin Dong Fu holds its celebrations at the open field next to Cassia Crescent, off Guillemard Road. 37 years ago, this small temple started in this housing estate. After a number of years of celebrating in the big Kallang Park Sports complex grounds, it has returned to where it was.
As is traditional in Chinese folk Taoism culture, to start a celebration, preliminary setting up of the tentage has to be made with the appropriate ritual. In this case, the setting up ritual is conducted by a spirit medium representing Jin Mian Da Ren. With drums and gongs, and the chanting of invitation, the members invited Jin Mian Da Ren to come to officiate the setting up of the temporary temple.
As a visual indication of his presence in the spirit medium, Jin Mian Da Ren, upon arriving would use burning joss-sticks to brush against his body. After this mortification, he proceeded to the various sections of the tentage to consecrate the statues placed in position. He also positioned the celestial armies (In folk Taoism, there are always the five main camps, East, South, West, North, and Central Camp, to protect the temple) in the perimeters of the tentage. It was a colourful affair with gongs, drums, burning joss-sticks and joss-papers. There is the ubiquitous presence of the spirit-whip which is an important part of folks Taoism in Singapore.
Jin Dong Fu is well known in Singapore for its huge statues representing quite a fair bit of the pantheon of Deities in the folk Taoism world, covering the heavenly Deities, the Deities of the Sea, and the Deities of the Netherworld. Grateful devotees of the temple helped to contribute towards the growing collection of Deities. During the celebrations, this temporary temple probably has one of the most comprehensive collections of Deities. It will be quite an enriching experience for those who are interested in the local Singapore Chinese heritage and culture.
More reports of the events can be found in http://jindongfu.blogspot.com