Hougang Tou Mu Kung新加坡后港斗母宫
- Type
- Overseas Daoist Temples
- Location
- Singapore · Singapore · Singapore · 779A Upper Serangoon Road
- Coordinates
- 1.355, 103.8789 Map ↗
- First built
- 1902 (shrine established)/1921 (temple building completed) · In 1919 the pineapple-plantation magnate Ong Suey Tow donated land; its incense fire was transmitted from a Nine Emperor Gods temple in Penang; it was gazetted as a National Monument of Singapore (No. 54) on 14 January 2005.
- Heritage status
- National Monument of Singapore (2005)
Overview
Hougang Tou Mu Kung's principal deities are the Nine Emperor Gods and Doumu Yuanjun, with Xuandi (Zhenwu), Guan Yu and Guanyin worshipped alongside them; it is Singapore's oldest Nine Emperor Gods temple. A shrine was first set up in Lim Chu Kang village from 1902, founded by the Hokkien merchant Ong Choo Kee; in 1919 the pineapple-plantation magnate Ong Suey Tow donated land, and the temple building was completed in 1921. Its incense fire was transmitted from a Nine Emperor Gods temple in Penang, and its devotees are predominantly of the Teochew community while also serving the Hokkien community. The Nine Emperor Gods' birthday in the ninth lunar month is its largest celebration; on the last day of the eighth month, a procession to "invite the water" (welcoming the deities) is held from the temple to the Serangoon River, an important annual event in Singapore's Chinese folk calendar. Behind the main hall stands a two-story pagoda housing the sacred censer. A permanent stage built in 1925 was one of only two of its kind surviving in Singapore, before it was demolished in 1998 to make way for road widening. It was gazetted as a National Monument of Singapore (No. 54) on 14 January 2005. The cults of Doumu and the Nine Emperor Gods represent an important form taken by Daoist star worship in the Nanyang region.
Highlights
- Singapore's oldest Nine Emperor Gods temple
- Nine Emperor Gods' birthday and the water-invitation procession
- Incense fire transmitted from Penang
- National Monument of Singapore (2005)