By Arissa Binte Kamaruzaman (24A01A), Cheah Zong Heng (24S06P), Darren Wong (24S03C)
In a three-part series about a tour run by Ms Eunice from Indie Singapore Tours, titled “The Hidden Communities of Middle Road”, Raffles Press members bring you on a journey that spans time and space—from the well-known shophouse facades of Bugis Street that belie an unknown history; to the myriad of religious institutions that line Waterloo Street.
In this piece, we explore the architecture and stories behind the places of worship and cross-cultural influences in Waterloo Street.
When you hear of Waterloo, perhaps you immediately think of Napoleon, draped in red and blue, his head hung in defeat in a historic site only a short distance south of Brussels. Whereas, for the ABBA fans amongst us, lyrics of love and utter surrender surface to memory: “Waterloo! I was defeated, you won the war”.
What if we told you don’t need to look so far beyond, when Waterloo Street lies in the very heart of our city?
Before you brush this aside, thinking that it’s just one out of many colonial-era streets in the city area, let me tell you this: Waterloo Street was the very pulse of religious harmony in Singapore, years even before such a concept reached the national consciousness (and in fact, years even before we came to be a nation).
Memories of Waterloo
You’re not wrong to think that Waterloo Street, nestled between the Rochor Canal and the mouth of the Singapore River, had its roots in the colonial era. The Raffles Town Plan—yes, that same one printed in our social studies textbooks—had designated the street as part of a larger European quarter, consisting of other quintessentially British streets like Queen and Bencoolen street.
The Raffles Town Plan, with European Town at its centre.
What makes this street fascinating, then, is the sheer transformation it took on within a matter of decades.
Despite hosting a largely homogeneous community in its early years, by the early 19th century, the street had grown so diverse that you could hear the unintentional, yet beautiful harmony of church bells and temple bells ringing together; and notice shadows of the blue facade of Sri Krishna Temple against the brilliant red arches of neighbouring Kwan Im Hong Hood Cho.
Blurring Mall and Temple: Fu Lu Shou Complex
A mosaic of the three gods representing fortune, prosperity and longevity that decorates the entrance of Fu Lu Shou Complex. (Source: https://duendebymadamzozo.com/fu-lu-shou/)
Rows upon rows of lucky stones, gems, incense, and religious icons greeted us in almost every corner of Fu Lu Shou Complex. It comes to no surprise then, that the name of the mall, takes after the Taoist concepts of good fortune (fu, 福), prosperity (lu, 祿) and longevity (shou, 壽). The mall was built recently in 1983—hence, being one of the more recent developments in the Bugis and Rochor area, which is home to Waterloo Street.
It was our first stop in our journey traversing this hidden realm of Singapore where faith, history and culture intersect.
A statue of laughing Buddha at the shopfront.
Our tour guide brought our attention towards the entrance of the mall, directly facing the renowned Albert Centre. Red lanterns adorned the shop front, alongside an arresting, gold statue of Buddha, where some visitors say prayers just before entering the shop.
“Pay attention not only to what you see, but what you hear inside the shop,” our tour guide, Ms Eunice, told us.
Fu Lu Shou “Si Mian Fo”’s (四面佛) interior is a world of its own: shrines of Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu gods scintillate under ethereal, yellow lighting, whilst people gently whisper prayers to each of these gods with their eyes closed and hands held together. The blend of faiths here is especially interesting—many elements of each of these faiths inspire one another, and likewise inspire believers of different faiths. So while it came as a surprise to some of us that a Buddhist worshipper might pray to Hindu gods too, we learn from Ms Eunice “that Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism; [and this space] is a bridge across different religions that are not exclusively practised by the Chinese community”.
Some of the many religious shrines in Fu Lu Shou’s “Si Mian Fo”.
The shop blurs the line between commerce and faith, drawing crowds of believers—some of them likely on their way to the temple nearby—to pay tribute to the gods, just before they reach the end of the counter to pay for some joss sticks and incense.
As we took a step out of the mall and into the well-known walkway right outside, we jostled our way through bustling crowds that braved the hot sun (we were there at 2pm) while on the way to the temples at the very end of the street. Yet, some stopped at certain junctures, at one of the many New Moon umbrellas that sheltered the sellers of joss sticks, flowers, and even fortune-telling services.
Templegoers stop by at some of the shops selling joss sticks, incense, and fortune selling services along the way.
In a way, these shops appeared to be an extension of the kinds of shops we’d just seen in the mall—-creating the image of a continuous and vibrant microcosm of everyday life along Waterloo Street.
Kwan Im Thong Hood Choo Temple
As one passes the Kwan Im Thong Hood Choo temple, the unmistakable smell of incense wafts across the pedestrian street. With an unceasing stream of templegoers carrying an assortment of offerings, the temple is packed with devotees praying for good health.
Our tour guide explains to us how kau chim, a common Taoist fortune telling practice, in the temple works. A person shakes a cylinder full of incense sticks. The single stick that falls out is meant to correspond to one of the hundred written oracles which provides an answer to the person’s question. To confirm the answer given by the deity, the person tosses two jiaobei blocks. A successful answer looks like the yin and yang symbols, with one flat and one round side of the blocks facing up. If two rounds are facing up, it’s said that the gods are laughing at you.
Built in 1884 before its most recent renovation in 1982, the temple, as its name suggests, is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. Together with the chief of the six Buddhist patriarchs (Da Mu Tuo Shi) and the Chinese patron saint of medicine (Hua Tuo), this temple holds particular significance for Buddhists and Taoists alike.
The exterior of Kwan Im Thong Hood Choo temple
In fact, as one of the oldest Buddhist temples, it has borne witness to many significant historical events, including the Japanese Occupation. During this dark era, the temple had served as a place for refuge after being purportedly spared from the destruction of nearby air raids.
Sri Krishnan Temple
Just a stone’s throw away, the Sri Krishnan Temple comes into view. As a gazetted national monument, it has a similarly long history. Having been founded in 1870, it was initially started under a banyan tree on Waterloo street to cater to the large Hindu community along Bras Basah Road. The temple has since grown as the only Hindu Temple in Singapore dedicated exclusively to Sri Krishnan and his consort Rukmini.
The entrance to the Sri Krishna temple
With the temple’s grand South Indian architecture, visitors and devotees alike are struck with wonder. Decorated with statues of deities adorned with semi-precious gems, its main entrance depiction of the 10 incarnations of the Hindu deity Vishnu is a testament to the temple’s intricate design.
Other than the 2 temple’s historical significance, visitors can observe another curious phenomenon: cross-worshipping.
In front of the Sri Krishnan temple, a steady stream of Buddhist devotees can be seen lighting joss sticks, praying to the Hindu deities. In fact, an urn donated by a chicken rice stall owner has been set up to accommodate these joss sticks. In return, the Hindu temple has set up an altar inside the temple for the Goddess of Mercy. This remarkable convergence of different faiths enriches the tapestry of Waterloo Street, testament to the harmonious co-existence of diverse communities.
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
At the junction between Waterloo Street and the perpendicular Queen Street, a dark grey steeple looms, tall and grand over the pedestrians below.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Singapore, built in 1870 to house the growing congregation at the nearby Church of the Good Shepherd. Also nearby were 3 major Catholic schools—St. Joseph’s Institution, CHIJ, and later Catholic High School—that served to bolster the Catholic church’s mission in Singapore.
The old campus of Catholic High School, now a part of the Singapore Art Museum.
Along the entrance of the church, the Chinese characters for “Catholic Church”, 天主堂, are featured prominently, a reminder of the original congregation that the church served—mostly made up of Chinese Catholics of different dialect groups. To this day, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul is one of the few churches in Singapore that celebrates mass in Mandarin and Cantonese.
The church’s impressive facade was built in the tropical gothic style, no doubt inspired by the awe-inspiring gothic cathedrals of Europe, but also incorporating elements of our local culture. For example, atop each spire on the roof of the church is a blossoming lotus, a traditionally Buddhist symbol of purity and faith, yet another interesting intersection of two separate religions along Waterloo street.
A beautiful grotto along the exterior of the church.
Over the years, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul has undergone many expansions and renovations, and was even gazetted as a national monument in 2003.
The Bugis Community
After around two hours of roaming around the Middle Road area, we arrived at Bugis Junction for a much needed break from the heat. It was there where our tour guide posed a simple question—did we know why Bugis was called Bugis?
If you’re anything like us, you too, would be completely stumped.
The Bugis area was actually named after the Bugis people, one of the first groups of settlers in Singapore after the British colonised Singapore. While they are now usually regarded as a subset of the Islamic community in Singapore, the Bugis people actually have a rich and storied history with unique beliefs and cultural practices.
The Bugis were a seafaring people, originating from the southwestern peninsula of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Many of them lived in houseboats, which is why many of them settled along the rivers of Singapore, and how Bugis eventually got its name.
Before they were integrated with the Islamic community, the Bugis had particularly unique religious beliefs that stand out amongst the other major religions of Singapore.
For example, they believed that everyone had an innate soul that did not always match up with the physical body that they were given, and as such they believed that a person could be any of five different genders.
While the Bugis community in Singapore has largely dwindled, their namesake continues to serve as a reminder of the impact this unique cultural group had on our nation.
At the End of the Road
The characteristically green signs of Singapore, showing the intersection between Waterloo Street and Bras Basah Road. (Source: https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore/heres-why-road-signs-in-singapore-are-green)
But like all streets, we found ourselves at its end—looking back at the sign of Waterloo Street. In our minds, we thought: where would my feet be standing years past? Would there be crowds jostling past me, going home from church, or buying joss sticks on their way to the temple? And what would this look like years from now?
As the light distilled on the landscape before us, we saw that this street is truly timeless: every turn not only whispering the memories of previous generations, but preserving the magic of richly intertwined faiths and cultures in our present. A space that is at once, both historical artefact and a history-in-the making.