Tou Mu Kung Temple


The Tou Mu Kung Temple 斗母宮 is a Taoist temple situated on Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore. Worshipping the Empress Registrar of Birth or Dou Mu (斗母) and Nine Emperor (九皇大帝) deities, the temple has both Taoist and Buddhist influences.

Tou Mu Kung Temple
Tou Mu Kung Temple in 2006
Location779A Upper Serangoon Road
Built1881
Governing bodyNational Heritage Board
Designated14 January 2005
Location of Tou Mu Kung Temple in Singapore

There are other temples dedicated to Tou Mu (Dou Mu) in many parts of China (e.g. on Mount Tai).

History

The temple was built in 1921 by Ong Choo Wee. It caters to the Teochew community, and was one of two remaining temples in Singapore with a permanent wayang (Chinese opera) stage until 1998. For eight decades, Chinese opera was performed there during religious and other festivals.

The temple was gazetted as a national monument, which was deemed to be of special historic and traditional value on 14 January 2005.

Architecture

The temple has a symmetrical floor plan with a central air-well. Behind the main hall is a two-storey pagoda. Single-storey quarters for the keepers of the temple are located at the rear of the temple.

The roof of the temple is decorated with dancing dragons. There is also a ridge decoration in the main temple hall. The centre of the ridge has a blazing pearl. Dragons and dragon fish are used to terminate the ridges. Hips are terminated by spirals. The roof trusses are typically Chinese, decorated with carvings and simple brackets. The main doors are painted with pictures of the Door Gods. Its colour scheme of light blue and brown is rather subdued when compared to other temples.

The main altar is dedicated to the main deity (Nine Emperor). To the left of the main altar is an altar to Dou Mu (Tou Mu), and to the right, Guan Yin. An inscription on a wall plaque above the main entrance shows the names of benefactors and the date of construction of the temple.

References
  • Evelyn Lip (1983), Chinese Temple Architecture in Singapore, Singapore University Press, ISBN 9971-69-064-0
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