October 17, 2007

German Girl Shrine on Pulau Ubin

Belyl said:

Other than the Goddess of Mercy Stone which attracted people to pray at the quarry on the island, there is this German Girl Shrine where people go there to pray too.

Recommended by DK: "A chinese shrine for a german girl? Interesting. Anyone knows the story behind this?"

Link

Submitted by DK on October 17//9:11am and published by jseng, tinkertailor :: 3758 reads | trackback (1)
Comments 11

Who's this German girl? Can't read the words on the newspaper cuttings except that she had lived in Pulau Ubin 90 years ago.

http://hyacinthus.wordpress.com

I saw the shrine the last time I went to Ubin for cycling. nothing spectacular, she died there or something. Hardly a big deal.

It is said in the folklore that the girl was the daughter of a coffee plantation manager who lived near the present site of the shrine in the early 20th century. At the end of WWI, British soldiers rushed in to intern her parents but she was said to have escaped through a back door. In her haste, she fell into the quarry behind the coffee complex which lead to her death.

All Singaporeans worship Ang Moh, not just SPGs. Had it been some local Kampong girl who died, I'm sure they wouldn't have made such a big deal.

Posted by Editor of Ang Moh Worshipping Stories* on 17 October, 2007 - 1:23pm

Thats probably true. But the girl was just the daughter of a manager on the coffee plantation. They just felt sad for her so buried her and visited her grave often but some how that evolved into a shrine because apparently in the recent years its said to be very accurate in 4D predictions! HAH!

That's so good to hear. I have a collection of magic stones that can cure cancer, a few four-faced buddha statues that can reveal winning lottery numbers, and a whole box of crucifixes that can ward off evil spirits. I have been looking for a market for these items and it looks like I have found it -- I'm sure my merchandise will sell like hot cakes in Singapore.

Incidentally, I also happen to be the ex-President of the Central Bank of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want to know if somebody could assist me by providing his bank account number for a quick transfer of a total sum of $100m U.S. Dollars from Africa. I promise to offer the kind person 25% of the total sum if he or she can assist me as requested.

Posted by HAH!* on 17 October, 2007 - 3:22pm

Yup, I worked on that play, it was entitled "Moving Gods" by the Theatre Practice. The background of the story was based on the Ubin shrine but the main plot was more about past lives and the theme of urban redevelopment on tradition/culture.

Posted by Anonymous Coward* on 18 October, 2007 - 3:59pm

As Shakespeare said, theatre is a mirror that reflects reality. The plot should have been about how Singaporeans love to worship Ang Moh and are superstitious. All that nonsense about "theme of urban redevelopment on tradition/culture" is just plain hypocrisy. No wonder Singapore theatrical productions suck so badly.

Posted by Editor of Ang Moh Worshipping Stories* on 19 October, 2007 - 2:47am

Haha, true true, since Singaporeans themselves (assuming u are one in the first place) think that local productions suck. Maybe should rephrase to "Singaporeans love to worship everyone else but themselves because they've got a self-loathing complex which is worse than a hall of mirrors".

Posted by Anonymous Coward* on 20 October, 2007 - 4:38am

Trackback from Vacuum State Travel:

It is amazing how this German girl who was born a Roman Catholic and died a Roman Catholic could become a local legend with a following of Chinese devotees....