religions

Article State Regulations and Divine Oppositions: An Ethnography of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Singapore

Jie Lin Chia

Anthropology, Yale-NUS College, 16 #01-220, College Ave West, Singapore 138527, Singapore; [email protected]



Received: 25 May 2020; Accepted: 1 July 2020; Published: 3 July 2020


Abstract: Studies of popular Chinese religions in Singapore have mostly focused on the relationship between Chinese religious practitioners and state regulations delimiting land for religious uses. Local scholars have also studied the state’s active construction of a domain within which local religions can operate, often rationalized as a means of maintaining harmonious relations between ethnic and religious groups. However, little attention has been paid to the symbolic spatial negotiations that exist between the gods and the Singaporean state. Through an ethnographic study of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival as organized by the Choa Chu Kang Dou Mu Gong (蔡厝港斗母宫), I analyze the tensions between the impositions of state authority upon the temple’s annual festival and the divine authority of the Nine Emperor Gods, as reproduced in the festival’s rituals and in the bodies of their spirit mediums. Borrowing Marshall Sahlins’ idea of inclusive “cosmic polities,” I argue that the Nine Emperor Gods, devotees, and state actors do not exist in separate “secular” and “divine” dimensions but rather, co-participate in the same complex society. By serving as a fertile ground upon which the divine bureaucracy of the Nine Emperor Gods is reproduced, the festival’s articulations of divine sovereignty provide a potent challenge to state-imposed imaginations of space and expand devotees’ understandings of agency from state-defined and into the larger cosmological order.

Keywords: Nine Emperor Gods Festival; state regulations; divine authority; spatial negotiations; divine bureaucracy; state–society relations; Singapore

1. Introduction It was evening in Teck Whye, at the Choa Chu Kang Dou Mu Gong (CCKDMG [蔡厝港斗母宫]), as I watched Ah Q, one of the temple’s longtime caretakers, gingerly carry out three sets of giant joss sticks to the entrance and light them up. It had become my daily habit to observe him replacing burnt joss sticks with new ones. Bearing colorful dragon patterns at a height of two meters, these joss sticks are a sight to behold (see Figure1). During the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, devotees o ffer these joss sticks to “report one’s filial piety” (baoxiao [报孝]) to the Nine Emperor Gods. Since 1998, the National Environment Agency has limited the number of giant joss sticks the temple can burn to three sets of three per day, citing the risk of environmental pollution. Ah Q belligerently declared that, without this limit, the number of joss sticks they burn would “end up lining the entire street.” During the kampong era, the joss sticks were “so huge that cranes were needed to put them up,” and they burned for days. “But now,” he continued, “we can only burn joss sticks up to two meters in height.” Finishing the task, he paused and then whispered, “The government doesn’t like Chinese religion; that’s why we have so many restrictions.” As I later learnt, this sudden complaint reveals the tip of the iceberg that is the uneasy relationship between the CCKDMG and the Singaporean state during the annual festival.

Religions 2020, 11, 330; doi:10.3390/rel11070330 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 21

Religionsthis sudden2020, 11 complaint, 330 reveals the tip of the iceberg that is the uneasy relationship between2 ofthe 21 CCKDMG and the Singaporean state during the annual festival.

Figure 1. Ah Q sets up the giant joss sticks.

I argue that,that, inin thethe NineNine Emperor Emperor Gods Gods Festival, Festival, the the ritualistic ritualistic orchestrations orchestrations of of the the sovereignty sovereignty of theof the Nine Nine Emperor Emperor Gods constructGods construct physical physical manifestations manifestations of the larger of cosmologicalthe larger cosmological order governed order by thegoverned nine divinities. by the nine The divinities. festival overturns The festival the state’s overturns functionalist the state’s meaning functionalist of space meaning in favor ofof ascribingspace in sacredfavor of meanings ascribing to ritualsacred locations, meanings performing to ritual loca a divinetions, bureaucratic performing order a divine to which bureaucratic devotees andorder state to bodieswhich devotees are beholden. and state Spatial bodies negotiations are beholden. between Spat theial gods, negotiations the state, between and the temple’sthe gods, administrative the state, and committeethe temple’s (lishi administrative[理事]) before committee and during (lishi the [理事 festival]) before reflect and how during they the all festival co-participate reflect how in the they same all complexco-participate society in knownthe same as complex an inclusive society “cosmic known polity” as an (inclusiveSahlins 2017 “cosmic). This polity” inclusive (Sahlins “cosmic 2017). polity” This existsinclusive asan “cosmic ontological polity” reality exists for as the an temple’s ontological ritual reality practitioners for the andtemple’s devotees, ritual who practitioners encounter and the contestationsdevotees, who between encounter divinities the contestations and the secular between state duringdivinities the and festival’s the secular planning state and during execution. the Thefestival’s agency planning of thenine and divinitiesexecution. is The most agency potently of the instaurated—in nine divinities Latourian is most potently terms—and instaurated—in actualized whenLatourian they terms—and emerge as agentsactualized that wardwhen otheyff misfortune emerge as and agents bring that blessings ward off during misfortune the festival. and bring1 By reclaimingblessings during the urban the festival. spaces1 where By reclaiming the festival’s the urban rituals spaces are carried where out, the these festival’s articulations rituals are of carried divine sovereigntyout, these articulations serve as a fertile of divine ground sovereignty upon which serve the as bureaucratic a fertile ground power upon of the which Nine Emperorthe bureaucratic Gods is reproduced,power of the fashioning Nine Emperor devotees Gods into is imperialreproduced, subjects fashioning and challenging devoteesstate-imposed into imperial imaginationssubjects and ofchallenging space. state-imposed imaginations of space. The festival’s spatial enactments of Singapore’s landscapes as territories under the divine governance of the Nine Emperor Gods subject devotees,devotees, practitioners, and to a certain extent, the Singaporean state,state, under divine sovereignty.sovereignty. WhileWhile thethe godsgods renewrenew theirtheir annualannual blessingsblessings toto devotees, the devoteesdevotees areare simultaneouslysimultaneously renewing renewing their their allegiances allegiances to to the the Nine Nine Emperor Emperor Gods. Gods. While While agency agency is commonlyis commonly understood understood by devoteesby devotees to be to human-centric be human-centric and state-defined, and state-defined, the gods’ the presences gods’ presences expand suchexpand understandings such understandings into the into larger the cosmological larger cosmol order,ogical where order, agency where alsoagency manifests also manifests in the form in the of divineform of sanctions. divine sanctions. Ultimately, Ultimately, the festival the festival reveals reveals the authoritarian the authoritarian ethos ofethos the Nineof the EmperorNine Emperor Gods who,Gods althoughwho, although enacting enacting an imperial an imperial order dissimilar order dissimilar from the state’sfrom the bureaucracy, state’s bureaucracy, allow devotees allow to recognizedevotees to the recognize fundamental the fundamental limits of their limi personalts of their agencies personal and agencies lack of power and lack over of their power lives. over Yet their one mustlives. firstYet one ask: must who first are the ask: Nine who Emperor are the Nine Gods? Em Andperor what Gods? is the And Nine what Emperor is the Nine Gods Emperor Festival? Gods Festival?The Nine Emperor Gods are a pantheon of possessing deities unique to Southeast Asia. Some say that theyThe Nine are the Emperor nine star-deities Gods are who a pantheon reign over of theposse planetsssing indeities the solar unique system, to Southeast while others Asia. believe Some themsay that to bethey nine are heroes the nine who star-deities appeared at who the endreign of over the Qing the planets Dynasty in ( Cheuthe solar 1988 ).system, The cult while originated others

1 In a similar vein, Bruno Latour has called for an understanding of the divine as being enmeshed with the 1 Inrelationships a similar vein, of Brunohumans Latour in the has here called and for now. an understanding Borrowing from of the Étienne divine as Souriau, being enmeshed Latour identifies with the relationships instauration of humansas a process in the wherein here and there now. Borrowingexists no deliberate from Étienne action Souriau, from Latour a “construct identifiesor” instauration from which as a something process wherein emerges. there existsRather, no deliberateone “welcomes, action from gathers, a “constructor” prepares, from explores, which something and invents… emerges. just Rather, as oneone “welcomes, discovers gathers, or ‘invents’ prepares, a explores, and invents ... just as one discovers or ‘invents’ a treasure.” See (Latour 2011). treasure.” See (Latour 2011).

Religions 2020, 11, 330 3 of 21 in Fujian, China, before proliferating to Southeast Asia in the late 19th century. Held from the first to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival celebrates the divine supremacy of the Nine Emperor Gods. In 1910, a Chinese businessman named Choo Kee introduced the festival to Singapore (Heinze 1981, p. 155). Scholars have established that the Nine Emperor Gods Festival possesses “syncretistic” forms of worship found in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious cultural diasporas of Singapore and Malaysia (Cheu 1993; Heinze 1981). It has been cast as a venue where the cosmic power of the Nine Emperor Gods is renewed and human life is rejuvenated (Cheu 1996). The scholarship on the festival is largely based on its Malaysian iterations, which have focused on the ethnic politics that have shaped the festival (DeBernardi 2004). Yet these iterations are subjected to a whole host of socio-political conditions in a Malay-dominated state, shedding little light on the pressures the festival faces in Singapore. Meanwhile, scholarship on Chinese religions in Singapore has largely focused on the tensions between religious practices and state actors. The state has actively constructed a domain within which local religions can operate, often rationalized as a means of maintaining harmonious relations between ethnic and religious groups (Sinha 1999; Sinha 2005; Lai 2010). Scholars have also studied the simultaneous processes of transfiguration and hybridization, wherein Chinese practitioners transfigure sacred spaces and rituals to preserve ritual meanings in face of urbanization (Goh 2009, p. 111; Tong and Kong 2000, p. 41). Studies of spatial negotiations between divinities and the state have focused on Chinese spirit mediums operating out of house temples (Heng 2016) and the mapping of sacrality onto urban spaces beyond designated sacred locales (see Sinha 2016). This paper is an anthropological study of the CCKDMG’s annual Nine Emperor Gods Festival. The temple was founded by the residents of the Inner Dong Cheng Village (Nei Dong Cheng [内东 城]) in 1921. Located at the 12½ milestone of Choa Chu Kang, it had its humble beginnings as an attap house, before moving into a house with a zinc roof.2 In 1945, the temple moved to the Outer Dong Cheng Village (Wai Dong Cheng [外东城]) (see Figure2). Chinese kampongs were hotbeds of Chinese religious activity and worship of the gods was an important communal bonding activity. When faced with relocation, Chinese residents “almost unanimously preferred to live in the kampong [ ... ] with its temple serving as a strong unifying point” (Loh 2007, p. 19). Likewise, the CCKDMG was integral to the socio-religious life of its kampong, serving the religious needs of its Hokkien-Chinese community while having ties to village institutions like the Namsan Primary School.3 A cluster of five sister temples eventually formed around the CCKDMG, hosting deities from the Taoist pantheon. When in 1992 the temple’s land was acquired by the government for development, the CCKDMG was forced to relocate to their present location at Teck Whye. Its displacement came at the tail end of a series of kampong clearance and public housing policies that sought to fashion Singapore into a high modernist nation–state. Beginning in the early 1950s, the ruling People’s Action Party relocated kampong dwellers into high-rise public housing estates to “mold the semi-autonomous residents into model citizens of the high modernist nation-state” (Loh 2009, p. 140). The state has also imagined and governed the spaces of Singapore as “an ‘efficient’, ‘orderly’ system in which the various needs of the population are taken care of” (Kong 1993, p. 39). Kong(1993) argued that this ideologically hegemonic conception of space denies the socially significant and sacred meanings of spaces, instead emphasizing pragmatism and orderliness in allocating space. While the state allocates space for religious use, its recognition of religious needs is functionalist and “does not include the latent, private levels of meanings associated with religious places” (Kong 1993, p. 37).

2 An attap house refers to a dwelling constructed primarily from the attap palm. The attap palm, which is a palm easily found in Southeast Asia, provides leaves for the roof of the dwelling and wattle for the walls. 3 The primary school was known in Mandarin Chinese as “Nan Shan Xiao Xue”[南山小学]. Despite the eventual relocation of the temple and the school, both institutions are a few minutes’ walk away from each other in Teck Whye. However, the school has since lost its kampong connections and now goes by the name of “South View Primary School”, which I attended in my childhood. Religions 2020, 11, 330 4 of 21 Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 21

Figure 2. Celebration of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Outer Dong Cheng Village inin 1992199244.

Following this, the CCKDMG and its annual festival are thus inevitably intertwined with the imposition of state authority upon the spaces of Singapore. Yet Yet it remains undeniable that the festival celebrates the divine authority of the Nine EmperorEmperor Gods. How then, do we reconcile the tensions between state authority and divine authority during the festival?festival? It It is through an analysis of the negotiations between the impositions of state authorityauthority on the festival and the reproduction of divine authority in the festival’s rituals that this paper makesmakes itsits keykey anthropologicalanthropological intervention.intervention.

2. Theoretical Orientation The mainmain theoretical theoretical thrust thrust of this of paperthis paper comes comes from Marshall from Marshall Sahlins’ extensionSahlins’ ofextension the Hocartesian of the ideaHocartesian of inclusive idea “cosmicof inclusive polities,” “cosmic which polities,” proposes which that proposes “human that societies “human were societies engaged were in engaged cosmic systemsin cosmic of systems governmentality” of governmentality” even before even the existencebefore the of existence the human of politicalthe human state political (Sahlins state 2017 (Sahlins, p. 92). This2017, paper p. 92). borrows This paper Sahlins’ borrows idea thatSahlins’ “the idea human that social “the worldhuman is social intrinsically world partis intrinsically of a wider part world of ina whichwider boundariesworld in which between boundaries society and between cosmos society are non-existent,” and cosmos wherein are non-existent,” the powers-that-be wherein are notthe onlypowers-that-be classically hegemonic,are not only but classica alsolly inscribed hegemonic, in practice but also such inscribed that devotees in practice become such the that “dependent devotees subjectsbecome the of a“dependent cosmic system subjects of social of a cosmic domination” system (Sahlins of social 2017 domination”, pp. 96–99). (Sahlins Most 2017, anthropological pp. 96–99). literatureMost anthropological that theorizes literature the relationships that theorizes between the the relationships Singaporean between state and the Chinese Singaporean popular state religion and hasChinese separated popular the religion secular fromhas separated the divine the realm. secular Borrowing from the the divine idea of realm. inclusive Borrowing “cosmic the polities,” idea of I argueinclusive that “cosmic these state–society–divine polities,” I argue relationsthat these play state–society–divine out within an existing relations larger play cosmological out within order an whereinexisting therelarger exists cosmological no demarcation order wherein between there the “secular” exists no and demarcation “divine” realms. between Instead, the “secular” human, state, and and“divine” divine realms. actors Instead, co-participate human, in state, the same and complexdivine actors society. co-participate The Singaporean in the statesame is complex viscerally society. felt in theThe temple’sSingaporean encounters state is withviscerally red tape felt andin the state temp regulationsle’s encounters in the with planning red tape of the and festival, state regulations and in the apparatusesin the planning through of the whichfestival, it and exerts in the power apparatu on theses bodies through of its which practitioners. it exerts power However, on the during bodies the of festival,its practitioners. sacrality However, emerges induring previously the festival, secular sa domainscrality emerges such as in public previously roads secular and the domains beach. These such newlyas public made roads sacred and domainsthe beach. hold These religious newly significancesmade sacred fordomains devotees, hold who religious engage significances in imaginaries for ofdevotees, an imperial who bureaucracyengage in imaginaries ruled by theof an Nine imperial Emperor bureaucracy Gods. Consequently, ruled by the devoteesNine Emperor conceive Gods. of bothConsequently, divine and devotees state authority conceive as shapingof both anddivine limiting and state their authority personal freedoms,as shaping thus and embodying limiting their the Hocartesianpersonal freedoms, thesis that thus people embodying live in athe condition Hocartesian of subjugation thesis that to whatpeople Sahlins live termsin a condition as “a host of metapersonsubjugation powers-that-be,”to what Sahlins bothterms of as the “a divine host of sovereigns metaperson and powers-that-be the secular state.,” both of the divine sovereignsThis paper and the borrows secular from state. anthropological literature on spatial exclusions in urban Asian cities. HarmsThis wrote paper about borrows “the from paperwork anthropological mode of exclusion,” literature on referring spatial exclusions to the use ofin writtenurban Asian documents cities. toHarms regulate wrote people about and“the paperwork their respective mode uses of exclusio of spacen,” (referringHarms 2016 to the). use Writing of written on governance documents into regulate people and their respective uses of space (Harms 2016). Writing on governance in Islamabad, Matthew Hull argued that “the regime of paper documents” acts as an instantiation of social 4relationshipsSource: Photo between archives of the the CCKDMG.government and the ground, creating a “peculiar mix of agency and

4 Source: Photo archives of the CCKDMG.

Religions 2020, 11, 330 5 of 21

Islamabad, Matthew Hull argued that “the regime of paper documents” acts as an instantiation of social relationships between the government and the ground, creating a “peculiar mix of agency and subjection” (Hull 2012, p. 163). I argue that the Singaporean state subjects the CCKDMG to its power by imposing “the paperwork mode of exclusion” on the temple. Foucault’s concept of governmentality has also informed my interpretation of the state authority imposed upon the CCKDMG. Like how “the network of power relations ends by forming a dense web that passes through apparatuses and institutions, without being exactly localized in them” (Foucault [1978] 1990, p. 96), Foucauldian governmentality is manifested in state apparatus and state actors during the festival. On popular Chinese religions, Anna Anagnost argued that the Chinese state and local communities are engaged in a “politics of ritual displacement,” where the rebuilding of temples and procession of local deities represent the symbolic reclamation of their own space from a totalizing party–state (Anagnost 1994, pp. 222–23). Kenneth Dean argued that the “multiple public spheres” created by ritual actions of communities of believer–practitioners in southern Fujian challenge the cultural and ideological structures of the Chinese state (Dean 1997). It remains noteworthy that anthropological literature on popular Chinese religions is mostly based on ethnographic work in China, where Chinese popular ritual in China has faced vastly different social pressures from its diasporic cousins. Unlike Chinese ritual life in China, which suffered from the anti-superstition campaigns of the Cultural Revolution, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival set roots in Singapore over a century ago and thus developed in a vastly different modern cultural context. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Singapore was subject to British colonial forces, then later, to the pressures of the ruling People’s Action Party, which pursued different politics of control than the outright suppression of Chinese popular religions in Nationalist and Communist China (Goossaert and Palmer 2011). Nevertheless, these literatures provide useful references for interpreting the spatial negotiations between Chinese temples and the state. This paper also borrows from anthropological literature on space and place. Gastón Gordillo analyzed the “materiality of memory, its embodiment in practice, and its constitution as a social force in the production of places” of the Toba people in the Argentina Chaco, arguing that the construction of space is a dynamic process that is deeply related to the spatiality of memory (Gordillo 2004, p. 4). Low and Altman’s idea of “place attachment,” which refers to the “affective relationship of people to a space or piece of land and the associated symbolic meanings and modes of attachment” (Low 2016, p. 78; Altman and Low 1992), is also applicable to the CCKDMG. Borrowing from Nancy Munn’s notion of “mobile spatial fields,” where people produce space by moving through it (Munn 1996), I propose that spirit mediums of the Nine Emperor Gods produce “divine spaces” when they are tranced.

3. Methodology I conducted participant observation at the CCKDMG from mid-September to early November 2017. Access to the field site was facilitated by the existing presence of a research team under the guidance of Assistant Professor Koh Keng We of Nanyang Technological University. I befriended several “old-timers” who have been with the temple for decades. Through spontaneous conversations and semi-structured interviews with these “uncles and aunties,” I learnt about the temple’s history and their relationships with the gods. I initially planned to meticulously interview them, but later realized that their stories came out best in a casual setting, without a researcher sitting before them with a tape recorder in hand. I later documented their stories in my field notes, making mental notes of notable quotes uttered by my interlocutors. I also spoke with the temple’s youth volunteers, amassing a diversity of experiences with the Nine Emperor Gods. To protect their identities, I have given pseudonyms to all interlocutors mentioned in this paper. I collected the bulk of my ethnographic material during the festival, which began on 19 October and ended on 28 October 2017. For purposes of brevity, I examine four representative rituals: the receiving ritual (qingshui [请水]), the processions (youxing [游行]), the crossing of the Bridge of Safe Religions 2020, 11, 330 6 of 21

Deliverance (Ping An Qiao [平安桥]), and divine consultations (wenshi [问事]).5 The dynamics between state and divinity, god and human, explicated in these rituals can be extrapolated to the festival’s other rituals.

4. Spatial Regulations, Divine Negotiations

4.1. State Regulations Jie Lin: What are your main tasks at the temple? John: Administrative, pre-event things. I apply for licenses. If you want to hold a festival, you need a police permit. You also need to get permission from the different stakeholders like the Singapore Land Authority [and], Land Transport Authority. Because you are using the road [and] the [state’s] land, you need permission from them to host events.

I first met John on the back of a lorry, when we were headed to the houses of devotees living across Singapore to collect their censers before the upcoming festival. On the one-hour journey from Teck Whye to Changi, I interviewed him about his experiences with the Nine Emperor Gods and the CCKDMG. In his early thirties, John joined the temple four years ago and is one of the youngest members of the temple’s male-only administrative committee (lishihui [理事会]), assisting in the temple’s pre-festival planning annually. As the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is conducted in other locations beyond the temple’s premises, the CCKDMG must secure a permit from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and licenses from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which regulates land-use, and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which regulates road usage. As the festival usually takes place in either September or October, the temple begins applying for permits and licenses as early as January.6 Referring to the red tape the temple faces in planning the festival, John said, “We don’t really want to drag [the planning] too far back because, you know, when the government processes the payments, it takes a while.” This need to obtain state permits and licenses can be characterized by “the paperwork mode of exclusion,” referring to “written documents that regulate people and the use of space” (Harms 2016, p. 46). Without these permits, the temple will not have legal access to the spaces needed to perform rituals. Beyond the annual permits for its festival, the temple must readily adapt to circumstances that necessitate additional permits. For one, the temple had historically held several of the festival’s key rituals in an open field behind its premises. When construction began on the open field for a public carpark by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 2016, the temple became pressed for time to secure another space in time for the festival. The lishi set their sights on a public carpark located across the road from the temple. However, the process of obtaining a permit for this new ritual site was arduous. The lishi Ah Jia camped at and surveyed the carpark for several consecutive nights, meticulously documenting its vehicular usage. With this newfound information, the committee then approached the Member of Parliament (MP) in their constituency to assist in talks with the HDB, which oversees the management of public housing estates.7 Only by proving that the temple’s use of the carpark would not hinder the use of the carpark by public housing estate residents did the HDB issue the temple a permit to conduct its rituals there. These interactions reflect how the temple is encompassed within a “regime of paper documents” (Hull 2012, p. 163). This regime produces a peculiar mix of agency where the temple is assisted by state actors like their MP while being subjected to

5 While “Ping An Qiao” translates more directly to “Bridge of Peace/Safety,” I use “Bridge of Safe Deliverance” to more adequately describe its function as a bridge where devotees receive their annual blessings of peace and safety from the Nine Emperor Gods. 6 Whether the festival takes place in September or October is subjected to annual change, as the festival follows the Chinese lunar calendar. 7 A Member of Parliament (MP) is a democratically elected representative who has the responsibility of ensuring that the needs of their constituents are met and served by the Singapore Government. Religions 2020, 11, 330 7 of 21 Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 21 restrictionsperpetuate imposedexclusions by then state instantiates institutions. the As obtainingtemple’s relationship permissions fromwith variousthe state state as bodiesone where is crucial it is forsubjected the festival’s to the state’s success, regulatory the state’s powers. legal frameworks that promote spatial inclusions or perpetuate exclusionsThis “regime then instantiates of paper thedocuments” temple’s relationship is further instantiated with the state by as a onestate where audit it culture is subjected where to the state’stempleregulatory is required powers. to submit annual financial reports to the Ministry of Culture, Community and YouthThis (MCCY). “regime John of said, paper “I documents” don’t know isif we further can call instantiated ourselves by a company, a state audit but culturewe must where submit the a templefinancial is report required every to submityear. We annual engage financial a government reports-accredited to the Ministry accountant of Culture, [to do Community the accounts] and so Youththat when (MCCY). we submit John said, our“I financial don’t know report ifwe to canMCCY, call ourselveseverything a company,is accounted but wefor.” must Because submit the a financialCCKDMG report must every overcome year. a We lot engage of red atape government-accredited to legalize and legitimize accountant both the [to festival do the accounts] and the temple, so that whenthe state’s we submit regulatory our financial institutions report thus to MCCY,impose everythinga regime of is surveillance accounted for.” and Because governance the CCKDMG over the mustCCKDMG. overcome a lot of red tape to legalize and legitimize both the festival and the temple, the state’s regulatoryState authority institutions also thus emerges impose in a regimeregulations of surveillance surrounding and the governance temple’s overphysical the CCKDMG.structure. The state Stateprohibits authority religious also organization emerges in regulationss from owning surrounding land, instead the temple’s leasing out physical land to structure. them. As The a result, state prohibitsthe CCKDMG religious is required organizations to renew from its owning land lease land, every instead 30 years, leasing along out land with to its them. sister As temples a result, who the CCKDMGshare the same is required premises. to renew I have its heard land that lease the every sum 30 is years,“substantial” along with and its requires sister temples a lot of whosaving share up theon the same temple’s premises. part. I haveThe CCKDMG’s heard that the land sum lease is “substantial”renewal is a source and requires of anxiety a lot for of the saving lishi, up who on theare temple’sconstantly part. seeking The CCKDMG’s new means land of leaseattracting renewal mo isre a sourcesponsorships of anxiety and for donations the lishi, who for are the constantly temple. seekingThroughout new the means temple, of attracting banners are more put sponsorships up seeking donations and donations from fordevotees the temple. to raise Throughout money for the temple,land deed banners renewal are (see put upFigure seeking 3). As donations the current from leas devoteese ends in to 2022, raise moneythe temple for the will land need deed to renew renewal it (seeto continue Figure3 ).remaining As the current at Teck lease Whye, ends constituting in 2022, the templeanother will regulatory need to renewmechanism it to continue imposed remaining upon the atCCKDMG Teck Whye, by the constituting state. another regulatory mechanism imposed upon the CCKDMG by the state.

Figure 3. AA banner banner is put up in the Temple seeking donations.

These material encounters with state impositions allow the festival’s planners to imagine the Singaporean statestate as aas draconian a draconian regime regime of regulation of regulation and surveillance. and surveillance. They also inspire They reminiscencesalso inspire ofreminiscences their past encounters of their past with encounters the state—in with particular,the state—in its particular, forced resettlement its forced andresettlement loss of important and loss ritualof important sites. According ritual sites. to According Uncle Xin, to an Uncle “old-timer” Xin, an “old-timer” who has served who has at the served temple at the for temple 40 years, for the 40 primeyears, locationthe prime for location the temple for the would temple be “on would a hill be facing “on a the hill sea” facing to accumulate the sea” to goodaccumulatefengshui good, but state-ledfengshui, urbanizationbut state-led urbanization has made that has a distinct made that impossibility. a distinct8 impossibility.In these encounters,8 In these the encounters,lishi reify their the understandingslishi reify their understandings of the state as a of draconian the state forceas a drac in bothonian contemporary force in both and contemporary historical contexts. and historical contexts.Yet these negotiations also allow the lishi to imagine a state that divine authority can negotiate withYet and these even challenge.negotiations A focusalso allow on state the regulationslishi to imagine and the a state CCKDMG’s that divine corresponding authority can negotiations negotiate with and even challenge. A focus on state regulations and the CCKDMG’s corresponding negotiations presents only half of the picture on the planning of the festival. In the next section, I 8presentThe original how termthe usedlishi for construe “on a hill facing their the progress sea” was “ zuoin shanthe kan festival hai” (坐’s山 看planning海). I have usedas the the wordresult “hill” of instead divine of “mountain”—the literal translation—because there are no mountains in Singapore.

8 The original term used for “on a hill facing the sea” was “zuo shan kan hai” (坐山看海). I have used the word “hill” instead of “mountain”—the literal translation—because there are no mountains in Singapore.

Religions 2020, 11, 330 8 of 21 presents only half of the picture on the planning of the festival. In the next section, I present how the lishi construe their progress in the festival’s planning as the result of divine interventions, where the Nine Emperor Gods are prominent actors that speed up the planning process.

4.2. Divine Negotiations Ah Jia: I became surer [of my religious devotion] when I took over the making of the palanquins. [DaDi] said that a dragon needed to be included on the roof. I began to ask around to find out if anyone could recommend someone who knew how to carve dragon sculptures ... [but] no one does that in Singapore anymore. During the weekends, I happened to be at Rochor Road and asked the stallholders if they knew anyone [but] they also said no. I felt very disappointed. I was about to go home [when] suddenly, it started raining heavily so I ran to the HDB blocks opposite [ ... ] I saw an auntie selling second-hand antique furniture. I asked her if she knew anyone who did carving jobs and she said yes. She proceeded to pass me the carver’s contact. I went to the carver’s place and [ ... ] I saw all his carving works. More importantly, one week before this incident, I went to the temple to pray for help as I was running out of time. I said, “Boss, could you please give me some advice?” A week later, I found the carver, so I think it was like a miracle. In the end, the palanquins were completed beautifully [ ... ] So all these “you qiu bi ying”[有求必应] (translated as “the gods answer all prayers”) situations kept my faith going strong. At times like these, you can call it a “coincidence” but it’s up to the individual on how they want to perceive [it].

In an interview, Ah Jia recounted his experience overseeing the making of the palanquins for the Nine Emperor Gods. The palanquins are some of the most important ritual items in the festival, being used in the processions, receiving and sending rituals. They are ornate covered litters that transport each emperor god from place to place during the festival. As the addition of dragon sculptures on the roof of the nine palanquins was ordered by the First Emperor God (DaDi [大帝]), Ah Jia faced pressure from the gods to complete the task. When time was running out, he sought the guidance of the Nine Emperor Gods by praying at their altar. Using the phrase “the gods answer all prayers,” Ah Jia attributed his eventual discovery of a local carver and the subsequent completion of the palanquins to the guidance of the Nine Emperor Gods. His anecdote is an example of how the lishi construe the Nine Emperor Gods as active agents in planning the festival. Divine agency also surfaces in the temple’s negotiations with state regulations. Yi shifu, who has been the spirit medium (jitong [乩童]) for DaDi for 24 years, recounted how his National Service (NS) duties had clashed with his spirit medium responsibilities. In 1995, he was due to fly out of Singapore for NS training on the seventh day of the festival. Out of guilt for not fulfilling his role, he consulted DaDi about his difficulties. On the day he was due to fly, flights were miraculously delayed till the day after, allowing him to trance for DaDi before heading off for training. On another occasion where his NS duties clashed with the first day of the festival, Yi shifu prayed again to DaDi. He was once again allowed to fulfill his religious responsibilities when an army superior helped him obtain a letter stating that he had fulfilled his army duties. Yi shifu believes that such miraculous incidents reflect DaDi’s divine power, that it was only because of divine intervention that he could serve the Nine Emperor Gods during the festival. Yi shifu’s anecdote represents a direct clash between state authority and divine authority. That he was almost unable to carry out his spirit medium duties for DaDi constituted an instance through which the state indirectly intervened in ritual practice—by laying claim over his body in the form of National Service. Subsequently, a series of “divine” coincidences that allowed him to fulfill his religious duties then represented divine negotiations with state regulations. In assisting Yi shifu in circumventing state-imposed demands on his body, the gods “recognized” the presence of state authority, negotiating it by engendering incidents like the delay in flights. Responding to the state regulations on the temple and its practitioners, the gods become active agents in planning the festival. Interestingly, because these spatial negotiations involve the gods, Religions 2020, 11, 330 9 of 21

Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 21 the state, and the lishi, they reflect how the gods, the state, and the temple all co-participate in an religious worship from the “secular” realm, the divine awareness of state regulations and the state’s inclusive “cosmic polity” (Sahlins 2017). While the Singapore state separates the divine realm as an bodily claims over these spirit mediums nevertheless presents how the gods engage in the same object of religious worship from the “secular” realm, the divine awareness of state regulations and dimension as the state, where there exists no demarcation between the “divine” and “secular.” This the state’s bodily claims over these spirit mediums nevertheless presents how the gods engage in the concept of inclusive “cosmic polity” will be further explicated in the following sections. same dimension as the state, where there exists no demarcation between the “divine” and “secular.” This5. Spatial concept Performances, of inclusive “cosmicDivine Oppositions polity” will be further explicated in the following sections. 5. Spatial Performances, Divine Oppositions 5.1. The Receiving Ritual 5.1. TheThe Receiving festival is Ritual characterized by elaborate rituals and flamboyant performances conducted at sites of religiousThe festival and communal is characterized significances. by elaborate The ritualsreceiving and ritual flamboyant (qingshui performances) and the ritual conducted of sending at sites off (ofsongshui religious) are and the communal festival’s first significances. and final rites, The the receiving former ritual being ( qingshuiheld on )the and first the day ritual and of the sending latter oonff (thesongshui final )day. are theBoth festival’s rituals firstare conducted and final rites, at a the small former beach being at Tuas, held ona 30-min the first drive day and away the from latter the on temple.the final As day. the Both Nine rituals Emperor are conducted Gods are at believed a small beachto arrive at Tuas, on a a“heavenly 30-min drive boat” away from from the the open temple. sea, Asthey the are Nine invited Emperor on shore Gods atare the believed seaside. toThe arrive invitation on a “heavenly ritual facilitates boat” fromthe “docking” the open sea,of the they Nine are Emperorinvited on Gods shore on at land the for seaside. the festival, The invitation where they ritual begin facilitates performing the various “docking” rituals of thefor Ninetheir devotees. Emperor OnGods the on festival’s land for final the festival,day, practitioners where they and begin devotees performing perform various the sending-off rituals for ritual their at devotees. the same On beach, the wherefestival’s the final gods day, board practitioners their “heavenly and devotees boat” and perform return the to sending-othe heavens.ff ritual at the same beach, where the godsAs many board ritual their items “heavenly are needed boat” andfor qingshui return to, the the lishi heavens. head down to the beach a day before the ritualAs to manyset up ritual ritual items items are and needed markers for aroundqingshui th,e the beachlishi (seehead Figure down 4). to theAccording beach a to day Ah before Q, usage the ofritual the tobeach set uparea ritual requires items a andpermit markers from SLA. around The the CCKDMG beach (see will Figure also 4be). fined According heavily to if Ah they Q, do usage not cleanof the up beach the areabeach requires after the a permit festival. from A security SLA. The camera CCKDMG overlooks will also the behappenings fined heavily on the if they beach, do presumablynot clean up to the deter beach illegal after immigrants the festival. from A security entering camera Singapore overlooks by sea. the As happenings we stare at on the the camera, beach, presumablyAh Q jokingly to deter tells illegalme that immigrants a police fromofficer entering might Singaporebe staring by down sea. Asat weus starein that at thevery camera, moment. Ah Interestingly,Q jokingly tells this me perspective that a police complements officer might that be staring of the downgods, atwho us my in that interlocutors very moment. similarly Interestingly, believe tothis be perspective gazing at their complements devotees thatfrom of the the heavens. gods, who The my setup interlocutors is completed similarly by the believe next evening, to be gazing when at importanttheir devotees ritual from items the like heavens. the ceremonial The setup plaque is completed are brought by the to nextthe site evening, before when the ritual important commences ritual (seeitems Figure like the 5). ceremonial plaque are brought to the site before the ritual commences (see Figure5).

Figure 4. 4. TempleTemple volunteers volunteers place place flags flags on the on beach, the beach,while a whilesurveillance a surveillance camera (far camera right) (faroverlooks right) them.overlooks them.

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Religions 2020,, 11,, xx FORFOR PEERPEER REVIEWREVIEW 10 of 21

99 Figure 5. Devotees await the arrival of the spirit mediums for the Qingshui ritualritual9..

The thrones of the Nine Emperor Gods are arranged in a semicircle facing the main altar; behind each chair, eacheach palanquinpalanquin is carriedcarried by itsits retinue.retinue. Bright stage lights illuminate the entire beach as hundreds of devotees await the arrival ofof the spirit mediums. The main altar faces the sea; on its right sits thethe DouDou Mu Mu Niang Niang Niang Niangpalanquin palanquin and and her her entourage, entourage, while while on its on left its is left the Goldenis the Golden Drum TroupeDrum 金鼓队 金鼓队 Troupe(Jin Gu Dui(Jin [Gu Dui]), [金鼓队 made]), up made of young up of men young who men beat thewho drums. beat the This drums. setup This constructs setup concentricconstructs concentricsemicircles semicircles of worship, of with worship, the innermost with the semicircle innermost demarcated semicircle by thedemarcated central positioning by the central of the positioningthrones. The of devotees the thrones. stand The behind devotees the thrones,stand behind constituting thethe thrones,thrones, an outer constitutingconstituting semicircle anan of outerouter observers. semicirclesemicircle When ofof 起乩 起乩 observers.the spirit mediums When the arrive, spirit theymediums sit on arrive, their thrones they sit and on their begin thrones “trancing” and begin (qiji [ “trancing”]), thrashing (qiji [[起乩 wildly]), 捉 thrashingas the Nine wildly Emperor as the Gods Nine “enter” Emperor their bodiesGods “enter (see Figure” their6). bodies Each medium (see Figure is “caught” 6). Each ( zhuo medium[ ]) byis 捉 “caught”their designated (zhuo [[捉 Emperor]) by their God, designated becoming Emperor the physical God, embodiment becoming the of the physical god. As embodiment the Nine Emperor of the god.Gods As arrive, the Nine the religiousEmperor spatiality Gods arrive, of the the beach religious then spatiality emerges of in the full beach force. then emerges in full force.

Figure 6. The spirit mediums are tranced into the Nine Emperor Gods10. Figure 6. The spirit mediums are tranced into the Nine Emperor Gods1010..

The receiving ritual blurs the line between being a devotee and a non-devotee, inducting all ritual spectators into the larger cosmological order of the Nine Emperor Gods via the act of kneeling. 9 This photograph was taken from the same angle as Figure4. 10 蔡 厝 港 斗 母 宫 ( 2017b ). Untitled . [image] Available online: https://www.facebook.com/228729397181981/photos/a. 9 1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981/1468682106520031/?type=3&theater (accessed on 5 April 2018). 9 This This photographphotograph waswas takentaken fromfrom thethe samesame angleangle asas FigureFigure 4.4. 10 蔡厝港斗母宫 10 蔡厝港斗母宫 (2017b).(2017b). Untitled.. [image][image] AvailableAvailable online:online: https://www.facebook.com/228729397181981/photos/a.1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981/14 68682106520031/?type=3&theater (accessed on 5 April 2018).

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The receiving ritual blurs the line between being a devotee and a non-devotee, inducting all ritual Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 21 spectators into the larger cosmological order of the Nine Emperor Gods via the act of kneeling. As each AsEmperor each Emperor God kneels God at kneels the altar, at the his entouragealtar, his entour followsage suit, follows creating suit, a creating domino eaff dominoect as most effect people as most fall peopleto their fall knees to their across knees the beachacross (see the Figurebeach 7(see). The Figu ritualre 7). reenacts The ritual Chinese reenacts emperor–subject Chinese emperor–subject relations as 11 relationsdevotees transformas devotees themselves transform into themselves imperial subjects into imperial of the Nine subjects Emperor of the Gods. NineDespite Emperor not Gods. being11 a Despitedevotee, not I was being made a devotee, to kneel I was by another made to devotee, kneel by which another suggests devotee, the which potentially suggests forceful the potentially nature of forcefuldivine authority, nature of where divine it authority, is followed where and establishedit is followed by and their established devotees. Thatby their I was devotees. made to That kneel I was was madelikely to due kneel to my was participation likely due to in my the participation ritual as a member in the ritual of the as all-female a member entourage of the all-female of Dou entourage Mu Niang 斗母娘娘 12 ofNiang Dou[ Mu Niang], Niang who is [ the斗母娘娘 mother], who of the is Nine the mother Emperor of Gods. the NineThe Emperor beach thus Gods. becomes12 The anbeach imperial thus becomesspace where an imperial imperial spacesubjects whereof the imperial gods, both subjects self-fashioned of the gods (existing, both self-fashioned devotees) or (existing newly-made devotees) (me), oracknowledge newly-made their (me), divine acknowledge authority. their divine authority.

Figure 7. DevoteesDevotees kneel kneel in in obeisance obeisance to to the the Nine Nine Emperor Gods.

The receiving ritual is the first first physical enactmen enactmentt of the cosmic order of the heavenly court that will play out within Singapore for the rest of the festival. The The enactment enactment of of the the larger larger cosmic order is extended in other rituals, most prominently in the festival’s processions.

5.2. Processions Processions Processions (youxing)) areare aa hugehuge a affairffair during during the the CCKDMG’s CCKDMG’s festival. festival. Recalling Recalling his his childhood childhood in inthe the 1960s, 1960s, Ah Ah Q Q said said that that processions processions were were conducted conducted within within the the kampong. kampong. SpiritSpirit mediums tranced by the Nine Emperor Gods visited every household to bless them for the coming year. “Because the kampong was very big, (the procession) went around the entire village,” he shared. “Every Chinese household would havehave aa tabletable of of fruit fruit o ffofferingserings set set up up and and devotees devotees lined lined the the processional processional route route all theall theway way tothe to the beach.” beach.” Since Since the the 1990s, 1990s, the the addition addition of of LED LED lights, lights, bells, bells,and and sometimessometimes even nitrogen smoke emitters to to the ornate palanquins then tr transformedansformed the processions into into a greater religious 13 spectacle.13 After the receiving ritual, the Nine Emperor Gods return to the CCKDMG in a flamboyant procession (see Figure 8). The road to the temple is lined with hundreds of devotees who put their hands11 It remains together noteworthy in prayer that as not the everyone palanquins at the receivingand gods ritual pass knelt by, toperforming the gods, as communal the crowd also devotion contained to casual the gods.observers. Divine Due sovereignty, to its grand although nature, the festivalinvisible, has garneredis then mapped an enthusiastic directly following onto ofthe such “secular” non-devotees, space including of the heritage enthusiasts and academics, who seek to document its many aspects via photography and videography. 12 To legitimize my presence at the festival’s rituals, I found that I often had to articulate my presence on the field as being part of Dou Mu Niang Niang’s entourage. This positionality was further solidified when I briefly became one of her palanquin 11 Itbearers remains towards noteworthy the end of that a procession. not everyone at the receiving ritual knelt to the gods, as the crowd also contained 13 casualAccording observers. to my interlocutors, Due to its thesegrand additions nature, enhance the festival the beauty has garnered of the palanquins an enthusiastic when the processionsfollowing areof such carried non- out devotees,at night. including heritage enthusiasts and academics, who seek to document its many aspects via photography and videography. 12 To legitimize my presence at the festival’s rituals, I found that I often had to articulate my presence on the field as being part of Dou Mu Niang Niang’s entourage. This positionality was further solidified when I briefly became one of her palanquin bearers towards the end of a procession. 13 According to my interlocutors, these additions enhance the beauty of the palanquins when the processions are carried out at night.

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After the receiving ritual, the Nine Emperor Gods return to the CCKDMG in a flamboyant procession (see Figure8). The road to the temple is lined with hundreds of devotees who put their hands together in prayer as the palanquins and gods pass by, performing communal devotion to the Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 21 gods. Divine sovereignty, although invisible, is then mapped directly onto the “secular” space of the roads, reconfiguring reconfiguring the roads as spaces where where re religiousligious worship worship to to the the Nine Nine Emperor Emperor Gods Gods occurs. occurs. By refashioning the Singaporean landscape into divine spatialities, the procession thus challenges the state’s functionalist articulation of space, lending potency to divine authority.

Figure 8. PalanquinPalanquin bearers bearers swing swing the the palanquin palanquin of of the the Sixth Sixth Emperor Emperor God at the CCKDMG’s entrance14. .

These processions also engender contestations be betweentween the the “secular” and “divine” uses of the roads. Although Although the the traffic traffic police police had had ordered ordered the en entouragetourage to carry out their their procession procession on the inner inner lane near near the the pedestrian pedestrian pavement, pavement, the the devotees devotees strong stronglyly denied this this request, request, citing that that they they walked walked on the main road in past processions and that it was their prerogative to do so as part part of of their their worship worship of the nine divinities. Unable Unable to to persuade persuade these these devotees, devotees, the the traffic traffic police police begrudgingly begrudgingly relented. relented. Such encounters reflectreflect howhow state–society–divinestate–society–divine relations relations exist exist within within the the larger larger cosmological cosmological order order of ofthe the Nine Nine Emperor Emperor Gods. Gods. These These relationships relationships exist exist on aon spectrum a spectrum of negotiations: of negotiations: On aOn non-festival a non-festival day, day,devotees devotees are compelled are compelled to obey to the obey traffi thec police. traffic However, police. However, during the during festival, the they festival, are empowered they are empoweredby the divine by authority the divine of authority the Nine Emperorof the Nine Gods. Emperor While Gods. the stateWhile is the impressive state is impressive in its regulatory in its regulatorymechanisms, mechanisms, these spatial these regulations spatial are regulations easily contested are easily during contested the festival during with ground-levelthe festival with state ground-levelofficials like thestate tra officialsffic police. like Withinthe traffic this police. inclusive Within “cosmic this polity,”inclusive the “cosmic festival polity,” produces the a festivalffective producesspaces that affective allow for spaces such instancesthat allow of resistance,for such instances reflecting of how resistance, actors of reflecting the Singaporean how actors state are,of the for Singaporeanthe duration ofstate the are, festival, for the made duration aware of of the the fest cosmicival, powermade aware of the Nineof the Emperor cosmic power Gods. of the Nine Emperor Gods. 5.3. Reimagining the Kampong 5.3. ReimaginingThe processions the Kampong are a potent tool in performing “place attachment” (Altman and Low 1992) to the oldThe Sungei processions Tengah are Village. a potent Every tool in year, performing the CCKDMG “place attachment” conducts a procession (Altman and to anLow old 1992) site to of 15 theritual old significance. Sungei TengahIn Village. 2017, EveryDaDi orderedyear, the theCCKDMGlishi to conducts conduct thea procession procession to inan theold site Inner of Dongritual significance.15 In 2017, DaDi ordered the lishi to conduct the procession in the Inner Dong Cheng Village at Sungei Tengah, where their kampong temple once stood. 16 For some devotees, these 14 蔡厝港斗母宫 (2017a). Untitled. [image] Available atonline: https://www.facebook.com/228729397181981/photos/a. 1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981 /1468675989853976/?type=3&theater (accessed on 5 April 2018). 1415 蔡厝港斗母宫In 2016, the CCKDMG visited their original site for(2017a). the qingshui ritual,Untitled. which was[image] rendered unusableAvailable afterthe governmentatonline: https://www.facebook.com/22converted it into a reservoir shortly8729397181981/photos/a.1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981/1468 before the temple’s relocation. The inviting ritual (qingshui) can only be conducted by the sea as the gods come only from the sea. By turning the CCKDMG’s original qingshui location into a reservoir, the ritual 675989853976/?type=3&theatersignificance of the location was lost (accessed because it noon longer 5 April opens 2018). out to the sea. The CCKDMG was thus forced to seek a new 15 In 2016, the CCKDMG visited their original site for the qingshui ritual, which was rendered unusable after the government converted it into a reservoir shortly before the temple’s relocation. The inviting ritual (qingshui) can only be conducted by the sea as the gods come only from the sea. By turning the CCKDMG’s original qingshui location into a reservoir, the ritual significance of the location was lost because it no longer opens out to the sea. The CCKDMG was thus forced to seek a new location to invite the gods. The diminishing of available sites is another means through which state authority was imposed on the CCKDMG. 16 Sungei Tengah is now a zone where horticulture and vegetable farms have set up shop.

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ReligionsCheng Village2020, 11, x at FOR Sungei PEER Tengah, REVIEW where their kampong temple once stood.16 For some devotees,13 these of 21 kampong processions are an exercise in nostalgia, where the religious spectacle of the procession kampongsocially produces processions the memory are an exercise of the kampong. in nostalgia, Uncle where Ding, the a devotee,religious noted spectacle how of these the processionsprocession sociallyare a means produces of “yearning the memory for the of (kampong)the kampong. past.” Un17cleMeanwhile, Ding, a devotee, Auntie noted Bing, how who these has followed processions the aretemple a means for 20 of years, “yearning revealed for the that: (kampong) past.”17 Meanwhile, Auntie Bing, who has followed the temple for 20 years, revealed that: After the government took away the temples and kampong itself, going back to the kampong After the government took away the temples and kampong itself, going back to the kampong is is a form of reminiscence. a form of reminiscence. AlthoughAlthough it remains it remains impossible impossible for the for temple the temple to return to toreturn its kampong to its kampong beginnings, beginnings, the Nine the Emperor Nine EmperorGods mediate Gods reenactmentsmediate reenactments of the past of kampong, the past allowingkampong, devotees allowing to devotees perform to their perform longing their for longingtheir lost for kampong their lost through kampong such through processions. such processi Threeons. altars Three bearing altars fruit bearing are setfruit up are along set up the along road theat Sungei road at Tengah. Sungei Tengah. The procession The procession travels travels down thedown road the and road the and palanquins the palanquins rush eachrush altar,each altar, with withtheir their bearers bearers excitedly excitedly yelling yelling the namesthe names of the of godsthe gods to whom to whom the the palanquins palanquins belong belong (see (see Figure Figure9). 9).The The tranced tranced spirit spirit mediums mediums then then bless bless kneeling kneeling devotees devotees by waving by waving their ritualtheir ritual flags overflags their over heads. their Anheads. altar An is altar set up is outsideset up outside the Rainbow the Rainbow Aquarium Aquarium store, whichstore, which belongs belongs to a devotee to a devotee who hadwho lived had livedin the in kampong. the kampong. In blessing In blessing the aquarium’s the aquarium’s owners, owners, the gods the gods perform perform a journey a journey reminiscent reminiscent of past of pastkampong kampong processions. processions.

Figure 9. Palanquin-bearersPalanquin-bearers pay pay respects respects at the al altartar in front of the Rainbow Aquarium.

Through the the procession, procession, the the lishilishi andand kampong-related kampong-related devotees devotees thus thus reimagine reimagine the the spatiality spatiality of theirof their kampong. kampong. This This reimagination reimagination is reminiscent is reminiscent of the of the “materiality “materiality of memory, of memory, its itsembodiment embodiment in practice,in practice, and and its constitution its constitution as a associal a social force force in the in production the production of places” of places” (Gordillo (Gordillo 2004, p.2004 4), ,where p. 4), wherethe memory the memory of the ofkampong the kampong past pastis embodied is embodied in it ins itsprocessions processions to toold old sites sites of of ritual ritual and and social significance.significance. This This procession procession is is divinely divinely ordained; ordained; as as DaDiDaDi hadhad ordered ordered to to have the procession at Sungei Tengah,Tengah, this this shows shows how how divine divine authority authority has ordained has ordained the symbolic the symbolic recreation recreation of the kampong. of the kampong.The procession The isprocession thus doubly is thus destabilizing doubly destabilizing state authority. state Not authority. only does Not it refashion only does Sungei it refashion Tengah Sungeiinto a religious Tengah into spatiality a religious and destabilizesspatiality and its destabilizes functionalist its meaning,functionalist the meaning, reimagination the reimagination of the Inner ofDong the ChengInner Dong Village Cheng pits divineVillage will pits against divine thewill state’s against kampong the state's relocation kampong policies. relocation policies.

6. Spirit Mediums, Divine Bureaucracy locationThe divine to invite bureaucracy the gods. The diminishing and state of power available of sites the is anotherNine Emperor means through Gods which is further state authority asserted was imposedin the on the CCKDMG. festival’s16 Sungei Tengahother rituals, is now a zonewhich where construct horticulture “divine and vegetable spaces” farms through have set the up shop.bodies of their spirit mediums. As17 TheNancy term Munn he used proposed, was “huai nian “space(s) yi qian” (怀 defined念以前). by reference to an actor … can also be understood as a culturally defined, corporeal–sensual field of significant distances stretching out from the body in a particular stance or action at a given locale or as it moves through locales” (Munn 1996, p. 93). The human body is thus constructed as a “mobile spatial field” that configures human interactions within

17 The term he used was “huai nian yi qian” (怀念以前).

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6. Spirit Mediums, Divine Bureaucracy The divine bureaucracy and state power of the Nine Emperor Gods is further asserted in the festival’s other rituals, which construct “divine spaces” through the bodies of their spirit mediums. As Nancy Munn proposed, “space(s) defined by reference to an actor ... can also be understood as a culturally defined, corporeal–sensual field of significant distances stretching out from the body in a particular stance or action at a given locale or as it moves through locales” (Munn 1996, p. 93). Religions 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 21 The human body is thus constructed as a “mobile spatial field” that configures human interactions withinor across or a across fixed aspace fixed (Munn space (1996).Munn Casting 1996). Castingthe tranced the trancedspirit medium spirit medium as a “mobile as a “mobilespatial field,” spatial I field,”propose I proposethat they thatcreate they “divine create spaces” “divine that spaces” manifest that a manifestdivine bureaucracy a divine bureaucracy for devotees for to devoteesworship. toHaving worship. been Having“caught” been by the “caught” Nine Emperor by the NineGods, Emperor the nine Gods,spirit mediums the nine spiritbecome mediums simultaneously become simultaneouslygod and human, god rendering and human, their renderingimmediate their vicinity immediate a “divine vicinity space.” a “divine Subsequently, space.” Subsequently,these “divine thesespaces” “divine allow spaces” for the allowNine Emperor for the Nine Gods Emperor to asse Godsrt their to bureaucratized assert their bureaucratized power and powerenact emperor– and enact emperor–subjectsubject relations with relations their with devotees. their devotees. As divine authority is physicalized in the bodies of the nine mediums, this enables devotees to concretely engage engage with with the the gods gods (see (see Figure Figure 10). 10 ).When When the the spirit spirit mediums mediums fall fallinto into a trance, a trance, they theylose losecontrol control over overtheir their bodies. bodies. Recalling Recalling his hisfirst first “trance” “trance” of ofa Nine a Nine Emperor Emperor God, God, one one of of the the spirit 18 mediums noted that he “got a feeling, tried to resist it but was unable to and fainted.” 18 After he had accepted hishis rolerole asas aa medium, medium, the the trancing trancing became became voluntary voluntary in in nature; nature; he he would would be consciousbe conscious of the of 19 godthe god “catching” “catching” his bodyhis body and and relinquish relinquish “most” “most” of his of consciousness his consciousness to the to god. the god.When19 When trancing, trancing, each spiriteach spirit medium medium rocks rocks back andback forth and inforth his chairin his aschair his limbsas his violentlylimbs violently shake andshake thrash and about.thrash Dueabout. to theDue intense to the intense nature ofnature a trance, of a hetrance, had tohe be had strongly to be strongly held by assistantsheld by assistants to prevent to himprevent from him injuring from himselfinjuring unduly. himself Itunduly. is these It physical is these physical exertions exerti that firstons alertthat first devotees alert devotees to the impending to the impending arrival of arrival a Nine Emperorof a Nine God.Emperor God.

FigureFigure 10.10. The Nine Spirit Mediums of the CCKDMG.CCKDMG2020.

When thethe godgod has has “caught” “caught” a spirita spirit medium’s medium’s body, body, the physicalthe physical comportment comportment of the of latter the dilatterffers drasticallydiffers drastically from his from usual his self. usual The self. Nine The Emperor Nine Emperor Gods areGods known are known to be stern to be deities stern thatdeities regard that regard ritual very highly. In contrast, their mediums are affable men. For one, while Yi shifu is friendly and approachable, his comportment changes dramatically when DaDi enters his body. He bears an 18air Accordingof gravitas to myand interlocutors, is unsmiling. the first Once, “trance” I witnessed of a spirit medium DaDi loudly usually comesadmonishing without warning. an assistant It wasafter for thisfailing first to carrytrance out with his a specific orders, god while that one repeatedly realizes that theyslamming had been hi selecteds hand as on the god’sthe ritual medium. table. As I watched on in 19 The word “most” has been emphasized by several interlocutors, one of whom noted that the god occupies “70% of his shock,consciousness,” a devotee while whispered the other 30%to me was that occupied Yi shifu by his himself own mind. would However, not it act is important and be toangered note that thein trancingsuch a manner—reflectingexperience is highly subjectivehow devotees and differs re fromcognize medium divine to medium. presences through the spatial practices of the 20 蔡 母 Nine 厝Emperor港斗 宫 Gods.(2017c ).Thus,Untitled when. [image]these men Available assume online: the https:stern// www.facebook.comcomportments of/228729397181981 the deities, devotees/photos/a. 1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981/1468674583187450/?type=3&theater. recognize the divine presences, falling to their knees in obeisance. From there on, all actions are perceived to be carried out by the gods. The presence of their tranced spirit mediums further

18 According to my interlocutors, the first “trance” of a spirit medium usually comes without warning. It was after this first trance with a specific god that one realizes that they had been selected as the god’s medium. 19 The word “most” has been emphasized by several interlocutors, one of whom noted that the god occupies “70% of his consciousness,” while the other 30% was occupied by his own mind. However, it is important to note that the trancing experience is highly subjective and differs from medium to medium. 20 蔡厝港斗母宫 (2017c). Untitled. [image] Available online: https://www.facebook.com/228729397181981/photos/a.1468672149854360.1073741891.228729397181981/1468 674583187450/?type=3&theater

Religions 2020, 11, 330 15 of 21 ritual very highly. In contrast, their mediums are affable men. For one, while Yi shifu is friendly and approachable, his comportment changes dramatically when DaDi enters his body. He bears an air of gravitas and is unsmiling. Once, I witnessed DaDi loudly admonishing an assistant for failing to carry out his orders, while repeatedly slamming his hand on the ritual table. As I watched on in shock, a devotee whispered to me that Yi shifu himself would not act and be angered in such a manner—reflecting how devotees recognize divine presences through the spatial practices of the

ReligionsNine Emperor 2020, 11, x Gods. FOR PEER Thus, REVIEW when these men assume the stern comportments of the deities, devotees15 of 21 recognize the divine presences, falling to their knees in obeisance. From there on, all actions are enhancesperceived the to be sense carried of outsubservience by the gods. that The a presencedevotee offeels their towards tranced the spirit Nine mediums Emperor further Gods. enhances While devoteesthe sense oftypically subservience kneel in that an a upright devotee pose feels towardswhile praying the Nine to Emperorthe Nine Gods.Emperor While Gods devotees at the temple’s typically mainkneel altar, in an uprighttheir body pose language while praying becomes to the significantly Nine Emperor more Gods servile at the when temple’s interacting main altar, with their tranced body mediums.language becomesThe devotees significantly hunch moretheir servilebacks and when bo interactingw repeatedly, with even tranced after mediums. having completed The devotees the receivinghunch their of backstheir blessing. and bow repeatedly, even after having completed the receiving of their blessing. Spirit mediumshipmediumship inin Singapore Singapore is is typically typically performed performed in ain small a small temple temple or apartment or apartment where where each eachsession session serves serves the needs the needs of small of groupssmall groups of devotees, of devotees, conjuring conjuring a certain a levelcertain of intimacylevel of intimacy between betweengod and god devotee and (devoteeHeng 2016 (see). Heng Owing 2016). to the Owing mass, to bureaucratized the mass, bureaucratized nature of the nature rituals of conductedthe rituals conductedduring the during Nine Emperor the Nine Gods Emperor Festival, Gods I proposeFestival, anotherI propose perspective—that another perspective—that the presence the of presence all nine ofspirit all nine mediums spirit at mediums the rituals at enhancesthe rituals the enhances bureaucratic the bureaucratic identities and identities consequently, and consequently, state power of state the powerNine Emperor of the Nine Gods. Emperor The trappings Gods. of The this trappings divine imperial of this state divine power imperial are most state prominent power are in two most of prominentthe festival’s in keytwo rituals:of the festival’s the crossing key ofrituals: the Bridge the crossing of Safe of Deliverance the Bridge and of Safe the divineDeliverance consultations and the divine(wenshi consultations). (wenshi).

6.1. Crossing Crossing the the Bridge of Safe Deliverance Held on on the the festival’s festival’s eighth eighth day, day, the the crossing crossing of of the the Bridge Bridge of of Safe Safe Deliverance Deliverance (Ping (Ping An An Qiao Qiao) is) ais ritual a ritual wherein wherein the the Nine Nine Emperor Emperor Gods Gods renew renew thei theirr annual annual blessings blessings of of peace peace and and safety safety to to their 21 devotees.21 Crossing in the order of their zodiac signs (the first first being that of the Rat) while barefooted, devotees are first first blessed by an emperor god, wher wheree he waves his ceremonial ceremonial flag flag along the devotee’s body. They then cross the physical Bridge of Safe Deliverance to symbolically leave their misfortunes in the past (see Figure 11).11). Descending Descending the the bridge bridge,, they they are are once once again again flanked flanked by by the the emperor emperor gods, gods, who wave their ritual flagsflags over their heads to completecomplete theirtheir blessings.blessings.

Figure 11. DevoteesDevotees queue queue to to cross cross the Bridge of Safe Deliverance.

As devotees take turns crossing the bridge, this procession of an undifferentiated public reflects the21 Thebureaucratic ritual is typically nature conducted of the atnine the carparkdivinities. behind Alth theough CCKDMG. devotees possess different problems, they are equally subordinated to the gods. During the blessing process, the gods do not speak to devotees; interactions with them are mediated by the lishi, who are identified by their “work uniform.”22

21 The ritual is typically conducted at the carpark behind the CCKDMG. 22 The “work uniform” (gongchek) is typically worn during the rituals of the festival. A lishi wears a polo shirt featuring the temple’s name and logo, accompanied by the name of the sponsor who purchased these shirts (usually a company affiliated with the temple). Apart from the shirt, he also wears white pants and white shoes, along with a yellow headband that has been blessed by the First Emperor God (DaDi) to complete the look. Apart from the lishi, other volunteers assisting in the festival’s rituals are also required to wear the “work uniform,” and according to Ah Q, it is to establish that the volunteer “is one of ‘us’” [“是我们的人”]. Due to our sustained field work on the site and friendships with our interlocutors, my research teammates and I also wore the “work uniform.”

Religions 2020, 11, 330 16 of 21

As devotees take turns crossing the bridge, this procession of an undifferentiated public reflects the bureaucratic nature of the nine divinities. Although devotees possess different problems, they are equally subordinated to the gods. During the blessing process, the gods do not speak to devotees; interactions with them are mediated by the lishi, who are identified by their “work uniform.”22 Beyond its portrayal of bureaucratic power, the crossing ritual engenders a divine spatiality within which the gods and their devotees perform emperor–subject relations. As the foremost emperor god, DaDi is seated on his throne to oversee the proceedings of the ritual. Devotees seeking additional blessings approach DaDi and kneel before him. He then waves his flag over devotees to bless them. From time to time, DaDi leaves his seat to—in the words of an interlocutor—“inspect the proceedings at the bridge,” much like a mortal emperor surveying his subjects. Meanwhile, the lishi take on roles reminiscent of a court official. They direct the flow of the crowd, instruct devotees on how to interact with the emperor god, and receive paper offerings on behalf of each god. That an audience with an emperor god is granted only after the lishi’s mediation delineates the hierarchical power of the nine divinities, casting the crossing of the Bridge of Safe Deliverance in an imperial light. Furthermore, the ritual items bear parallels to the bureaucratic tools used by Chinese emperors. Apart from a flag, each Emperor God uses his personal chop with red ink to stamp on the shirts of devotees as a form of blessing.23 The red chop echoes the function of an imperial seal, which was used to convey an emperor’s approval of petitions and issuance of decrees. The crossing ritual thus produces a hierarchy resembling that of the Chinese imperial state; the Nine Emperor Gods enact the roles in their namesakes with DaDi as the preeminent Emperor God; the lishi articulate this imperial hierarchy as “court officials” who mediate emperor–subject relations, while the devotees are the “citizens” at the bottom of the hierarchy, or, to extend this comparison, “documents” that have been “approved” by their emperor. Aside from this imperial imagery, it is noteworthy that a lishi described the annual act of having his clothing stamped by DaDi’s chop as “renewing [his] passport or Certificate of Entitlement (COE).”24 The comparison of DaDi’s chop to official documents issued by the Singaporean state to legitimize one’s citizenship and vehicle ownership reflects how this lishi conceives of himself as not simply a citizen of the divine state, but a divine state that is bureaucratic in nature. This analogy of the official documents of the Singaporean state also showcases his conception of the secular and divine states—as one in which his citizenships of both need to be constantly renewed and re-legitimized via text acts. Although many Singapore-based temples celebrate the festival, the CCKDMG is the only temple that possesses all nine spirit mediums for all Nine Emperor Gods. Many devotees journey across Singapore to CCKDMG annually to celebrate the festival. When I asked some about their choice to follow the CCKDMG instead of temples situated closer to their homes, they expressed that they chose CCKDMG because of its nine spirit mediums, whose presences they believe are reflective of the temple’s magical efficacy (ling [灵]). John told me that, although he visited many temples in his youth, he joined the CCKDMG because he was struck by the presence of all nine mediums and had a “feeling” that the temple was the most efficacious of all temples he had encountered.25

22 The “work uniform” (gongchek) is typically worn during the rituals of the festival. A lishi wears a polo shirt featuring the temple’s name and logo, accompanied by the name of the sponsor who purchased these shirts (usually a company affiliated with the temple). Apart from the shirt, he also wears white pants and white shoes, along with a yellow headband that has been blessed by the First Emperor God (DaDi) to complete the look. Apart from the lishi, other volunteers assisting in the festival’s rituals are also required to wear the “work uniform,” and according to Ah Q, it is to establish that the volunteer “is one of ‘us’” [“是我们的人”]. Due to our sustained field work on the site and friendships with our interlocutors, my research teammates and I also wore the “work uniform.” 23 Each Emperor God has his own personal chop. 24 The Certificate of Entitlement or COE is a licence that grants a person the legal right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore for 10 years. Persons without a COE are not allowed to drive their vehicles under any circumstances. Once caught, they would be liable for a fine of up to SGD 1000 and/or up to three months in prison. Their driving license would also be disqualified. 25 As the CCKDMG is the primary subject of this paper, the practices of other Nine Emperor Gods temples are outside the scope of the paper. Further study is required for an in-depth examination of devotees’ perceptions and comparisons of magical efficacy among Nine Emperor Gods temples. Religions 2020, 11, 330 17 of 21

While devotees see the nine mediums as instruments of the temple’s magical efficacy, these mediums also subject the devotees to the bureaucratic hierarchy engendered by their very presences, transforming devotees into imperial subjects. Some devotees told me that, although they may not attend the festival’s other rituals, they cross the Bridge of Safe Deliverance annually. They believe that their families’ peace and safety are highly dependent on the blessings from the Nine Emperor Gods, without which they may be harmed. When I asked Auntie Wu, who has followed the CCKDMG for 20 years, whether the gods have blessed her, she said half-jokingly, “If I have not been blessed, then why would I come back every year? So long as you come, (they) will bless you.” Auntie Geng, who has also Religionsfollowed 2020 the, 11 temple, x FOR PEER for 20-odd REVIEW years, said: 17 of 21

Regarding my family, things were not proceeding smoothly, my children were sick ... that’s Regarding my family, things were not proceeding smoothly, my children were sick … that’s why I came here. The gods helped me. All I asked of the gods were fulfilled. My husband’s why I came here. The gods helped me. All I asked of the gods were fulfilled. My husband’s job was finally smooth-sailing, and my daughter managed to attend school. job was finally smooth-sailing, and my daughter managed to attend school. As theAs devoteesthe devotees conceive conceive of “the of “the gods” gods” in anin an unnamed unnamed and and general general sense, sense, this thissuggests suggests thatthat their affinitiesaffinities with the gods exist not on a personal level—being loyal to one god—but rather, rather, towards all nine of the Emperor Gods as impersonal beings. While devotees attend this ritual for their personal well-being, theirtheir worshipworship nevertheless nevertheless unfolds unfolds against against a communal a communal and and impersonal impersonal ritual. ritual. What What seem seemlike simple like simple acts of acts worship of worship to them to arethem thus are woven thus woven into complex into complex processes processes of meaning-making, of meaning-making, within whichwithin theirwhich participation their participation has fashioned has fashioned them into them imperial into imperial subjects subjects of the gods. of the gods.

6.2. Divine Consultations 6.2. Divine Consultations Equally revealing of the bureaucratic nature an andd state power of the Nine Emperor Gods is the wenshi divine consultationconsultation ( (wenshi),), another another ritual ritual wherein wherein “divine “divine spaces” spaces” assist assist devotees devotees in imagining in imagining divine wenshi divineauthority. authority. Conducted Conducted only during only the during festival, the the festival, arethe sessionswenshi are where sessions devotees where approach devotees the approachgods for one-on-one the gods for consultations one-on-one co tonsultations seek divine to help seek to divine resolve help all kindsto resolve of personal all kinds problems of personal (see wenshi problemsFigure 12 ).(see The Figure 12).schedule The wenshi pinned schedule on the temple’spinned on main the noticeboard temple’s main says noticeboard the following: says “Ask the only about your problems; seeking wealth is prohibited.”26 following: “Ask only about your problems; seeking wealth is prohibited.”26

Figure 12. AnAn Emperor Emperor God conducts a wenshi consultation with a devotee.

Wenshi is a highly formalized ritual ritual that that the the te templemple regards strictly, and according to my interlocutors, devotees devotees who who attend attend it it are are often in “desperate need of help from the gods.” Devotees are required to collect queue numbers and wait for their turn to consult an Emperor God. When the devotee’s turn arrives, they then sit at the table and confide their issues in the Emperor God. Following this, the deity whispers his advice into the ear of his assistant, who then makes sense of and26 In translates Mandarin Chinese, the divine it reads asadvice follows: to “zhi the ke wen devotee. shi, bu ke27 qiu Like cai” [“ 只可in 问the事 , crossing不可求财”]. of Seeking the wealthBridge is prohibitedof Safe Deliverance,as the gods viewthe itwenshi as a sign involves of greed. ritual objects and text acts that embody the power of the imperial state. The desk of each Emperor God contains his personal chop, a writing brush, two types of red ink, four types of blank talismans (of the paper and cloth varieties), joss money, and incense sticks.28 After relaying his advice, the Emperor God dips his brush in red ink and performs writing on a talisman, before he finalizes his blessing by stamping his chop on it. The assistants then dry off the

26 In Mandarin Chinese, it reads as follows: “zhi ke wen shi, bu ke qiu cai” [“只可问事，不可求财 ”]. Seeking wealth is prohibited as the gods view it as a sign of greed. 27 Although the Emperor God speaks in Hokkien, most of his Hokkien-speaking devotees are unable to understand his advice due to its profound nature. Hence, his assistants perform the key function of translating his advice into direct and simple terms for easier understanding. 28 Other items on the desk include flower petals (to bathe in), rice, and longevity noodles (both for consumption), which are sometimes given out to devotees at the end of the consultation.

Religions 2020, 11, 330 18 of 21 devotee’s turn arrives, they then sit at the table and confide their issues in the Emperor God. Following this, the deity whispers his advice into the ear of his assistant, who then makes sense of and translates the divine advice to the devotee.27 Like in the crossing of the Bridge of Safe Deliverance, the wenshi involves ritual objects and text acts that embody the power of the imperial state. The desk of each Emperor God contains his personal chop, a writing brush, two types of red ink, four types of blank talismans (of the paper and cloth varieties), joss money, and incense sticks.28 After relaying his advice, the Emperor God dips his brush in red ink and performs writing on a talisman, before he finalizes his blessing by stamping his chop on it. The assistants then dry off the excess ink on the talisman on a wad of incense sticks, before passing the talisman to the devotee. Depending on the nature of his or her problem, a devotee is either required to burn and drink it with water, or to simply carry it around at all times as a safety amulet. According to a lishi, the magical efficacy of the safety amulet increases over time. The structure of communication between devotee and deity during the wenshi echoes that of the relationship between an imperial subject and the magistrate, who deals with citizens and administers local government on behalf of the Chinese emperor. Although the gods speak to individual devotees, the wenshi session is still made impersonal by the queue system and the assistance of a lishi by the god’s side, thus highlighting its bureaucratic nature. Furthermore, as these sessions are conducted only on select days of the festival, they represent a once-in-a-year opportunity for devotees to communicate, albeit in a mediated fashion, with the gods. The infrequent nature of wenshi thus heightens the sense of bureaucratic distance from the Nine Emperor Gods. Interestingly, the process is analogous to a key consultative mechanism of the Singapore state—the Meet-the-People session where citizens may approach their Member of Parliament (MP) for social, financial, and other forms of assistance.29 Of greater interest, however, are the dissimilarities between the Meet-the-People’s session and the wenshi, which in turn reveal the bureaucratic differences between the secular and divine states. While one may seek financial help from their MP, the Nine Emperor Gods will be angered if a devotee approaches them regarding money matters. According to a lishi, the nine divinities “come down to save us, not for us to ask about matters like money.” This idea of salvation suggests that the Nine Emperor Gods offer forms of spiritual and religious assistance that exist beyond the secular means of the Singaporean state. Another distinction lies in the speed at which assistance from a god or the state arrives for the devotee or citizen. Divine assistance is actualized in ritual acts and objects like the god’s chop and talisman, both of which contain the element of immediacy. A devotee suffering from a grievous disease or malevolent spirits can immediately begin keeping them at bay with a safety amulet issued by the Emperor God. Conversely, social assistance from the Singaporean state is typically filtered through layers of bureaucratic red tape and can take weeks, or up to months, before ultimately reaching one in need. In short, while devotees can access both the divine and secular states, their relationship with the Singaporean state cannot be actualized in the same ways as their relationship with the nine deities.

6.3. The Question of Agency Marshall Sahlins proposed a perspectival shift from “human society as the center of a universe unto which it projects its own forms [ ... ] to the ethnographic realities of people’s dependence on the encompassing metaperson-others who rule earthly order, welfare, and existence” (Sahlins 2017, p. 117). Opposing Durkheim’s idea that God is an expression of society’s power, Sahlins argued that God in

27 Although the Emperor God speaks in Hokkien, most of his Hokkien-speaking devotees are unable to understand his advice due to its profound nature. Hence, his assistants perform the key function of translating his advice into direct and simple terms for easier understanding. 28 Other items on the desk include flower petals (to bathe in), rice, and longevity noodles (both for consumption), which are sometimes given out to devotees at the end of the consultation. 29 At weekly Meet-the-People sessions, elected Members of Parliament (MPs) hold one-to-one meetings with their constituents on matters ranging from one’s financial issues to neighborly disputes. Religions 2020, 11, 330 19 of 21 fact expresses the lack of power of society, where people depend on divinity for matters of life and death. Likewise, it is through the Nine Emperor Gods Festival that the nine gods emerge as powerful figures who wield immense power over the lives of their devotees. The festival thus instantiates this lack of power of their devotees, who seek to better their lives through their participation in the festival’s rituals and by receiving blessings from the Nine Emperor Gods. Not only do devotees see attending the rituals as imperative to having a year free from harm, but the festival also makes manifest how devotees’ agencies are limited by the imposition of divine authority on their bodies. During the festival, Ah Jia broke his leg and limped around the temple in crutches. When I asked several aunties how he broke his leg, they laughed and said that he did not go vegetarian when he should have. Consequently, the gods punished him with a broken leg. While Ah Jia’s injury may be simply attributed to a bad fall, other devotees conceived his mishap as divine punishment. They then regaled me with other stories of divine power, from the incident where a thief was unable to leave CCKDMG after stealing a censer, to one where a devotee knelt at the altar for hours despite not observing the vegetarianism for the festival.30 When onlookers attempted to pull the lady to her feet, she simply could not budge, leading them to believe that she was suffering from divine punishment. Such incidents provide fertile ground for them to imagine the omnipresence of divinity in limiting their personal freedoms, especially during the festival. Moreover, my interlocutors often uttered the phrase “The gods watch all our actions.”31 These words are reminiscent of the existence of “‘cosmic rules’ of human order” (Sahlins 2017, p. 113), the enforcement of which allows gods to stake their bodily claims on their subjects. Disincentivized by the potentiality of divine punishment, the devotees relinquish their control over their bodies, even over what they consume. While I initially went vegetarian to gain rapport with my interlocutors, I increasingly wondered if my decision was also shaped by this fear of divine punishment. The festival thus expands devotees’ understandings of agency from being merely human-centric and state-defined into the divinely sanctioned. Although the state views religious space in functionalist terms and does not recognize divine agency, the lishi and devotees nevertheless interact and negotiate with state bodies with their own set of divine logics, be it in divine negotiations with state regulations, or in small resistances against the traffic police. Interestingly, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival also reveals the similarities between both forms of authority. The festival’s planners are caught between a rock and a hard place: they cannot reject organizing the festival, for fear of incurring the wrath of the Nine Emperor Gods, yet it is also in the planning that the state imposes its authority upon them. Although both authorities enact different bureaucratic orders, both nevertheless possess an authoritarian ethos. Standing at the mercy of divine and state authority, the lishi and devotees recognize the fundamental limits of their personal agencies.

7. Conclusions The Nine Emperor Gods Festival organized by the Choa Chu Kang Dou Mu Gong produces affective spaces wherein the practitioners’ and devotees’ imaginings of a larger inclusive cosmic polity ruled by the Nine Emperor Gods are strengthened and reinvigorated. State authority is manifested and reconstituted as a potent force limiting the agency of the festival’s planners, in the “paperwork mode of exclusion” (Harms 2016), state audit culture, governmentality, and the state’s bodily claims on the spirit mediums. Ironically, these limitations also facilitate the emergence of the Nine Emperor Gods as active agents in the festival’s planning, where they engender miraculous occurrences to assist the lishi and spirit mediums in performing their responsibilities. The festival thus expands

30 The story of the thief goes as follows: he was a rag and bone man who, after stealing a censer from the temple, found himself walking in circles around the temple, unable to leave the area. When he returned the censer to its original spot, he was finally able to leave the area. 31 She used the phrase “ren zai zuo, tian zai kan” [“人在做, 天在看”], which means the gods see all human actions. Religions 2020, 11, 330 20 of 21 devotees’ understandings of agency from being merely human-centric and state-defined into the divinely ordained. These divine negotiations reflect how the Nine Emperor Gods, the state, and devotees participate in an inclusive “cosmic polity.” The festival’s processions and rituals physically enact a larger cosmological order that subjects state actors to divine authority, while allowing devotees to engage in imaginaries of an imperial bureaucracy. It is during the festival that the state fails to claim sacred domains that hold religious significances for devotees. The festival thus represents a potent tool through which human society, which includes the state, can be subsumed under this larger inclusive “cosmic polity.” One question remains: is there resistance against the state? This paper was first conceptualized with the intention of uncovering how the Nine Emperor Gods Festival may constitute a form of resistance by the CCKDMG and its followers against state regulations. However, not only was this rhetoric of resistance not explicated by my interlocutors—resistance is not a product of their personal agencies—but it emerged as a by-product of their performance of their allegiances to the gods. While devotees resist state actors like the traffic police, this resistance merely exists as an extension of divine authority. Furthermore, the festival’s rituals demand obedience from devotees, be it in physical acts of submission or in limiting one’s diet. Thus, while divine agency may be conceived of as a liberating force for the CCKDMG against state authority, its authoritarian elements ultimately cast the agencies of the lishi, practitioners, and devotees in a limited light.

Funding: This research received no external funding. Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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