.Thursday, August 2, 2007 ' 5:30 PM
it's not good at all to see self but not your face
Hey, this is my entry for the SGCool Blogging Competition, please vote for me!
You rarely see them nowadays, but back in the past, secret societies were
the force back then. Protection money, gang fights, using violence to settle issues, these underground organizations were the bosses back in colonial Singapore. But how did they identify their "brothers" from the rival gangs?
Well, you see this amulet-like thing here? It kind of looks like those imperial stamps you see on those ancient Chinese empires drama tv shows, right? Well, the purpose is the same, the identify oneself as a member of a
kongsi, or rather, the member of a Chinese secret society.
While the internal hierarchy and the membership status of underground organizations back in the 19th century of Singapore do remain hazy, you can picture the typical gang fight.
This artefact over here, recorded down by the National Heritage Board as "Membership Certificate of the Penang Ghee Hin Kongsi (William Stirling Collection)" was known to be from the early 20th century from Singapore, but a little trip to Google and Wikipedia reveals that the
Ghee Hin Kongsi was actually formed in 1820, having its roots in both Malaya and Singapore.
The Ghee Hin was initially dominated by the Cantonese that arrived in colonial Singapore, but the Hakka soon formed the majority by 1860. Read this: they were notorious for rioting against Catholic Chinese in 1850, killing over
500 people. Plus they rioted against the post offices in 1876, against a new, and more expensive, monopoly on post and remittances.
It probably makes you feel better to know that they were finally suppressed from 1890s onwards by the colonial government, with their main lodging in Lavender Street torn down.
After all this kongsi has a name meaning the "rise of righteousness". Being involved in the Perak Civil War back in the 19th century kinda certifies them to certain extermination.
Don't you suddenly feel so safe in a nation where most secret societies are a thing of the past? After all, there are still the shadows of salakau (369) and Ang Soon Tong that are flitting around...
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I shall post the voting method after the administrator puts my entry up! :D
