Singapore

Hello my friends! After I explored the Philippines, I'm heading over to a small country with a massive influence, Singapore! While I'm visiting this wonderful land, I'll be learning about some of the origin story of the country, learning about the famed Merlion statue, and speaking about the wonderful melting pot of culture that is Singapore. So, on our last stop in Asia, I'm looking at a tiny country, but will it leave a big impact on you? Let's find out in, Singapore.

 

Singapore is a Southeast Asian city-state found at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. Home to 5.8 million people, the country is made up of one main island and 60 other smaller islands. It's Singapore Dollar is only 1.3x the US Dollar. The capital of the country is, of course, Singapore, since it is a city. Now that we have that stuff out of the way, I ask you to join me in learning about, Singapore.

While in Singapore, I knew I had to investigate and learn about what is virtually the symbol of Singapore, The Merlion. This creature and statue as seen here is practically synonymous with the country. This has two parts as to why. The first is the origin of the city, which I will get into in a moment. The second is to a connection with the name of the city. The fish like body represents how the city started as a fishing village, while the lion head represents the original name of the city, Singapura (Lion City in Sanskrit.)

The story of the founding of Singapore begins with the prince of the Srivijaya empire all the way back in the 13th century. This prince, known as Sang Nila Utama, he noticed an island across the sea as he hunted. He asked the chief what it was, and he was told it was Temasek, a fishing village. He hurried to get onto a ship and headed over to the village. During their trip across the ocean, a massive storm broke out. In order to keep the ship floating, the prince and his crew threw over everything. In a sacrifice to the gods, to ask for the storm to end, the prince threw his crown into the ocean. The storm would clear after this, allowing the crew to go ashore. Here, the prince saw a lion, known as Singha (Lion in Sanskrit), he named the city Singapura, seeing the lion as a symbol of good luck.

This shows us just how the city became synonymous with lions. It gives us an idea of how something as simple as seeing an animal can lead to it becoming a part of the identity of the city. It is truly incredible how it shows us the way symbolism forms and how they can project the feelings of a city.

For my last stop in Singapore, I went to one of its many islands known as Kusu Island. Kusu Island, translating to Turtle Island, is a traditional spot of sailors to go and pay their respects due to the folklore story behind it. They say that one day while a Chinese and Malay soldier were at sea, they became shipwrecked. They were saved when a giant turtle who was nearby became an island to give them shelter so they would not drown. They built shrines there for the turtle. This has now become a sacred site, with many traveling to pray at the shrines here to give thanks to the turtle for creating the island, and a tourist site, with many activities such as snorkeling and beaches!

It helps give insights into the beliefs of such a country. I think it is vital to the country to understand these beliefs. Since it is a country made up entirely of Islands, it makes sense that their folklore for the creation of them would be different, akin to how New Zealand was. I think it is interesting how these can still have an impact on today, where this has become a major sacred spot for this reason.

Thank you for joining me in this short journey through Singapore! I hope you enjoyed, and I will see you as I explore both Europe, and the Middle East! Goodbye!