One of the most exciting and baffling things about traveling is that you get to see how people in other parts of the world live. If you get past the usual attractions that make a city a desirable tourist destination, you can start to learn about the cultures that live there, and there are always exciting or amusing discoveries. Singapore is an amazing place, not only because its unusual status as an island city state makes it a unique entity unto itself, but because of the rich cultures that make up the local population. There have been people here for a long time, and even some of the more recent cultures have had a presence here long enough that their beliefs and traditions have worked their way into the fabric of the place.
One of the easiest ways to know the manifestations of these traditions is through the food of Singapore. Food guides culture as well as follows it, and it’s fascinating to learn about the way the recipes evolved over time. It’s also a very tasty way to have a rich cultural experience, and it’s one that is never-ending, because food is constantly evolving, and revealing new histories of cultural mixing and blending. When you are tasting the food of a place, you are also entering into its history, sometimes in a subtle way, and sometimes more directly. Even first time visitors will have a spectacular series of memories about Singapore’s food, but it might take repeated and extended visits to get to know some of the other local traditions, such as worship of monkey trees.
Perhaps worship is a strong word, but it certainly fits, according to the local definitions. Recently, there was an old African Mahogany that was struck by a car. The impact opened up part of the bark to reveal two monkey figures, that very strikingly resemble a mother and a baby. Spirits in trees is not only a phenomenon found in Buddhist culture, but exists in nearly every culture if you go back far enough. So it shouldn’t be surprising that throngs of people began to gather, to pray to the spirits of the tree, and some even asked for favors, like winning the lottery. There are many skeptics who discount the story entirely, because it was later found that the figures were the result of a series of accidents to the tree, and this was the shape of its healing. However, in an all-inclusive cosmology where there are no such thing as accidents, the validity of the figure is secondary to the elusive and mysterious nature of belief.