Research on Little India's History and Culture

Little India Introduction:

From 1825 to 1867, hundreds of Indian convicts were moved from Bencoolen, a British trading post in Sumatra, where the British had a colony, to Singapore. Later, more of them came directly from India and had to go through hard labour and work. After serving their sentences, they remained here using their skills to earn a living.
After 1873, no more Indian convicts were exported to Singapore. Other Indians migrated directly from India and moved into the Serangoon road area where little India is today. By the 1940s, Serangoon was mainly dominated by Indians.

Religion

Shree Lakshminirayan Temple (est. 1969)
Shree Lakshminarayan Temple was declared open on Thursday 24th April 1969. The temple is sanctuary of the spiritual values and culture of Sanatan Dharm and Vedic Hindu tradition. It is a place of faith, devotion, worship, love, peace and harmony for the Hindus in Singapore.
The North Indian community's roots in Singapore dates aback to the early 20th century when Indian immigrants from the North States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Bengal and Gujarat arrvied in Singapore. They came as herdsmen, dairymen and moneylenders. Those from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were also employed as security guards in houses, shops and factories. Most of these indians settled on the banks of Rochor Canal, Serangoon Road and the vicinity.
Before 1960, the North Indians had no special place of worship and thus Shree Lakshminirayan Temple was constructed.












Sri Veeramakaliamamman (rebuilt in 1984-1987)
Sri Veeramakaliamamman temple at 141 Serangoon Road is one of the oldest temples in Singapore. Built by Indian pioneers who came to work and live here the temple was the first in the serangoon area and became a focus of early Indian socialcultural activities there.

It is dedicated to Goddess Kali, the Goddess of Power and the wife of Lord Shiva. The name Veeramakaliamamman stands for the “Courageous Mother Kali”. Due to its association with the lime kiln, the temple was originally called Sunamboo Kambam Kovil or the temple at the Lime Village.

The Serangoon Road already had began to evolve as a distinct Indian enclave under the British Colonial government . The British administration outlined settlement patterns along ethnic lines and for the Indians this marked the beginning of the development of the Serangoon Road area as an Indian sector. As the migrant population grew , " Singapore's Little India" began to attract more Indians from the nearby Market Street and Chulia Street areas.
Around the middle of the 19th century, there were some 13,000 Indians in Singapore , many of whom must have been in or near the Serangoon area. It is not surprising, therefore, that the need for a place of worship in the area arose. Therefore , the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple was built to cater for hundreds of Indians who had come to live in a foreign land.



Abdul Gaffoor Mosque
Located at 41 Dunlop Street, in the heart of Kampong Kapor, an area originally settled by South Indian Muslim merchants, it is owned by the Majilis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS). The original mosque, which was built in 1859, was made of wood. The new mosque was completed in 1907 through the efforts of Shaik Abdul Gafoor bin Shaik Hyder, a Chief Tamil clerk with a legal firm and trustee of the mosque, after which the mosque is named.




History and Culture

Serangoon Road
When Serangoon Road was first built, it was the only road cutting across the whole islang. Originally a swampland, it was shown in a 1828 map of Singapore by Lt Jackson as the “road leading across the island”.
It is difficult to say what the word Serangoon actually means. The etymology of the word is uncertain. The most plausible view holds that it was derived from a small marsh bird, the burong ranggong, which was common in the swamps of the Serangoon River (formerly the Rangon River). It had a black back, white breast, long, sharp bill, grey crest, long neck and unwebbed feet, and was once found along the swamps and muddy river banks of the Serangoon River in the early 19th century.
On early maps of Singapore, the name of the area is called Seranggong. Sa is short for satu, or "one", in Malay. An alternative derivation is offered by Haji Sidek, an amateur etymologist interested in Malay place names, who speculates that the name Serangoon is derived from the Malay words di serang dengan gong, which means "to attack with gongs and drums". According to Haji Sidek, people used to go to Benut in Johore through the Serangoon area and had to use gongs to frighten off wild animals and snakes which used to roam the jungle covered area. Serang dengan gong gradually became Serangoon over the years.
For the Chinese, the road is called hou gang lu(後港路) or ow kang, meaning "back of the port road", signifying that one could use the road to travel back to the port in Kallang.
Although Serangoon Road started as a swampy area, by the 1830s, extensive plantations of sireh (gambier), padi, sugar, vegetables and other agricultural crops, like pepper, cotton and nutmeg were grown there, mainly by Chinese cultivators.
The area was also called Sunamboo Kambum or “Village of Lime “ by the Indians working in the many brick kilns along the road, as lime was found here, giving rise to a brick-making industry. This industry also employed a large number of Indians.

Buffalo Road
Buffalo Road was named after a village that once stood there called Kam Kong Ka La Bu which is the Chinese name for Kampong Kerbau in Malay. It means “where buffalos are kept”. It was the centre of the cattle and sheep rearing trade with cattle pens found here. Cattle rearing continued here till 1936 when it was banned and the buildings were then converted to shophouses.

Campbell Lane
Campbell Lane is believed to be named after a British military personality, Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863), though other accounts claim that it was named after Mr Robert Campbell, the Managing Director of Martin Dyce & Company in the 1870s. Campbell Lane today is the centre of activities in Little India, where traditional Indian garments, jewellery, food, art, handicrafs, spices, carpets and flower garlands are sold.
Making and selling flower garlands is the oldest surviving trade on this road. Different flowers like jasmine, marigolds and roses are threaded together, and these flowers represent the values of purity, peace and love.

Dunlop Street
Once known as Rangasamy Road, this street was named after Major Samuel Dunlop, the inspector General of Police of the Straits Settlement in the 1870s. According to other accounts, it was named after A.E.Dunlop, the Secretary and active member of the Race Course Committee in the Serangoon area.

Little India Arcade
Little India Arcade is found directly across Buffalo Road is the Little India Arcade. Located at No. 48 Serangoon Road at the corner of Serangoon Road and Campbell Lane, it comprises a cluster of shophouses dating back to 1913. There are two interesting plaques on the building’s pillars. One plaque on a pillar at the corner of Hastings Road and Serangoon Road , refers to the people who came to work here from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Dating back to 1826, it has an animal head, believed to be that of a cow or buffalo. It is meant to reflect the cattle trade in Singapore, and is written in Tamil. The other plaque , which is located on the pillar at the corner of Campbell Lane and Serangoon Road, dates back to 1828. It refers to the “burning ground” (probably a reference to cremation), belonging to the “Hindoo People of Mandras and Singapore”.

Little India’s Chinese Villa
The Tan Teng Niah House at No.37 Kerbau Road is said to be one of the last surviving Chinese villas in Little India. The eight-room villa was built by Tan Teng Niah, a prominent Chinese businessman for his wife in 1900. He was the owner of a confectionery business and a few sweet-making factories along Seangoon Road as well as a rubber smokehouwe at Kerbau Road.
Spice mills can still be found in this area.

Goldsmith shops
Gold plays an important role in Indian life as it is considered the embodiment of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. Gold jewellery is presented to a young bride, because fold serves as a nest egg for her future. Indian goldsmiths play a special role in society traditionally as they handle pure metal and make images of the gods. Compared to the past, there are few of these goldsmiths who make jewellery by hand and they are a vanishing breed.



Bibliography
http://www.lakshminarayantemple.com/aboutus.html
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Serangoon
www.wikipedia.org
www.singapore-vacation-attractions.com/little -india-street.html
www.heritagetrials.sg