The Hidden Shrines of Singapore is a digital humanities research project that is at the intersection of technology, new interpretive subjects, and modes of art historical analysis. This collaborative scholarly endeavor brings together interdisciplinary research teams in two schools at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) emphasizing the synergies of the digital world with humanities practices and aesthetic creation.
Specifically, this collaborative research project documents and interprets small but important shrines to diverse gods that are hidden in the urban and jungle environments of Singapore. Found along roadsides, along railway tracks, in bus stands, at car parks, in construction sites, at cemeteries, at factories, under expressways, at shopping malls, and at hawker stands, these shrines reveal significant alternative narratives to those found in the larger more established temples in Singapore. Although at times their aesthetics and locations express a temporary quality, these small shrines have become permanent features of the built landscape of Singapore with strong oral histories attached to them. Often unnoticed by researchers, the multiple narratives associated with such sites can uncover the various layered aspects of multi-cultural Singapore. At times, housing the bodhisattva Kuanyin alongside the elephant-headed god Ganesha, some of these shrines reveal the complex multi-religious spaces of this island. Some illustrate strong neighborhood histories, while others are of national relevance. Although a few scholars have researched about the larger temples in Singapore, there has been no systematic documentation and study of the diverse varieties of the hidden shrines of Singapore. These shrines have eluded those heritage books and research projects that only highlight well-known temples. In contrast, a collaborative research project of this nature highlights first the necessity to document such shrines in today’s rapidly changing Singapore. The stories behind these hidden shrines of Singapore are imperative for future generations to understand not only the nation’s histories but also the histories of diverse neighborhoods of this island and the ways of multi-ethnic coexistence. Encompassing the many religions found in Singapore, these sacred spaces are as important as the larger ones—a simultaneous engagement with both large and small religious monuments might provide a more complete map and understanding of Singapore’s sacred geographies and heritages.
Therefore, we will develop a website that hosts a Google map, which visualizes the GPS locations of the hidden shrines of Singapore. In addition, a database that contains photographs taken by the research team will be enhanced by further photographs through crowdsourcing. This comprehensive location map of all the hidden shrines of Singapore, with a linked database containing not only photographs, but also information on dates of founding, deities worshipped, patterns of patronage, ritual activities, architectural features, community structures, and audio narratives will become the foundation for further research by other scholars in various fields. The proposed method to create a website and database with all acquirable multimedia information such as images and audio files will be developed using a novel location-based data-clustering algorithm.
This digital project of mapping hidden shrines in Singapore also provides avenues for the public to participate in preserving their local heritages. In this age of crowdsourcing, any patron or devotee can upload photographs of hidden shrines in Singapore onto this moderated on-line collection. Therefore, the team at NTU will also develop an application for android phones that can be downloaded from this website to facilitate this participatory aspect of the project. This digital map will be further enhanced through augmented reality experiences of the local histories and rituals that have grown around the major hidden shrines. The augmented reality experiences will be given to the user by providing a wide range of information such as audios, images, and text when the user scans the shrine via the proposed mobile application. Hence, this digital humanities project becomes an innovative model of collaborative practice.