Teens’ suicide case puts spotlight on shadowy art of ‘deity spokesmen’
By Yen Feng 18 September 2009
He claims the deity first came to him in a dream when he was 16, bearing the message in large Chinese script: ‘You should have died. I saved you. You owe me.’
Mr. Jacky Tan said the deity wanted to ‘possess’ him, and identified itself as Shan Cai Tong Zi, an attendant of the Goddess of Mercy Kwan Yin.
So the teenager said it made sense to him one day when, out of the blue, his mother told him: ‘When you were a baby, you had a fever for many days...You could have died.’
Now 40, Mr. Tan is a fengshui consultant by profession. But on weekends, he is a spirit medium or tang ki. He claims he has been possessed by the Taoist deity, like clockwork, come 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays for the last 20 years.
The shadowy art of those who claim to be possessed is now in the spotlight, following the deaths of two 16-year-olds, one of whom described himself as a practising medium, in August last year.
Even as the coroner closed the case with a suicide ruling on the deaths of Ku Witaya and Sia Chan Hong this week, newspapers have gone to town with details of Witaya’s trances, suicide note and his obsession with becoming a ‘slayer’ of the world’s demons.
Mr. Tan, doubting Witaya’s claims, said: ‘The poor boy didn’t know what he was doing. A deity will never ask his servant to kill himself.’
Along with another 44-year-old medium who declined to be named, Mr. Tan hinted that Witaya - as well as the infamous Adrian Lim, who murdered two children in 1981 - may have been possessed by demons rather than deities.
Mediums dole out advice to the troubled, act as their healers and moral guides, and play servant and spokesman for Chinese deities.
Nobody knows how many mediums practise here. Government estimates put the number of mediums at 1,000, but the actual number is likely to be higher.
It is near impossible to track or regulate the practice. First, because anyone from age 16 to 60 can be a medium. There are no books to read, no registration or school fees to pay, and no tests to take.
The second reason is that many mediums fly under the radar. All a medium needs is a shrine, which can be put up in homes, shops, alleyways - anywhere.
Third, because the set-up is quick, tang ki tend to be mobile. Where they go, their believers will follow.
Although mediums are linked to Chinese folk religion, the authorities here often look to the Taoist Federation for answers because the two faith systems share multiple gods and practices.
This has become a sore point with the federation, which is doing its best to establish Taoism as a philosophical, rather than supernatural, religion. It has not helped that Witaya described himself as a ‘Taoist medium’ to his friends.
In investigation reports submitted to the coroner, the federation tried again to set the record straight. A statement by its administrator Chung Kwang Tong, himself a Taoist priest, declared: ‘Taoism taught us to value life and take good care of our body. I believe the deceased and the group were not practising Taoism.’
More than 200 temples here are registered with the federation by virtue of them being Taoist, but the tang ki in them have hazy ties to the federation.
Federation chairman Tan Thiam Lye said that with so many temples under its watch, it cannot possibly monitor the goings-on in every one of them.
Singapore Management University’s Margaret Chan, a professor of theatrical anthropology, said tang ki worship dates back to imperial China.
In her book, Tang Ki: Spirit Medium Worship, published in 2006, she noted that the practice in China arose when peasants, disenfranchised by state religion, began tang ki worship as a religion of people power.While the emperor had to petition heaven and pray to be heard, tang ki worshippers could apparently summon the gods to appear before them to do their bidding.
Today, many believers humbly seek out spirit mediums, whom they claim can help them in personal matters ranging from unfaithful spouses and recalcitrant children to terminally sick relatives. Others say they go to mediums before making key decisions.
Housewife Linda Teo, 51, believes in the power of mediums. She said when her mother was dying of cancer more than 10 years ago, she sought out a tang ki, who told her to burn three talismans and then put the ashes in water for her mother to drink.
The medium said an answer would come in three days: If her mother lived past the third day, she would recover; if not, death would free her from suffering.
Madam Teo said she did as she was told. Her mother died three days later.
Businessman Richard Sun, 39, said he believes that a tang ki saved him from a bad investment in the Philippines. He now visits the tang ki fortnightly.
Among the non-believers are those who stand by science, and those who consulted mediums and had not been helped.
General practitioner Cedric Phua, 28, for example, said mediums live off ‘the superstitious beliefs of old people who find comfort in these things’. His medical training has convinced him that the ‘cures’ mediums promise are not alternatives for ‘proper medicine’.
And then there is Mr. See Meng Kim, 36, who was told by a medium he was to be married last year. A year on, the still-single management consultant has written off mediums as a waste of time.
So what can someone seeking out a medium expect?
Followers say the tang ki here either operate out of temples and are possessed by the patron deity of the temple, or are ‘freelancers’ who hold their meetings in private homes or just about anywhere.
Hokkien is apparently the language of choice when they go into trances, though some are said to break into other tongues.
Those who have witnessed these trances claim that when a medium is possessed, he or she may act in ways that give clues to the identity of the deity. A tang ki who channels the Monkey God, for example, is known to make simian gestures.
Among the spirit mediums The Straits Times met this week, many declined to be interviewed or photographed.
Some, however, did not mind talking about their work.
Mr. Tan, for example, claims that his weekend routine of going into a trance now causes hardly a blip: ‘One weekend, I was very sick. I thought, no way. But when the time came, the god called and I went. After the ritual, I was sick again.’
Another medium said he trained for six years under a more experienced tang ki, learning how to write paper charms, memorise chants and even skewer his body. He claims that to keep his body ‘pure’ for the gods, he has also quit eating meat and drinking.
Asked if he made a lot of money, he shook his head, saying in Hokkien and Mandarin: ‘You think being tang ki is easy? It’s not. You help people, and hope people help you back - that’s it.’
Because they claim their work is a spiritual calling, they do not keep the money their devotees give them, using it instead to maintain the deity’s shrine.
Although those who seek mediums out usually pay whatever amount they want or can afford, followers note that temple- based mediums are cheaper to consult and will usually accept hongbao of $10 or $20. Private tang ki can charge up to thousands of dollars - payable in cash.
For Mr. Tan, the money is irrelevant: ‘It’s not a matter of money. I do it because I was chosen. I have a spiritual debt to pay.’
Saying he serves the deity and the people’s needs, he added: ‘If a voice in your head is telling you to do bad things, maybe you need to see a doctor - a real one.’
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The World of Spirit Mediums
Untold numbers, unregulated practice
Teens’ suicide case puts spotlight on shadowy art of ‘deity spokesmen’
By Yen Feng
18 September 2009
He claims the deity first came to him in a dream when he was 16, bearing the message in large Chinese script: ‘You should have died. I saved you. You owe me.’
Mr. Jacky Tan said the deity wanted to ‘possess’ him, and identified itself as Shan Cai Tong Zi, an attendant of the Goddess of Mercy Kwan Yin.
So the teenager said it made sense to him one day when, out of the blue, his mother told him: ‘When you were a baby, you had a fever for many days...You could have died.’
Now 40, Mr. Tan is a fengshui consultant by profession. But on weekends, he is a spirit medium or tang ki. He claims he has been possessed by the Taoist deity, like clockwork, come 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays for the last 20 years.
The shadowy art of those who claim to be possessed is now in the spotlight, following the deaths of two 16-year-olds, one of whom described himself as a practising medium, in August last year.
Even as the coroner closed the case with a suicide ruling on the deaths of Ku Witaya and Sia Chan Hong this week, newspapers have gone to town with details of Witaya’s trances, suicide note and his obsession with becoming a ‘slayer’ of the world’s demons.
Mr. Tan, doubting Witaya’s claims, said: ‘The poor boy didn’t know what he was doing. A deity will never ask his servant to kill himself.’
Along with another 44-year-old medium who declined to be named, Mr. Tan hinted that Witaya - as well as the infamous Adrian Lim, who murdered two children in 1981 - may have been possessed by demons rather than deities.
Mediums dole out advice to the troubled, act as their healers and moral guides, and play servant and spokesman for Chinese deities.
Nobody knows how many mediums practise here. Government estimates put the number of mediums at 1,000, but the actual number is likely to be higher.
It is near impossible to track or regulate the practice. First, because anyone from age 16 to 60 can be a medium. There are no books to read, no registration or school fees to pay, and no tests to take.
The second reason is that many mediums fly under the radar. All a medium needs is a shrine, which can be put up in homes, shops, alleyways - anywhere.
Third, because the set-up is quick, tang ki tend to be mobile. Where they go, their believers will follow.
Although mediums are linked to Chinese folk religion, the authorities here often look to the Taoist Federation for answers because the two faith systems share multiple gods and practices.
This has become a sore point with the federation, which is doing its best to establish Taoism as a philosophical, rather than supernatural, religion. It has not helped that Witaya described himself as a ‘Taoist medium’ to his friends.
In investigation reports submitted to the coroner, the federation tried again to set the record straight. A statement by its administrator Chung Kwang Tong, himself a Taoist priest, declared: ‘Taoism taught us to value life and take good care of our body. I believe the deceased and the group were not practising Taoism.’
More than 200 temples here are registered with the federation by virtue of them being Taoist, but the tang ki in them have hazy ties to the federation.
Federation chairman Tan Thiam Lye said that with so many temples under its watch, it cannot possibly monitor the goings-on in every one of them.
Singapore Management University’s Margaret Chan, a professor of theatrical anthropology, said tang ki worship dates back to imperial China.
In her book, Tang Ki: Spirit Medium Worship, published in 2006, she noted that the practice in China arose when peasants, disenfranchised by state religion, began tang ki worship as a religion of people power.While the emperor had to petition heaven and pray to be heard, tang ki worshippers could apparently summon the gods to appear before them to do their bidding.
Today, many believers humbly seek out spirit mediums, whom they claim can help them in personal matters ranging from unfaithful spouses and recalcitrant children to terminally sick relatives. Others say they go to mediums before making key decisions.
Housewife Linda Teo, 51, believes in the power of mediums. She said when her mother was dying of cancer more than 10 years ago, she sought out a tang ki, who told her to burn three talismans and then put the ashes in water for her mother to drink.
The medium said an answer would come in three days: If her mother lived past the third day, she would recover; if not, death would free her from suffering.
Madam Teo said she did as she was told. Her mother died three days later.
Businessman Richard Sun, 39, said he believes that a tang ki saved him from a bad investment in the Philippines. He now visits the tang ki fortnightly.
Among the non-believers are those who stand by science, and those who consulted mediums and had not been helped.
General practitioner Cedric Phua, 28, for example, said mediums live off ‘the superstitious beliefs of old people who find comfort in these things’. His medical training has convinced him that the ‘cures’ mediums promise are not alternatives for ‘proper medicine’.
And then there is Mr. See Meng Kim, 36, who was told by a medium he was to be married last year. A year on, the still-single management consultant has written off mediums as a waste of time.
So what can someone seeking out a medium expect?
Followers say the tang ki here either operate out of temples and are possessed by the patron deity of the temple, or are ‘freelancers’ who hold their meetings in private homes or just about anywhere.
Hokkien is apparently the language of choice when they go into trances, though some are said to break into other tongues.
Those who have witnessed these trances claim that when a medium is possessed, he or she may act in ways that give clues to the identity of the deity. A tang ki who channels the Monkey God, for example, is known to make simian gestures.
Among the spirit mediums The Straits Times met this week, many declined to be interviewed or photographed.
Some, however, did not mind talking about their work.
Mr. Tan, for example, claims that his weekend routine of going into a trance now causes hardly a blip: ‘One weekend, I was very sick. I thought, no way. But when the time came, the god called and I went. After the ritual, I was sick again.’
Another medium said he trained for six years under a more experienced tang ki, learning how to write paper charms, memorise chants and even skewer his body. He claims that to keep his body ‘pure’ for the gods, he has also quit eating meat and drinking.
Asked if he made a lot of money, he shook his head, saying in Hokkien and Mandarin: ‘You think being tang ki is easy? It’s not. You help people, and hope people help you back - that’s it.’
Because they claim their work is a spiritual calling, they do not keep the money their devotees give them, using it instead to maintain the deity’s shrine.
Although those who seek mediums out usually pay whatever amount they want or can afford, followers note that temple- based mediums are cheaper to consult and will usually accept hongbao of $10 or $20. Private tang ki can charge up to thousands of dollars - payable in cash.
For Mr. Tan, the money is irrelevant: ‘It’s not a matter of money. I do it because I was chosen. I have a spiritual debt to pay.’
Saying he serves the deity and the people’s needs, he added: ‘If a voice in your head is telling you to do bad things, maybe you need to see a doctor - a real one.’
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