SACRED PLACES : KERAMATS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Malay sacred places (keramat) are prominent features in the Malay religious landscape. Research in this field throws light not only on the nature-worship and ancestor-worship of the primitive Malays but also on the facile canonization of Muslim saints living and dead that marks the Indian source from which Islam came originally to the Malay Peninsula. In Malay society, "sacred" power has not only been associated with sacred persons but with the physical environment such as trees, boulders and other natural curiosities. Places believed to possess the power of the holy are considered by the Malays as keramat. Malays attracted by the "sacredness" of these places, has made the keramats centres of worship, where propitiatory rituals are conducted. In this light, keramats have thus become sacred places of worship among Malays. The study of Malay sacred places (keramat) has hardly received the attention it deserves. With the impact of modernization felt in almost every facet of society, it is apparent that the Malay traditional belief in keramat would be affected. While Western education and science, together with the emergence of Muslim fundamentalism and orthodoxy, have seriously eroded the religious and philosophical foundations of keramat beliefs and practices; urban renewal, on the other hand, has the effect of physically removing the keramats from the physical landscape. It is therefore considered most pertinent to conduct a study of Malay sacred places (keramat) presently before all traces of keramat-worship "disappear". Singapore, presently undergoing the process of modernization, represents an excellent showcase for the study of keramat-worship in an urban environment. This Academic Exercise will therefore present the position of keramat-worship in Malay society with special reference to Singapore.