MEANINGS IN PLACE : RECAPTURING THE KAMPUNG IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Being a quintessential notion in Singapore society, the kampung has been subject to various forms of discourse in recent years. While landscapes like these have mostly disappeared, peoples' ideas of such places have yet to subside. Following a social constructionist approach and guided by the interpretive framework in cognitive anthropology, this paper outlines the symbolic presence of the kampung in the Singaporean lifeworld and its sociological implications in everyday settings. While the State conceptualizes the kampung as a moral construct and as an 'imagined community', peoples' perception of the kampung present a different, if not contesting set of logics at work. This paper argues that the kampung still 'thrives' in a variety of contexts. Reflecting different notions and images for people who play a part in the 'cultural imagination' (Paerregaard, 1997: 54) of place, the kampung in Singapore is an amorphous concept that resists classification. Paradoxically, it is these ideas and meanings which are responsible for the kampung's resurgence in everyday contexts. This process of construction also reflects different stakes and values at work. Narratives about the kampung by residents (those who are living there) and the State are thus examined. This paper proposes that these subjective interpretations of the kampung further reflect different degrees of peoples' attachment to place which they find meaningful and even satisfying.