HONGKAR EXPERIENCES: TEOCHEW CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES IN SINGAPORE, 1820-1980

Abstract

HongKar Experiences argues for the distinctiveness of the encounters of Teochew Catholic communities in Singapore. It outlines the development of the communities that eventually referred to themselves as HongKar-Nang in Singapore, spanning the period of 1820 to 1980. This dissertation uses both Colonial and Missionary sources, and leverages heavily on private Church archives, family histories and oral interviews to present the Hongkar narratives. These narratives illustrate the negotiation between ethnicity and religion in the plural landscape of colonial and post-independence Singapore, underscoring the fundamental role of collective experiences in community formation. These shared experiences—of Categorisation, Coping and Connections—were facilitated by the strong presence of the Catholic Church. The word ‘HongKar’ therefore epitomises the distinct historical circumstances that forged such communities. This research both nuances and challenges conventional understandings of overseas Chinese communities by addressing the omission of Catholicism in the existing scholarship. These HongKar communities were atypical of overseas Chinese communities precisely because the inclusion of Catholicism resulted in an added layer of interactions.