The Singapore Ethnic Mosaic

Many Cultures, One People

Far from being a melting pot, multi-racial Singapore prides itself on the richness of its ethnic communities and cultures. This volume provides an updated account of the heterogeneity within each of the main communities — the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others. It also documents the ethnic cultures of these communities by discussing their histories, celebrations, cultural symbols, life cycle rituals, cultural icons and attempts to preserve culture. While chapters are written by scholars drawing insight from a variety of sources ranging from academic publications to discussions with community experts, it is written in an accessible way. This volume seeks to increase intercultural understanding through presenting ample insights into the cultural beliefs and practices of the different ethnic communities. While this book is about diversity, a closer examination of the peoples and cultures of Singapore demonstrates the many similarities communities share in this Singaporean space.

Contents:

• Foreword (Janil Puthucheary)

• Acknowledgements

• Introductory: Ethnic Diversity, Identity and Everyday Multiculturalism in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)

• Chinese:

  • The Chinese in Singapore (Tong Chee Kiong)
  • Chinese Community and Culture in Singapore (Soon Su-Chuin, Elvin Xing Yifu and Tong Chee Kiong)

• Malay:

  • The Malays in Singapore (Suriani Suratman)
  • Malay Community and Culture in Singapore (Suriani Suratman and Siti Hajar Esa)

• Indian:

  • The Indians in Singapore (Vineeta Sinha)
  • Tamil Community and Culture in Singapore (A Mani, Pravin Prakash and Shanthini Selvarajan)
  • Malayalee Community and Culture in Singapore (Anitha Devi Pillai)
  • Punjabi Sikh Community and Culture in Singapore (Amrit Kaur and Bhajan Singh)
  • Gujerati Community and Culture in Singapore (Rizwana Abdul Azeez)
  • Minority Indian communities in Singapore (Nilanjan Raghunath)

• Eurasians and Others:

  • The Eurasians and Others in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)
  • Eurasian Community and Culture in Singapore (Alexius Pereira)
  • Filipino Community and Culture in Singapore (Lou Antolihao and Clement Mesenas)
  • Myanmar Community and Culture in Singapore (Moe Thuzar and Christine Lim Li Ping)

Readership: Student and researchers of Singapore society and general readers interested in Singapore and its ethnic culture.
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