Kusu Island is one of the

Southern Islands The Southern Islands is a planning area consisting of a collection of islets located within the Central Region of Singapore, once home to the native Malay islanders and sea nomads before they were relocated to the mainland for urban redevelopm ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, located about to the south of the main island of Singapore and below the

Singapore Strait The Singapore Strait is a , strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime ...

s. "Kusu" means "

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...

Island" or "

Turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

Island" in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

; the island is also known as ''Peak Island'' or ''Pulau Tembakul'' in Malay. During the lunar ninth month of every year, the Kusu Island pilgrimage attracts thousands of devotees who visit and worship at the Da Bo Gong (Tua Pek Kong) Temple. Besides the Chinese temple, the island is also home to three Malay shrines (Keramat). From two outcrops on a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...

, the island was enlarged and transformed into an island of .

Mythology

The legend behind the island says that a magical tortoise turned itself into an island to save two shipwrecked sailors, one a Malay and the other a Chinese.

Facilities

At the top of the rugged hillock on Kusu Island stood three keramats (or sacred shrines of Malay holy figures) to commemorate a pious man (Syed Abdul Rahman), his mother (Nenek Ghalib) and his sister (Puteri Fatimah), all of whom once lived in the 19th century. Many devotees climbed the 152 steps leading up to the keramats to pray for wealth, good marriage, good health and harmony. The shrines were also popular with childless couples who would pray for children. On April 17, 2022, the keramats were badly damaged in a fire. Also located on Kusu island is the popular

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or ''d ...

dedicated to both Da Bo Gong (大伯公), or

Tua Pek Kong Tua may refer to: * Tua River, a river in Portugal * Tua (Papua New Guinea), a river in Papua New Guinea * Tuʻa, also known as Alo, a chiefdom in Wallis and Futuna in Oceania * Tua line, a railway line in Portugal * Tua railway station, in P ...

(Grand Uncle), also known as

Fude Zhengshen Fude Zhengshen ('',Keith G. Stevens, Chinese Mythological Gods, Oxford University Press, USA, (November 8, 2001), pages 60, 68, 70, lit. Righteous God of Virtue and Blessing) is a God of Prosperity in Chinese folk religion. He is often considered ...

(福德正神) and Na Tuk Kong (Dato Keramat or "拿督公"). Built in 1923 by a wealthy businessman, the temple houses two main

Chinese Deities Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven ('' Tian'' ), whi ...

, Da Bo Gong and

Guan Yin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

("观音", or Goddess of Mercy). The former is highly regarded as having the power to confer prosperity, cure diseases, calm the sea and avert danger, while Guan Yin is known as the "Bestower of Sons". Da Bogong Temple Kusu Island

It is popular for its lagoons, pristine beaches and general tranquil settings. Visits are often made by occasional ferry trips from the nearby Marina South Pier (formerly from

Clifford Pier Clifford Pier was a former pier located beside Collyer Quay at Marina Bay within the Downtown Core of the Central Area, Singapore. The pier, which opened in 1933, ceased operations in 2006. In 2008 the site was converted into a restaurant, On ...

) to see the famous

wishing well A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there a ...

and the Tortoise Sanctuary. A stand-alone open-air hawker centre is located in the middle of the island but it is only open and running during certain periods of the year, such as during festivals or pilgrimages to the keramats or the temple. No overnight stays are permitted on the island.

References

* Chia, Jack Meng-Tat.
Managing The Tortoise Island: Tua Pek Kong Temple, Pilgrimage, and Social Change in Pulau Kusu, 1965-2007
" ''

New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies The ''New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic jou ...

'' 11, 2 (December 2009): 72-95. * Lu, Caixia.
The Kusu Pilgrimage: An Enduring Myth
" ''International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter'' 59 (Spring 2012): 50-51.

News articles

* * *

External links

Satellite image of Peak Island
-

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

Info for visitors
on wildsingapore

on Coral Reefs of Singapore {{Islands of Singapore Islands of Singapore Southern Islands