Malay Heritage Centre’s Public Lecture Series [PLS] and Singapura Stories present
The Cemetery at Jalan Kubor: Cultural Diversity of the Nineteenth-Century Port Town Community in Kampong Gelam, Singapore
Speaker: Dr. Imran Tajudeen (NUS)
Sat Apr 14, 2018
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Malay Heritage Centre Auditorium
Registration: http://pls-jlnkubor.peatix.com
“The Cemetery at Jalan Kubor: Cultural Diversity of the Nineteenth-Century Port Town Community in Kampong Gelam, Singapore” by Dr Imran bin Tajudeen. Malay Heritage Centre, Sat Apr 14, 2018 2-4pm. Registration.
In this talk (in English), we look at evidence from the inscriptions on the gravestones in Jalan Kubor and formal profiles to uncover the fascinating cultural, linguistic, and art historical diversity contained in this almost-forgotten treasure trove of early colonial Singapore. We will also look at selected prominent individuals buried in the cemetery and their connections to the architecture and urban development of Kampong Gelam and Singapore Town.
The cemetery at Jalan Kubor, in Singapore’s port town at Kampong Glam (Kampung Gelam), is divided into two halves by the street called Jalan Kubor, which happens to be a central axis of the former royal citadel (Kota Raja, expunged)—Jalan Kubor is the rear counterpart to “Sultan Gate”, the front approach to the royal palace (Istana Kampong Gelam, today’s Malay Heritage Centre). The cemetery is thus an integral component of the royal town. However, this historical cemetery is currently excluded from the conservation district boundary.
The earliest land survey of Singapore Town conducted by J.T. Thomson in 1829 and published as a map in 1836 (reprinted in 1839) indicates “Tombs of Malayan Princes” on the location of what is today the cemetery grounds at Jalan Kubor. In fact, besides being the exalted burial grounds of members of Singapore’s royal family, this cemetery is also the final resting place of the town’s first-generation residents and a number of its prominent merchants and functionaries. We will discuss the different languages, writing scripts, and funerary art traditions found in this important urban cemetery.
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