Singapore, just like Malaysia, is home to a melting pot of Malay, Chinese and Indian people and their cultural influences.
Though we live in the same society and are relatively familiar with these different religions, there are a lot of other deeper, lesser-known aspects to these different cultures that other races have yet to explore.
For instance, MENG.2 (@Meng_II) took to her Twitter page to showcase a picture her husband, who is a delivery man, had sent to her.
Her husband was out making his deliveries one night when he had stumbled upon something that gave him the shock of his life! He was dropping off a package at a house belonging to an Indian family when he stopped in his tracks as he saw a blue man sitting by the front door, staring back at him.
It turns out that it was a life-sized statue of the Hindu God, Muneeswarar, who defends his worshipers from evil deeds and black magic.
Kau tak terperanjat ke kalau kau deliver barang abeh nampak ni. No offence to the religion, tapi seram siot pic.twitter.com/1LYFSQptVF
— MENG.2 (@Meng_ll) August 25, 2019
MENG.2 wrote, “Wouldn’t you get shocked if you were delivering a package and you saw this? No offense to the religion, it’s just very scary.”
When she posted the image, she didn’t actually know who the statue depicted and why it was there, but through the power of respect for each other’s religious beliefs, many Indian netizens actually took the time to clarify the significance of the statue.
Source: Twitter
MENG.2’s friend (who is the cousin of the owner of the statue) also took the time out to enlighten her of the statue’s purpose.
Source: Twitter
“The God is actually called Karuppar (a nickname of Muneeswarar’s). He’s like a protector from all kinds of evil things. So, in India, they usually place him outside the house to guard the house from all evil deeds and black magic,” explained MENG.2’s friend via the text messages.
MENG.2, who was touched by the fact that people actually took the time out to explain it to her instead of getting offended at her posting, gushed about their understanding ways.
“Guys, you all are so nice. Not even one Hindu/Indian person called me out or lashed out at me (except for a few non-Hindus who apparently had something to say), instead I got all these explanations that answered my curiosities. Why do I not have more Indian friends?”
As people of different religions, wouldn’t it be normal to be curious about each other’s beliefs and religious teachings? I mean, after all, there are about 330 million Hindu Gods, you can’t expect those of other cultures to keep track of all of them, as an example!
So let’s take follow in the footsteps of these netizens the next time someone is confused about aspects of another religion.
Educate, not hate.
Also read: Yuna Embraces Malaysian Culture By Wearing a Lehenga and Incorporating Indian Culture in Her New MV
