The coming of the British to Singapore and the subsequent establishment of British rule saw the rise of secret societies in this small colony. Whilst known as "secret" societies, paradoxically they often worked in the open, and even played essential and functional roles within society, with state knowledge or tacit cooperation.Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir, "Protected Sites: Reconceptualising Secret Societies in Colonial and Postcolonial Singapore" Journal of Historical Sociology (2016) 29#2 pp. 232-249. doi: 10.1111/johs.12073 Secret societies have a significant role in colonial Singapore society. They were a source of support for a significant portion of society, and this was possible due to their political, economic as well as social influence. Straddling both legitimate and illegitimate businesses which involved employment of large amounts of labour as well as various clientele, and involvement with authorities who gained from the economic as well as societal influence the secret societies wielded, ensured their continued influence throughout long extended periods during the colonial period.
Survival and flourishing of secret societies depended upon how they managed their place in society, and more importantly, negotiations with the state authorities and their relevance over time. These would be what led to rise of the secret societies, their extended period of dominance, as well as their eventual decline (but not disappearance), in colonial Singapore.__TOC__
Background
There are varying definitions as to what being a secret society constitutes. Most secret societies in general would have the following features of 1) claims to exclusivity, 2) their own special secrets and 3) the inclination to prioritize fellow members. Secret societies despite the naming "secret" are not in the sense organisations that are unknown to the public, but it is more of its members and many of the activities in which they carry out that tend to secretive rather than their existence.Axelrod, A. (1997). The international encyclopedia of secret societies and fraternal orders. New York, NY: Facts on File.
Secret societies have existed well before the coming of the British, but it was with the mass immigration from the colonial era onwards that saw a significant rise of secret societies, largely due to the importation of large populations of labour as the colony's economy developed. The exponential growth in the ethnic Chinese population would be a key reason for the rise of the secret societies throughout most of the colonial period.
Secret societies in colonial Singapore played multi-faceted roles and were involved in a whole range of activities. This could be from prostitution to the managing of opium dens, to the sourcing for coolies from Southern China as well as simultaneously managing lucrative legitimate businesses like pepper and gambier farming.
Secret societies in colonial Singapore
The earliest known written records are by Munshi Abdullah, in his work Hikayat Abdullah, where it mentions of his visit to the Ghee Hin initiation ceremony in 1824, and how when enquiring about its membership, was given an estimate of about 8000 members.Bolton, K., & Hutton, C. (2000). Triad Societies: Western Accounts of the History, Sociology and Linguistics of Chinese Secret Societies (Vol. 5). Taylor & Francis. p.80-81.
While the numbers were likely to have been exaggerated, the idea of the existence of secret societies forming and growing to such a sizeable extent only after the British presence in 1819 is unlikely, and their roots probably existed in smaller and varied forms prior.
Dominance of ethnic Chinese secret societies
Due to ethnic composition, with the increasingly huge ethnic Chinese immigration population vis-à-vis the rest of the local population, the dominant narrative on secret societies in colonial Singapore has been centred upon ethnic Chinese secret societies.
However, this is not to say there were no multi-ethnic secret societies or those of other ethnic groups. Notable ethnic Indian secret societies have been known to exist, and it was also not unknown for ethnic Chinese secret societies to incorporate members of other ethnicities. It may thus be more of the size and scale of the ethnic Chinese secret societies that result in the non-ethnic Chinese ones being overshadowed, as well as a need for more research to be done.
At the same time, Chinese secret societies themselves were far from homogeneous. In fact, the collective term "Chinese" used to describe them would make little sense at this period. This is due to what is today known as the People's Republic of China (PRC) itself going through a period of transition from an ailing imperial dynasty to a long transition of defining its identity and nationhood. The Chinese migrants in varying periods of the colonial era themselves had varying definitions of how they saw themselves, of which a collective term of being "Chinese" as an overall marker held little sway.Ong, A., & Nonini, D. M. (1997). Ungrounded empires: The cultural politics of modern Chinese transnationalism. New York: Routledge. p.40.
For many Chinese secret societies and its members, they were instead marked by regional and/or dialect allegiances, such as being Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Hakka, and hailing from provinces of Southern China, namely Guangdong and Fujian, rather than seeing themselves as a homogeneous ethnic group.Freedman, M. (1960). Immigrants and Associations: Chinese in Nineteenth-Century Singapore. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 3(1), 25-48. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/177895. p.26.
Push factors in joining secret societies
Secret societies played functional roles in colonial Singapore society, in a context of a male dominated immigrant society where law and order were at many times significantly under their control. Secret societies also provided some form of leadership and guidance given a colonial authority that was largely out of touch with the common man, in rather effective ways.
With such a context, secret society membership thus became a viable option to many. Given the variety of push factors to join, many did so out of practical reasons, of which a few factors will be explored below:
Seamless services of secret societies
The idea of providing seamless services to members may seem like a relatively modern term, but such was what the secret societies provided to new immigrants. From having agents to recruiting labour from Southern China, settling the transportation means to Singapore and funnelling them to the various employers, such were some of the integrative services and solutions provided. This does not end here, as in the control of illicit businesses, the daily lives of members in terms of the desire to smoke opium or for prostitution was also provided by the secret societies.Warren, J. F. (2003). Rickshaw coolie: A people's history of Singapore 1880-1940. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p.240-243. Protection of members was also guaranteed in an era where law enforcement was nowhere comparable to the case of Singapore today.
The secret societies were thus efficient in providing seamless services to members, and its many benefits were a draw, serving as an important push factor for membership.
Demographics of colonial Singapore
The continued importation of male labour for much of the colonial period, saw a massive gender imbalance resulting in a highly skewed male dominated population. It is estimated that up to the end of the 19th century, the ratio was every five males to one female. This meant many would not be able to settle down and start families, and thus an alternative to kinship and family would be joining associations, and such is where the secret societies come into play.Freedman (1960), 29
Also, the ethnic Chinese population as mentioned, were a highly diverse group. Particularly apparent would be the different dialects used, that were largely not mutually intelligible. Joining a secret society that spoke the same dialect as well as having members coming from a similar place in Southern China brought a sense of "home" to them.
Moral authority of secret societies
The idea of linking moral authority with that of secret societies could prove puzzling to many, who do not see how the two could be related. However, if we look at the context of society in colonial Singapore, ruled by the British who were but a minute portion of the entire population and similarly relied on a proportionally small group of local peoples of various backgrounds to help in governing, the secret societies could prove themselves as a viable alternative.
Given the alienation the public had from authorities, which was exacerbated by language barriers, the secret societies with their seamless services and corresponding influence and power allowed them to be a recognised authority in society. Often the secret societies were looked upon for security and protection, rather than the state enforcers, which were small in numbers. Their moral authority was also recognised by the state, who had to often invoke the aid of leaders of secret societies in times of serious disputes within the ethnic Chinese community, where the ethnic Chinese population looked more towards the secret societies as being representative of their interests and concerns instead.Freedman (1960), 34-35
Business synergies of secret societies in colonial Singapore
An important point to note about secret societies were that they seldom functioned as singular distinct entities. As mentioned, they were not unknown to the public and were very much a part of the wider society. Their economic impact and influence was not to be taken lightly. Such was possible as secret societies were often tied to both to lucrative legitimate as well as illegitimate businesses, and state authorities had a hand in them as well. In the 19th century, Singapore was the only place to be reported of having Europeans joining secret societies due to their extent of influence.Nasir (2016), 222 This clearly showed how much political and economic influence they wielded given the scale of the wide range of activities carried out by them.
Secret societies would thus have to be seen and measured in this larger context of the intertwining of seemingly varied yet related agencies, how this impacts society at large, and in those under their influence.
Influence of prominent members
Iconic members of the Singapore Chinese community such as Whampoa Hoo Ah Kay were known to be members, and many if not most leaders were indeed affiliated to the secret societies.Nasir (2016), 233 Chinese community leaders often straddled both legitimate businesses as well as the activities of secret societies, meaning that the influence of secret societies was widespread to the extent that these community leaders had government connections, moral authority in society and economic power all conflated together.
"Pig" trade
The need for labour in the growing colonial economy saw an increase in the immigration of Chinese coolies to Singapore. While some of the better off ones had the financial means to make their way, be it from family back home or sponsored help, many could not afford the necessary fees needed to provide for the expenses of the journey.Dobbs, S. (2003). The Singapore river: A social history, 1819 - 2002. Singapore: Singapore Univ. Press, National Univ. of Singapore. p.44.
Most of these coolies required passage assistance, and such was provided by the agents of secret societies or labour brokers who recruited on behalf of the secret societies in the coastal provinces of Southern China. They were given an advanced sum of money for the expenses of the trip, from which the contracted debt was transferred to their employer whom they had to work for to pay off the debt. Such took at least three years in most cases.