Fig.1. Singapore’s National Lion Head Symbol (Source: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/what-we-do/our-work/community-engagement/education/resources/national-symbols)
The two local instances chosen are the Singapore’s national animal and tissue packets.
Lion symbols and statues can be seen anywhere in Singapore. It is featured in our National Symbol (Fig.1), National Coat of Arms, Chinese temples, during Chinese New Year, etc. The semiotics of the Lion are courage, majesty, justice, strength, nobility, stability, as it has been historically regarded as the “King of Beasts”. (Wikipedia, 2022) These traits are observed in our daily lives living in Singapore as “Singapore is widely regarded as one of the safest countries in the world, with consistently low crime rates, a transparent legal system, and a reliable police force supported by proactive citizens.”. (EDB, 2022)
Fig.2. Lion dance performance outside of Singapore Zoo (Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/55Vap9Exaa4/maxresdefault.jpg)
Other than representing as Singapore’s National Animal, lions can be spotted in Singapore’s Chinese traditions such as lion dance during Chinese New Year (Fig.2) and lion statues outside of Chinese temples. Although the semiosis is similar to the ones above, the use of lions is different as Chinese belief that lions are ferocious and fierce therefore, they are used to chase away bad luck (CBC, 2016) and protect the people from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a threat. (Wikipedia, 2022)
The other local instance that was mentioned above are tissue packets. Normally tissue packets are known for their practical use and have no meaning to them. However, in Singapore’s culture, tissue packets are a sign for reserving seats and tables.
Fig.3. Diners reserving seats with tissue packets and other items. (Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/chope-is-that-cool)
They are commonly seen in hawker centres’ and coffee shops’ tables left by patrons to prevent their seats from getting taken by another person (Fig.3). Tissue packets are not the only item Singaporeans used to reserve their seats, there are times where name cards, umbrellas, and bags were used too. The reason why tissue packets were commonly used is due to the fact that they are easily acquired and less valuable than the aforementioned items. (M.F, 2019)
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References CBC News. 2016. Chinese New Year Lion and dragon dances bring prosperity, good luck. [online] Available at: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chinese-new-year-lion-and-dragon-dances-bring-prosperity-good-luck-1.3434200> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
Economic Development Board (EBD). 2022. A great place to live. [online] Available at: <https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/why-singapore/a-great-place-to-live.html#:~:text=We%20are%20a%20safe%20country&text=Singapore%20is%20widely%20regarded%20as,force%20supported%20by%20proactive%20citizens.> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
National Heritage Board. 2021. National Symbols of Singapore. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhb.gov.sg/what-we-do/our-work/community-engagement/education/resources/national-symbols> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
Wikipedia. 2022. Lion (heraldry). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_(heraldry)#:~:text=It%20traditionally%20symbolises%20courage%2C%20nobility,also%20carries%20Judeo%2DChristian%20symbolism.> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
Wikipedia. 2022. Chinese guardian lions. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
Ming Feng. 2019. Using Tissue Packets To “Chope” Seats. Does It Make Economical Sense? [online], Seedly. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions> [Accessed 23 April 2022].
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