Early modern · Hindu · Singapore

Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore

Chinatown, Singapore, Singapore · 1.2828°, 103.8452°

MariammanModern (diaspora)Dravida
Sacred since
1827 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
founded 1827; gopuram 1925
patron: Naraina Pillai

History & significance

Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai — the Penang clerk who arrived with Raffles and became the settlement's first Indian community leader. A gazetted National Monument in the heart of Chinatown; its annual Theemithi fire-walking festival, when devotees cross burning coals for Draupadi, closes the Mariamman ritual year.

Sthala katha — the legend

Pillai installed the goddess first in wood and attap on land granted for the new colony's Indian temple — Mariamman guarding migrants against epidemic in the port city, as she had in every village they left behind.

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Related sites

Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Temple
Gombak, Kuala Lumpur · Malaysia
shrine 1891; 42.7 m Murugan statue 2006
Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur
Chinatown, KL · Malaysia
founded 1873; present building 1968, gopuram 1972
Kek Lok Si Temple
Air Itam, Penang · Malaysia
1890–1930; Kuan Yin statue 2002

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Modern (diaspora)