Those were the (kampung) days. An important part of Singapore’s treasured heritage, the kampung (village) spirit refers to a sense of community and solidarity. Life in a kampung was mostly harmonious and it was not uncommon for people to readily offer their neighbours food, help and support. Oral history interviewee Chan Chong Beng remembers that he could even sleep with his doors open in the kampung without worry.
As the nation progressed and these villages made way for housing estates, the kampung spirit can still be seen, most recently in how neighbours have reached out to each other during COVID-19. Check out this curated selection of photos, audiovisual content and oral history extracts to find out more.
Oral History Interviews
1. Oral History Interview with Michael Chew Yew Kuen, CEO of AVA Insurance Brokers Pte Ltd
Acc No. 3648
Gotong-royong activity involving students and villagers to lay the foundation of bitumen roads
2. Oral History Interview with Maarof Salleh, Former President of Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)
Acc No. 2818
Closeness among villagers despite racial differences
3. Oral History Interview with Chan Chong Beng, Chairman of Goodrich Global Pte Ltd
Acc No. 3186
Description of kampung spirit and the nature of relationships between villagers
4. Oral History Interview with Liak Teng Lit, Former CEO of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
Acc No. 3867
Kampung spirit amongst Alexandra Hospital’s patients’ family members
Audiovisual Recordings
1. Documentaries On Five: The Heritage Series - Kampung Days
Acc No. 1997007243
Mediacorp Pte Ltd, courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore
Scenes of kampung in the mid 1900s
2. Singapore Stories Ep 10: Connecting Hearts In Kampung Style
Acc No. 2008006752
Mediacorp Pte Ltd, courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore
Children playing in the kampung and residents going about their daily activities
Photographs
1. Children splashing themselves with water at a kampung (village) standpipe in Geylang Serai. Standpipes were installed in the 1960s by the government to provide water to residents who had no tap water in their houses.
Courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore
2. Audience, young and old, enjoying a wayang show at an open-air stage in Kampung Bugis.
Ronni Pinsler Collection, courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore
3. Women washing clothes and children bathing using underground water from 'well' dug by dwellers of the Cherry Tree Mosque kampung at Pepys Road. These routine activities were a communal affair back in the old days.
Ronni Pinsler Collection, courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore
4. A three-generation family dinner in a Chinese kampung house, circa 1960s.
Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore