This display contains altar paraphernalia that was used during the initiation ceremony for new recruits of the secret societies. The climax of this rite was to take a blood oath before an altar. Guan Di, featured in this watercolour, is upheld as the guardian of the Heaven and Earth Society of the Qing dynasty, from which secret societies in Singapore originated. In this picture, he is flanked by his squire, Zhou Cang, and his son, Guan Ping, who is holding his seal wrapped in cloth.
