The Tua Pek Kong Temple was built in 1923 on Kusu Island, the smallest of the Southern Islands located off the coast of Singapore, to worship the Chinese deity known as ‘Tua Peh Kong’ (大伯公, Da bo gong). Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian devotees go on annual pilgrimages to the temple during the ninth lunar month, which usually falls between September and November, to pray for blessings such as prosperity, longevity and fertility. Many of the devotees also pray for similar blessings at the three Malay shrines, known as ‘keramat’, situated on a hill behind the temple. Stone statues of turtles and a turtle pond can be found within the temple grounds on Kusu Island, which literally means ‘Turtle Island’. According to local folklore, a giant turtle once rescued two Malay and Chinese fishermen caught in a storm by turning into Kusu Island. To show their gratitude, the fishermen decided to build shrines on the island as places of pilgrimage.
