Out of Place? Not Quite

Posted by Shruiken under Uncategorised
(0) Comment • (2266) Reads • Permalink

Lin Kuang-I
24 Ceramic Figurines of Various Daoist & Popular Gods - The Dipper Mother
2001 - 2002
Taiwan
2002-00812
NHB Collections
Asian Civilisations Museum

A sculpture of The Dipper Mother, a deity from the Taoist pantheon. She is the mother of the stars of the Big Dipper and associated with healing and childbirth.

Upon subtle coercion from my history teacher, I entered the SGcool contest, pessimistic and apathetic. Although history is one of my passions and I would jump at any opportunity to go to a museum, I did not think that any artifact would excite me enough to blog about it.

I was very wrong.

The Dipper Mother, or Dou Mu. Somehow it seemed out of place. Then it hit me. She had four heads and 8 arms, 6 of them holding something and was seated on a lotus throne.

It seemed odd that such heavy Hindu iconography could appear in the Taoist pantheon. But after further thought, I realized that it would be only natural. Two regions like India and China, that were prospering culturally and economically at the time were bound to have shared beliefs and ideas.

Today, when cultures are being thrown into one large melting-pot called globalization. Some feel individual cultures are losing their identity. But this artifact says otherwise. Despite the contact from a very early time, both India and China remained distinctly different, learning from each other yet retaining their identity. I believe that like this statue we can remain uniquely diverse whilst changing with time.