Patrick Comerford
The Latin phrase Hic Sunt Dracones, often rendered as ‘Here Be Dragons’, has come to symbolise how mediaeval mapmakers indicated dangerous or unexplored territories, using illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures to mark out uncharted areas where potential dangers were thought to exist.
The phrase illustrates how our ideas about dragons have been culturally conditioned. In most European languages, the word for a dragon is derived from the same Greek word used for a serpent: δράκων (drákōn, genitive δράκοντος, drákontos). The Greek and Latin terms referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological.
The Greek word δράκων is probably derived from the Greek verb δέρκομαι (dérkomai), meaning ‘I see’, the aorist form of which is ἔδρακον (édrakon). This may refer to something with a ‘deadly glance’, or unusually bright or sharp eyes, or because a snake’s eyes appear to be always open.
In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 12 tells about the woman, the dragon, and the child, followed by the war between the Archangel Michael and the dragon, then the appearance of the monster from the sea. This is the only reference in the New Testament to a dragon, yet in all our imagery, in all our poetry, Saint Michael is seen as crushing or slaying Satan, often Satan as a dragon.
In European folklore and mythology, dragons symbolise danger and evil. We are warned in the Greek classics against sowing dragon’s teeth. In legends, dragons breath fire, guard the entrance to caves, symbolising the entrance to the world, and threaten the lives of the pure and saintly, typified in the story of Saint George who slays the dragon to rescue the maiden.
I have sometimes described my sarcoidosis as creeping up from behind and snapping at me viciously like a fiery dragon, as if it had been hiding behind me for months waiting and plotting its spiteful vengeance.
Philip Larkin (1922-1985) may have been inspired by memories of the statue of Saint Michael crushing the dragon under his feet on north wall of Saint Michael’s Church in Lichfield his poem ‘To Failure.’
In that poem, Larkin realises that failure does not come ‘dramatically, with dragons / that rear up with my life between their paws.’ Failure comes with more subtlety in wasted opportunities and lost chances. Throughout life, most of us encounter our own dragons, and we know how they are going to ensnare us if we do not face them and slay them.
Yet, in the last few weeks while we were staying in Kuching, I came to understand once again that in Chinese culture dragons symbolise gift and blessing, and may also represent the majesty of the imperial household.
In the Chinese calendar, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, and to mark the year, the ‘Eco-Dragon’ was erected at the Chinatown Gate at the east end of Padungan in Kuching. The dragon has a body diameter of 60 and a length of 18.88 metres, a reference to Kuching being given city status on 1 August 1988 (1/8/88), but is also designed to raise awareness about the environment and conservation.
The ‘Eco-Dragon’ took a month to build, involving over 400 people and more than 1,500 hours of work.
The Dragon Boat Festival was a major cultural event on the River Sarawak a few weeks ago, and dragons appear as symbols of protection in all five temples within walking distance of China Street.
The Tua Pek Kong Temple, also known as Siew San Teng Temple, is near the waterfront in Kuching and opposite the Chinese History Museum. It is the oldest Taoist temple in Kuching and is part of the Kuching Heritage Trail.
The temple is named after its principal deity, Tua Pek Kong. Although the name translates to ‘Big Grand Uncle’ in Hokkien, the temple is used by Chinese people of all dialectic groups.
A temple has stood on the site since 1770, undergoing major reconstruction in 1856, 1965 and 2002. The site was carefully chosen, in accordance with feng shui principles, and it is believed the temple will bring peace, harmony and eternal prosperity to Kuching’s Chinese community.
The Hiang Thian Siang Ti Temple is on Carpenter Street, across the street from the Mok family watch shop. It is dedicated to a Chinese deity of the same name, the Deity of the North. It was built by the Teochew immigrants in 1889 to replace a smaller and simpler temple on the same site that had been razed by the Great Fire of Kuching in 1884. That temple, in turn, had been built in 1863 to replace an earlier temple on what is now the Main Bazaar.
The temple, which underwent a major renovation in 1968, has a small turtle pool and has a stage for opera performances to entertain the deities.
A procession is held by the temple devotees on its feast day, on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The Hin Ho Bio temple, also on Carpenter Street, is a rooftop temple that we could see from our kitchen window. The temple is at the top of the Hainan Association building and is dedicated to Tian Hou, the Queen of Heaven, also known as Mazu.
The Hin Ho Bio has been on Carpenter Street from at least 1878, and it was renovated after the Great Fire in 1884. In the early years, new Hainanese migrants lived in the temple while looking for permanent places and jobs. The temple was also used as a martial art hall and a social gathering place for the Hainanese, and operated as a school too.
The temple had a major uplift in 1987 and the renovations were completed in 1991. The Kuching Kheng Chew Association later changed its name to Kuching Hainan Association.
The Hong San Si Temple at the corner of Wayang Street and Ewe Hai Street, is one of the most ornately decorated temples in Kuching, with beautiful ceramic artwork, ceramic carp and other creatures adorning its rooftop – along with dragons.
It is said to date from 1848 and is dedicated to the Hokkien child deity Kong Teck Choon Ong. Local lore says the child appeared on the rooftops of Ewe Hai Street, a continuation of Carpenter Street, during the Great Fire in 1884, warning the people and summoning the rain to put out the fire.
The temple’s annual procession, to commemorate the deity’s birthday, falls on the twenty-second day of the second lunar month.
During our visit to Kuching, this temple was also the scene of major festivities to mark the visit of deities from Fujian, with lion dances, street theatre, Chinese opera and dragon dances.
There is also a temple on the roof of the Everrise supermarket on Padungan Street. It is officially called the Hing Ann Thien Hoe Kong Tian Hou Gong and can be seen from the street below, although it is not always open. The temple is also known as the Ma Cho Temple, and like the Hin Ho Bio, the rooftop temple on Carpenter Street, it is dedicated to Tian Hou, the Queen of Heaven, also known as Mazu.
The rooftop temple on Padungan Street is associated with the Heng Hua people, and originally stood on the site of the supermarket. At the time, it was part of the family residence of a businessman Song Kheng Hai.
He sold the building to the Hing Ann Association, and it continued to house the temple, a school and other activities. When the house was demolished, the temple was accommodated in a temporary structure until the Everrise building was completed, and the temple was then moved onto the roof.
To reach the rooftop temple, I took a lift in small entrance behind the supermarket to the fifth floor. From there I had views of Jalan Padungan, of the grounds of Kuching Rugby Club, and out to the Waterfront and the Sarawak River.
To Failure, by Philip Larkin
You do not come dramatically, with dragons
That rear up with my life between their paws
And dash me butchered down beside the wagons,
The horses panicking; nor as a clause
Clearly set out to warn what can be lost,
What out-of-pocket charges must be borne
Expenses met; nor as a draughty ghost
That’s seen, some mornings, running down a lawn.
It is these sunless afternoons, I find,
Install you at my elbow like a bore.
The chestnut trees are caked with silence. I’m
Aware the days pass quicker than before,
Smell staler too. And once they fall behind
They look like ruin. (You have been here some time.)
‘You do not come dramatically, with dragons / That rear up with my life between their paws’ (Philip Larkin) … a friendly dragon visits the Hong San Si temple on Wayang Street (Patrick Comerford, 2024)
