Facts and myths meet at glass rotunda of National Museum

The new permanent exhibition Singapore Odyssea traces 700 years of island's history

- Ng Keng Gene

In one popular myth passed down in Malay folklore, tidal changes are explained by a massive crab that resides among the roots of a magical tree named pauh janggi.

The tree is above pusat tasek — or "navel of the ocean" in Malay — and the crab's daily forays in and out of this gaping hole in the ocean floor are said to cause the rise and fall of the seas.

This myth will be one of the stories told with the use of animation at the National Museum of Singapore's (NMS) Shaw Foundation Glass Rotunda, which reopens on Aug 8 after closing in October 2024 for a revamp.

The glass rotunda's new permanent exhibition, Singapore Odyssea, traces about 700 years of Singapore's history, culminating in a transition zone between the rotunda and the Singapore History Gallery.

In addition to pauh janggi, three other myths are presented in this zone: Sang Nila Utama, the Palembang prince who supposedly named Singapore; the swordfish attack that gave Bukit Merah its name; and Raja Chulan, a Chola king who is said to have explored the waters near Singapore in a diving bell.

Multidisciplinary artist Brian Gothong Tan, Singapore Odyssea's multimedia creative director, said the display incorporates myths as they are the lifeblood of civilisations.

Mr Tan — whose experimental film Waking The Fluorescent Lion was screened in the rotunda as part of the NMS' opening festival in December 2006 — said Singapore Odyssea goes beyond the traditional colonial understanding of the city by mixing ancient maritime history with myths.

It's "an expansion of our collective consciousness", he said.