“It's purely mutual respect”: cross-cultural taboos and the everyday reproduction of Singaporean nationalism

Abstract

While differences often threaten ethnonationalist projects, the Singaporean state has rendered a particular configuration of racial-religious diversity constitutive of nationalism in the city-state. In this paper, we approach nationalism through an often-overlooked avenue: intangible heritage such as everyday myths, customs, and taboos. A total of 150 interviews were conducted in three neighbourhoods in Singapore, where guided conversations were conducted regarding common customs, myths, and taboos in individuals’ families and communities. We found that respondents imagined their (state-designated) racial-religious groups as communities of shared customs, while also demonstrating familiarity, even deference, to the customs of other groups. However, this intimacy with other groups’ practices did not undermine the integrity of respondents’ own group identity, since they remained committed to their cultural practices as embodying ancient and useful – even “scientific” – knowledge. The data thus showed that citizens are deeply reflexive about the nature, origins, and justification of the practices they undertake. This domain of everyday practices was neither simply defined into being by the state, nor is it some heroic realm of defiance: instead, it is one where people display creativity and agency in making sense of cherished cultural similarities and differences, all while using state-prescribed categories as resources for their meaning-making.