The Merlion, the legendary symbol of Singapore, half lion - half fish, is celebrating an anniversary!
The Merlion, the legendary symbol of Singapore, half lion - half fish, is celebrating an anniversary!
Just as traditional salmon sushi is associated by everyone with Japan, and the ancient Kecak dance is a symbol of Bali, there is likewise no doubt that the Merlion has been part of Singapore almost forever.
Well – not quite. While the "ancient" Kecak was devised some 90 years ago, and salmon sushi only began to be made around the 1980s, some 35 years ago, the Merlion was invented 7 years after Singapore declared independence. 58 years ago, in 1964, the Ministry of Tourism announced the results of a competition for the city's symbol – it was won by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a British zoologist and ichthyologist, curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium in Singapore. It was he who proposed the hybrid of a lion and a fish, which no one in Singapore had heard of before. The creature alludes to a lion, because the name Singapore, derived from Sanskrit, literally means "Lion City" ( सिंहपुर where "singha" is lion and "pura" - city). The fish tail, in turn, refers to Singapore's medieval name – Temasek, meaning "Sea Town".
In Singapore you'll find several images of the Merlion, but by far the most popular is the statue standing in the heart of Marina Bay. The nine-metre sculpture with its distinctive fountain was unveiled exactly 50 years ago, in 1972, and in effect that's when its legend began.