Sri Mariamman Temple

Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, standing at 244 South Bridge Road in Chinatown, in the Outram planning area. Naraina Pillai, a clerk from Penang who arrived with Raffles in 1819, set up a wood and attap temple on the site in 1827, and the oldest parts of the present brick structure date from around 1843. The temple was gazetted as a national monument in 1973. Its chief deity, Sri Mariamman, is associated with rain and with protection against epidemic diseases such as cholera.

A five-tiered gopuram, the sculpted entrance tower of a South Indian temple, faces the street, and inside are shrines to Draupadi and Rama, with Ganesha also worshipped. After a year-long restoration the temple held its Maha Kumbabishegam consecration on 12 February 2023. Each October or November it hosts Theemithi, a fire-walking ceremony that follows a procession of about four kilometres from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road. The Hindu Endowments Board, which manages the temple, asks visitors to remove footwear outside and to cover shoulders and knees, and shawls are provided for anyone who needs one. Chinatown MRT station is a short walk away.