kampung spirit

English

WOTD – 9 August 2020

Etymology

From kampung + spirit. Kampung is borrowed from Malay kampung (“village; community”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmpɔːŋ ˈspɪɹɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmpɔŋ ˈspɪɹɪt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmpɔŋ ˈspɪɹɪt/, /-oŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪɹɪt
• Hyphenation: kam‧pung spi‧rit

Noun

kampung spirit (uncountable)

1. (Singapore) A sense of social cohesion in a community and a willingness of neighbours to co-operate with each other.
   • 1946 November 16, R. B. Ooi, “Village Life in Singapore”, in The Malaya Tribune, Singapore: Malaya Tribune Press, →OCLC, page 4, column 5:

     In the [Malayan] Union, kampong people have the kampong spirit, and in rural Singapore villagers must have the village spirit in order to improve their living condition.

   • 1978 December 7, “The good S’porean urged to set an example”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, →OCLC, page 26, column 10:

     These [Housing and Development Board housing estates] must be the core areas where the concept of neighbourliness and the friendly smile and greeting can and must be promoted and the kampung spirit of 'gotong royong' preserved. [Quoting an editorial in the National Youth Leadership Training Institute Alumni's newsletter.]

   • 1983, The Mirror: A Weekly Almanac of Current Affairs, Singapore: Ministry of Culture, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 12, column 2:

     The old kampung spirit of volunteerism is useful. But volunteers need to be organised so that in a fire outbreak, for example, they can carry out their specific roles, calmly, before help from supportive services arrive.

   • 1994, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Muslims in Singapore: A Shared Vision, Singapore: Published for Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura [Islamic Religious Council of Singapore] by Times Editions, →ISBN, page 34:

     Some of that kampong spirit still survives in the clean, orderly HDB estates today. But for the most part, Malay-Muslim families depend on their own immediate members.

   • 2006, Neil Humphreys, chapter 1, in Final Notes from a Great Island: A Farewell Tour of Singapore, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, →ISBN, page 14:

     Attempts to re-ignite the kampong spirit of community were evident at every turn.

   • 2013, Josephine Chia, “Foreword”, in Kampong Spirit, Gotong Royong: Life in Potong Pasir, 1955 to 1965, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, →ISBN, page 11:

     Everyone needs someone. When the kampong spirit is in evidence, nobody needs to feel alone or abandoned.

   • 2014 April 14, William Wan, “It’s time to update the kampung spirit”, in The Straits Times‎^[1], Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 September 2016:

     This constant engagement and interaction was the foundation of the kampung spirit.

   • 2015 July 18, Kelly Ng, quoting William Wan, “‘Kampung spirit’ still alive in modern Singapore, but evolving”, in Channel NewsAsia‎^[2], archived from the original on 19 July 2015:

     “If we fixate on the conventional idea of the kampung spirit, then we are not going to find much of it in the modern environment. So while we may not associate the same acts of neighbourliness with the traditional kampung spirit, it is not to say that we have completely forgotten how to be neighbourly,” he added.

   • 2018, Simon Vincent, “The Liberal’s Nightmare: Chua Beng Huat”, in The Naysayer’s Book Club: 26 Singaporeans You Need to Know, Singapore: Epigram Books, →ISBN:

     He [Chua Beng Huat] says the talk about kampong spirit is worse than nostalgia. "If it's only nostalgic, you just feel romantic about it and you're done with that."

Alternative forms

• kampong spirit (dated)

Translations

sense of social cohesion in a community

See also

• gotong-royong