The Merlion (Malay: Singa-Laut) is a traditional creature in western heraldry that depicts a creature with a lion's head and a body of a fish. It is also chosen as a marketing icon used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.
Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body of the Merlion represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village. While the lion head represents Singapore's original name—Singapura—meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".
The history of the Merlion goes back in Singapore's ancient times, where Singapore was known as Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese.
A Javanese prince, Sang Nila Utama discovered a strange creature which he later learnt was a lion.
Believing this to be an auspicious sign, he named this island 'Singapura' in Sanskrit which means Lion City.
Today, you can view this iconic Merlion at Merlion Park. Just like other significant landmarks around the world, this icon is a 'must-see' for tourists visiting Singapore. Spouting water from its mouth, the Merlion statue stands tall at 8.6 metres and weighs 70 tonnes.
Built by local craftsman Lim Nang Seng, it was unveiled on 15 September 1972 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the mouth of the Singapore River, to welcome all visitors to Singapore.
The Merlion statue faces east, which is believed to be a direction of bringing prosperity as dictated by the guidelines of Chinese geomancy. This auspicious orientation was preserved even after its relocation in 2002.
Reference:
www.yoursingapore.com
www.streetdirectory.com
www.wikipedia.com
eresources.nlb.gov.sg
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