Tua Pek Kong Research Papers (original) (raw)

This book is intented to share with the Chinese Tua Pek Kong temple communities about the structures and layout of Tua Pek Kong temples in Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 76 temples' layout were measured and presented in a 2-dimensional... more

This book is intented to share with the Chinese Tua Pek Kong temple communities about the structures and layout of Tua Pek Kong temples in Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 76 temples' layout were measured and presented in a 2-dimensional layout. The location of altars, offering tables, door panels, location of deities, name of deities of all 76 temples, including height, width, length of main temple hall structure are included. This is a baseline studies and in year 2018 another round of fieldwork will commence to the same temples. The structures, layout of the temples will be measured, documented and interviews will be conducted with the temple committees on the changes or 'no changes' of the temples.

The arrival and settlement of Chinese migrants contributed to the spread of Chinese religious beliefs and practices from China to Southeast Asia. However, the arrival of Chinese beliefs and practices was more complex than being just a... more

The arrival and settlement of Chinese migrants contributed to the spread of Chinese religious beliefs and practices from China to Southeast Asia. However, the arrival of Chinese beliefs and practices was more complex than being just a single-direction dissemination process. Chinese migrants not only transferred popular deities and native-place gods from China to Southeast Asia, but also invented their own gods in the migrant society. This article builds on Robert Hymes’s concept of the “personal model of divinity” to examine the multifaceted nature of the Tua Pek Kong cult in Malaysia and Singapore. It argues that in the absence of an imperial bureaucracy in Southeast Asia, the “personal model” aptly explains the proliferation of Tua Pek Kong’s cult among the Overseas Chinese communities. Tua Pek Kong was far from being a standardized god in a bureaucratic pantheon of Chinese deities; the deity was considered as a “personal being,” offering protection to those who relied on him. This article presents the multifaceted cult of Tua Pek Kong in three forms: a symbol of sworn brotherhood, a Sino-Malay deity, and a Sinicized god.

Belief in Tua Pek Kong (大伯公), Tu Di Kong (土地公) and Datuk Kong (拿督公) is among the distinctive features of Chinese folk beliefs in Sarawak. In almost every town in Sarawak is a temple dedicated to Tua Pek Kong, also known as Fu De Zheng... more

Belief in Tua Pek Kong (大伯公), Tu Di Kong (土地公) and Datuk Kong (拿督公) is among the distinctive features of Chinese folk beliefs in Sarawak. In almost every town in Sarawak is a temple dedicated to Tua Pek Kong, also known as Fu De Zheng Shen (福德正神). There are Tu Di Kong in temples and also cemeteries, while Datuk Kong guards temples, oil palm plantations, timber camps and similar places. These deities share a commonality: they maintain a tutelary relationship with the local worshippers. Fieldwork was conducted in a Hakka village from 2008 to 2009 and visits were made to all Tua Pek Kong temples in Sarawak in 2013. This paper presents partial findings on the relationship between Tua Pek Kong, Tu Di Kong and Datuk Kong. The deities’ functions in specific localities are described. It is hoped that the ethnographic data presented here shall help in the understanding of these three tutelary deities in Sarawak and West Malaysia. Folk beliefs are local constructs to accommodate communities’ needs. Differences in worship or differences in the functions of the deities are some unique characteristics of folk beliefs.