Shenism in Southeast Asia

The Tao Kong Pa Temple in Sukhothai Thani, Thailand, a fine example of 21st-century folk religious Chinese architecture.
Kheng Hock Keong, of the Chinese community in Yangon, Burma, is a temple enshrining Mazu.

Shenism (the Chinese folk religion or the ethnic religion of Han Chinese, or shen 神 worship) in Southeast Asia plays a dynamic role in the lives of the Chinese populations that have settled in the countries of this geographic region, particularly Burmese Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese and Hoa. The Indonesian Chinese, by contrast, were forced to adopt en masse either Buddhism or Christianity in the 1950s and 1960s, abandoning traditional worship, due to Indonesia's religious policies which forbade Chinese traditional religion.

The Chinese folk religion of Southeast Asian Chinese people is markedly typified by the interaction with Malay indigenous religions (Malaysian and Indonesian folk religion) and the adoption of gods of Hindu derivation, such as Brahma, Ganesha and Hanuman. The philosophical forms of Confucianism and Taoism are followed, and organised forms of the Chinese folk faith, such as Dejiao, Yiguandao and Zhenkongism, have taken significant foothold among Southeast Asian Chinese.

In Singapore about 11% of the total population is Taoist, composed by a 14.4% of the Chinese Singaporeans identifying as Taoists.[1] In Malaysia, around 3% of Chinese Malaysians practice Chinese folk religions, corresponding to around 1% of the whole country population.[2] In Indonesia, Taosu Agung Kusumo, leader of the Majelis Agama Tao Indonesia, claims there are 5 million Taoist followers in the country as of 2009.[3]

By country

Indonesia

Kong Miao Confucian temple in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Tri Dharma Bumi Raya temple in Singkawang, Indonesia.

The Chinese folk religion of the Chinese Indonesians is named "Confucianism", and officially recognised by the government as Agama Khonghucu or religion of Confucius, which was chosen because of the political condition in Indonesia before the end of Suharto rule in 1998, which saw the Chinese religions forbidden and the Chinese forced to convert to Buddhism or Christianity. The Chinese Indonesians had their culture and religious rights restored only after the fourth president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, issued a regulation that recognised "Confucianism" among the legal religions of the country. He said that:

All religions insist on peace. From this we might think that the religious struggle for peace is simple... but it is not. The deep problem is that people use religion wrongly in pursuit of victory and triumph. This sad fact then leads to conflict with people who have different beliefs.[4]

The first precept of Pancasila (the Five Basic Principles of the Indonesian state) stipulates belief in the one and only God. The Confucian philosophy is able to fulfill this, for Confucius mentioned only one God in his teaching, the Heaven or Shangdi. The Heaven possess the characteristic of Yuan Heng Li Zhen, or Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omnibenevolent, Just.[5]

The Master said, "Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!" (VIII, xix, tr. Legge 1893:214)

Another movement in Indonesia is the Tridharma (Sanskrit: "religion of the Three"), syncretising elements of different religions, the Chinese three teachings amongst others.[6] After the fall of Suharto rule it is undergoing a process of systematisation of doctrines and rituals.[6] Tridharma temples always consist of three main rooms: the front room for Tian or God, the middle for the main deity of the temple, the back room for the three teachers and their pantheon: Confucius, Laozi, and Buddha. Several big Chinese population cities like Medan, Batam, Bagansiapiapi and Singkawang has a significant numbers of Chinese folk religion followers aside Buddhist. There are also many Taoist associations in Indonesia.

Malaysia

Kwong Fook Kung Temple, a Chinese folk temple in Papar, Sabah.
The Snake Temple in Penang, Malaysia, hosting a Chinese cult of the snake that is unique to the area.

In Malaysia the Malaysian Chinese constitute a large segment of the population, mostly adherent of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese traditional religion has a relatively significant following in the states of Sarawak (6%) and Penang (5%).

The Chinese folk religion was brought for the first time by Chinese emigrants in the 15th century, with small settlements that were established in Melaka by Hokkien traders, but it was not until the 19th century that there was a mass migration of Chinese. They built shrines dedicated to their deities and cemeteries for those who died. The Chinese migration during the tin and gold mining days, which were a result of high demand for these products, prompted the need of temples, for practices and religious rituals.[7]

Social organisations in the Chinese immigrant society were important, where surnames, dialect, locality and trade mattered. The Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew and Hakka, respectively formed their secret societies, such as the Ghee Hin and Hai San, and they played grassroots government of the Chinese communities.[7]

A prominent cult is that of Tua Pek Kong (大伯公 Dabo Gong), and it has incorporated the cult of the Na Tuk Kong (拿督公 Nadu Gong) of local Malay origin. Other Malay and Thai gods have been incorporated into the pantheon.

A Chinese folk shrine in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Thailand

Thailand has a large population of Thai Chinese, people of Chinese or partial Chinese origin. Most of those who follow Buddhism have been integrated into the Theravada Buddhist tradition of the country, with only a negligible minority still practicing Chinese Buddhism. However, many others have retained the Chinese folk religions and Taoism.[8] Despite the large number of followers and temples, and although they are practiced freely, these religions have no state recognition, their temples are not counted as places of worship, and their followers are counted as "Theravada Buddhists" in officially released religious figures.[8] In Thailand, Chinese temples are called sanchao (Thai: ศาลเจ้า).[8]

The Chinese folk religion of Thailand has developed local features, including the worship of local gods.[8] Major Chinese festivals such as the Nian, Zhongqiu and Qingming are widely celebrated especially in Bangkok, Phuket, and other parts of Thailand where there are large Chinese populations.[9]

The Chinese in the city of Phuket are noted for their nine-day vegetarian festival between September and October. During the festive season, devotees will abstain from meat and mortification of the flesh by Chinese mediums are also commonly seen, along with rites devoted to the worship of Tua Pek Kong. Such traditions were developed during the 19th century in Phuket by the local Chinese with influences from Thai culture.[10]

Seng Wong Temple in Singapore.

Singapore

Some Chinese Singaporeans practice Taoism, which in the city state is used as a synecdoche for broader Chinese folk religion. Taoists in Singapore worship many deities, that oftentime are incarnated and thus ancestral and are subject to a complex Taoist hierarchy of veneration. They also worship some deities of common origins, notably the Jade Emperor, Xuan Wu, Guan Yu, and Mazu. Other deities that were venerated and frequently taken as auspicious images include the Fu, Lu, and Shou. Caishen is also venerated by many Chinese businessmen. Minor deities, especially ancestral, worshipped by different language groups, may not share a common origin with other Chinese dialect groups. Unlike other groups, some deities worshipped by Hakka are not depicted in the form of statues. Usually a stone or tablet is used to represent the deity instead.

Adherents of Taoism would place house altars in their living room. This is more frequently seen among Chinese families, rather than individuals. The family god or deity would be placed on the top altar, and a spiritual tablet would be placed at the bottom altar, although ancestral tablets are at times incorrectly placed at the top altar as well. Often, urns, usually placed with some joss sticks, are placed in front of the deity. Oil lamps may also be placed at the sides, and fruit offerings are also placed in front of the deity as offerings.

A brazier, often painted red, may also be seen. They are meant for burning joss papers. They also hang a small altar, painted red, with the words "Heaven Bestows Wealth" (天宮賜福) painted on it outside the house or simply a small urn filled with ash where joss sticks are placed. The smoke emitted from burning joss sticks is believed to transmit their devotion, and at times requests, to the gods.

Vietnam

People worshipping a goddess at a Chinese temple in Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Many Hoa people (Han Chinese of Vietnam) practice Shenism

Features

Organised traditions

Some organised sects stemming from Shenism have been very active among Southeast Asian Chinese. They include especially Deism ("religion of virtue"),[11][12][13] Zhenkongism ("religion of True Emptiness")[14] and Yiguandao ("Consistent Way").[14]

Southeast Asian Chinese pantheon

The names of the gods are in transcribed Chinese dialects spoken by Southeast Asian Chinese populations:

Places of worship and practice

See also: Chinese temple

Chinese temples in Indonesia and Malaysia are called kelenteng or klenteng in local Malay languages, or alternatively bio, the southern Chinese pronunciation of Mandarin miao (庙). In Thailand their name is sanchao (Thai: ศาลเจ้า). Items for Chinese religious practices in Southeast Asia are supplied at shén liào shāngdiàn (神料商店 "shops of goods for the gods").

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese temples in Indonesia.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese temples in Malaysia.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese temples in Singapore.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese temples in Thailand.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese temples in Vietnam.

References

  1. ↑ Singapore Department of Statistics (12 January 2011). "Census of population 2010: Statistical Release 1 on Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion" (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "2010 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia" (PDF). Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Retrieved 17 June 2012. p. 13
  3. ↑ "Tao, Taoism Religion". Indonesiamatters.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  4. ↑ Ambassadors for the Universal Peace Federation. Reverendsunmyungmoon.org.
  5. ↑ Bidang Litbang PTITD/Matrisia Jawa Tengah. 2007. Pengetahuan Umum Tentang Tri Dharma, First Edition (July 2007). Publisher: Benih Bersemi, Semarang, Indonesia.
  6. 1 2 Tsuda Koji. "Chinese Religion" in Modern Indonesia: Focusing on the Trend Toward Systematization in the Post-Soeharto Era. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
  7. 1 2 Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Kamal Hassan, Ghazali bin Basri. ISBN 981-3018-51-8
  8. 1 2 3 4 Tatsuki Kataoka. Religion as Non-religion: The Place of Chinese Temples in Phuket, Southern Thailand. In Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 3, December 2012, pp. 461–485. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University.
  9. ↑ Tong Chee Kiong; Chan Kwok Bun (2001). Rethinking Assimilation and Ethnicity: The Chinese of Thailand. Alternate Identities: The Chinese of Contemporary Thailand. pp. 30–34.
  10. ↑ Jean Elizabeth DeBernardi (2006). The Way That Lives in the Heart: Chinese Popular Religion and Spirits Mediums in Penang, Malaysia. Stanford University Press. pp. 25–30. ISBN 0-8047-5292-3.
  11. ↑ Bernard Formoso. De Jiao - A Religious Movement in Contemporary China and Overseas: Purple Qi from the East. National University of Singapore, 2010. ISBN 978-9971-69-492-0
  12. ↑ Kazuo Yoshihara. Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia. In Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2/3, Folk Religion and Religious Organizations in Asia (Jun. - Sep., 1988), pp. 199–221. Published by: Nanzan University
  13. ↑ Chee Beng Tan. The Development and Distribution of Dejiao Associations in Malaysia and Singapore, A Study on a Religious Organization. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Occasional Paper n. 79. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1985. ISBN 978-9971988142 (Note: Book review has a typo in the ISBN)
  14. 1 2 Vincent Goossaert, David Palmer. The Religious Question in Modern China. University of Chicago Press, 2011. ISBN 0226304167 p. 108
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