Main Article Content

The dynamic process of syncretism: Datuk Gong worship in Malaysia


Zhaoyuan Wang

Abstract

The Datuk Gong worship in Malaysia is a fusion of Malay keramat and Chinese Tudi Shen, hence easy to be labelled ‘syncretism’. Nevertheless, the rich  dynamism of syncretism as a process in Datuk Gong worship is still underexplored. Through the combination of historical documentary method and  anthropological multi-sited field work, this article examines the three stages in the syncretic process of Datuk Gong worship: syncretic amity, syncretic encompassment and synthesis, as well as diverse strategies Chinese devotees adopted in each stage. Compared with other worship of non-Chinese  deities in Southeast Asia, the peculiarity of Datuk Gong worship in West Malaysia is that it has reached a high level of synthesis, hence its own  independence.


Contribution: Through the examination of Datuk Gong worship in Malaysia, a syncretism of Chinese Religion, local animism and Islam, the study  provides a rare and excellent example to mirror the rich dynamism of syncretism as a process in Southeast Asia, a meeting point of different civilisations. 


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eISSN: 2072-8050
print ISSN: 0259-9422