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Malaysian Chinese: an Analysis on Their Beliefs and Religious Practices

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Malaysian Chinese: an Analysis on Their Beliefs and Religious Practices T.C. SAKARYA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES MALAYSIAN CHINESE: AN ANALYSIS ON THEIR BELIEFS AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES MASTER’S THESIS Ahmad Tarmizi BIN MD ARIFFIN Department : Philosophy and Religious Studies Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Muhammed Ali BAĞIR MAY-2019 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis does not have any intellectual incorporation of any material previously submitted for any degree or diploma in any university without acknowledgement. It does not contain to the best of my knowledge any material previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is illustrated in the text. Ahmad Tarmizi BIN MD ARIFFIN 29.05.2019 CONTENTS CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... i LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... iv SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... v ÖZET ............................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 Introduction of the Study .................................................................................................. 1 Objectives of the Study ..................................................................................................... 8 Relevance and Actuality of This Research ....................................................................... 8 Research Design, Methodologies and Limitations of the Research .................................. 9 Program of Study ............................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INFORMATION ON MALAYSIA AND CHINESE IN MALAYSIA ................................................................................................................... 12 1.1. Malaysia’s Geographical Status ............................................................................... 12 1.2. Malaysia’s Demographics ........................................................................................ 13 1.3. Religions in Malaysia ............................................................................................... 13 1.4. History and Origin of Malaysian Chinese ................................................................ 13 1.4.1. During the Fifteenth Century ..................................................................................... 13 1.4.2. Between 17-18th Century........................................................................................... 16 1.4.3. During the 19th Century ............................................................................................. 17 1.4.4. Current Situation ........................................................................................................ 18 1.5. Religions of Malaysian Chinese .............................................................................. 19 1.5.1. Overview .................................................................................................................... 19 1.5.2. Places of Residence, Occupations and Dialects Spoken by Malaysian Chinese ........ 20 CHAPTER 2. MALAYSIAN CHINESE AND THEIR BELIEFS ........................... 23 2.1. On Gods and Deities ................................................................................................ 23 2.2. On Ghosts and Spirits .............................................................................................. 30 2.3. On Cosmology ......................................................................................................... 38 2.4. On Morality .............................................................................................................. 39 i CHAPTER 3. MALAYSIAN CHINESE AND THEIR RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ......................................................................................................................................... 44 3.1. On Prayers ................................................................................................................ 44 3.2. On Religious Festivals ............................................................................................. 48 3.2.1. Chinese New Year ...................................................................................................... 48 3.2.2. Yuen Xiao or Chap Goh Meh .................................................................................... 50 3.2.3. Mid Autumn Festival ................................................................................................. 50 3.2.4. Hungry Ghost Festival ............................................................................................... 52 3.2.5. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ............................................................................... 56 3.3. On Marriage ............................................................................................................. 59 3.4. On Funeral ................................................................................................................ 61 3.5. The Similarities And Differences Between Malaysian Chinese And Chinese In China In Terms Of Beliefs And Religious Practices ...................................................... 64 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 71 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 73 RESUME ........................................................................................................................ 88 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Image of Guanyin ................................................................................... 24 Figure 2: Mazu (in the middle) with her assistants Qianliyan (right) and Shunfenger (left) ............................................................................................. 26 Figure 3: Bronze Sculpture of Guan Di from 15th Century Early Ming Dynasty ........ 28 Figure 4: Datuk Gong wearing a traditional Malay headgear and Malay traditional weapon in his hand ......................................................................................... 33 Figure 5: Tua Pek Kong temple in Kusu Island, Singapore.......................................... 36 Figure 6: Paper charm uses as a worship to the God who protects the family ............. 45 Figure 7: An example of paper sheets ........................................................................... 46 Figure 8: A red envelope of Ang Pow .......................................................................... 49 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Groups Dialects and its Relation with Ocupational Patterns and Location in Malaya Between 1795-1931 ....................................................................... 20 iv Sakarya University Institute of Social Sciences Abstract of Thesis Master Degree x Ph.D. Title of Thesis: Malaysianx Chinese: An Analysis on Their Beliefs and Religious Practicesx Author of Thesis: Ahmadx Tarmizi Supervisor: Dr. Muhammed Ali Bağır Bin Mdx Ariffin Accepted Date: 29 May 2019x Number of Pages: vi (pre text) +88 x (main body) Department: Philosophyx and Religious Studies x The title of the thesis isx “Malaysian Chinese: An Analysis on Their Beliefs and x Religious Practices”. Therex are 3 chapters that will be discussed. The first chapter will focus on general informationx on Malaysia and Chinese in Malaysia. Inside this chapter, Malaysia’s geographical status, population and varieties of religions dialects spoken by Chinese in Malaysia will be examined. In addition, history and origin of Malaysian Chinese will also be addressed. In chapter 2, the beliefs among Chinese in Malaysia will be given utmost priority. The concept of gods and deities, angels and demons, cosmology and morality will be explained. Meanwhile, in chapter 3, religious practices among Malaysian Chinese will be evaluated. For example, in terms of prayers, religious festivals, marriage and funeral will be explored.Lastly, this thesis will also investigate the similarities and differences between Malaysian Chinese and Chinese in China both in terms of their beliefs and religious practices. Keywords: Malaysian Chinese, Malaysia, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism v Sakarya Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Tez Özeti Yüksek Lisans x Doktora Tezin Başlığı: Malezyalı xÇinliler İnançları ve Dini Uygulamaları Hakkında Bir İnceleme x Tezin Yazarı: Ahmad Tarmizix Danışman: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Muhammed Bin Md Ariffinx Muhammed Ali Bağır Kabul Tarihi: 29 Mayıs 2019 Sayfa Sayısı: vi (ön kısım) +88 (tez) Anabilim Dalı: Felsefe ve Din Bilimleri Tezin başlığı "Malezyalı Çinliler: İnançları ve Dini Uygulamaları Hakkında Bir İnceleme"dir. Tez üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölümde, Malezya ve Malezya'daki Çinliler hakkında genel bilgiler verilecektir. Bu bölümde, Malezya'nın coğrafi konumu, nüfusu ve dinsel çeşitliliği incelenecektir. Ayrıca, Malezyalı Çinlilerin tarihi ve menşei de ele alınacaktır. İkinci bölümde, Malezya'daki Çinliler arasındaki inançlardan bahsedilecektir: Tanrı ve tanrılar, melek
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