詩巫永安亭大伯公廟

December 2016
By Elena Chai

本文以作者熟悉的砂拉越社會地景為討論範疇，反駁將民間信仰視為落伍風俗及迷信的刻板觀點。作者所關注的神廟文化即顯示了民間信仰及迷信間「剪不斷，理還亂」的連結。本文闡明民間信仰的內涵，同時說明什麼是迷信，希望能在讀者將民間信仰與迷信劃上等號之前，帶來一種平衡的觀點。簡言之，民間信仰及迷信並不必然相等。

• Elena Chai
• Monica Janowski

Datuk Kong (拿督公) are shen (神) – a Chinese term that can be glossed in English as ‘deity’ or ‘spirit’ depending on context. They have long been known to be venerated by Chinese in West Malaysia but have not been investigated until now in Sarawak, where they are of increasing importance, or in Kalimantan, where they appear to have been worshipped for much longer. In both West Malaysia and in Borneo Datuk Kong are closely associated with (a) the ethnic groups that were already living in the area before the Chinese arrived and (b) with the local landscape. In this article we explore the ways in which Datuk Kong beliefs have developed in Borneo and how, through the ‘respect’ (拜) paid to these shen, the Chinese have integrated the beliefs that they brought originally from China into a belief system that remains distinctively Chinese but overlaps with the beliefs of ethnic groups with which they co-exist; and embedded this belief system in the local landscape and the spirits inhabiting that landscape.