權威、中介與跨域：論星馬華人民間信仰的祖廟想像

Abstract

新加坡與馬來西亞華人民間信仰的祖廟想像，表現在跨國廟際網絡的交流，將民間信仰正統與權威的觀念，融入當代星馬兩國華人民間信仰。神明祖廟，不僅是「國家與民間信仰」標準化歷程的重要介面，也在國家與民間信仰之間扮演「中介」的角色。在東南亞，原來祖廟意識並不明顯，因1980年代以後中國原鄉神明祖廟重修需求，或中國政府漸漸重視祖廟的中介機制，使得星馬部分廟宇開始跨國請神或跨域結盟。比較新加坡與馬來西亞華人民間信仰的祖廟意識，可以說明兩地在華人民間信仰之間的共通性、差異性以及獨特性，透過這些跨國界的比較研究，發現兩地多數廟宇的祖廟意識淡薄，但部分星馬廟宇在正統與權威的概念中，發展出跨國網絡的民間信仰運作型態，進而構建祖廟意識的想像。

Conceptions ancestral temples in Chinese popular religion of Singapore and Malaysia indicates that, in cross-border temple network interactions, the concepts of ＂orthodox＂ and ＂authority＂ have been integrated into the local systems of popular religion. Ancestral temples of various deities, more than a significant interface for the standardization of ＂state and popular religions,＂ functions also as a ＂medium＂ between the two. In Southeast Asia, ancestral temple awareness was originally unclear, but after the 1980s, because of the demands from deity ancestral temples for renovation in their native villages in China or the Chinese government’s gradual emphasis on the intermediary mechanism of ancestral temples, some ancestral temples in Singapore and Malaysia began cross-border deity visits or cross-territory alliances. A comparison between the awareness of Chinese popular religion ancestral temples in Singapore and Malaysia can illustrate the commonality, dissimilarity, and distinctiveness in Chinese popular religious beliefs in the two localities. Through this transnational comparative study, we realize that for many temples in both countries ancestral temple awareness has dimmed. Nevertheless, some of the ancestral temples in Singapore and Malaysia, amidst concepts of ＂orthodox＂ and ＂authority,＂ have developed a popular religious pattern of operation in cross-border networks, thereby constructing a conception of ancestral temple awareness.