This paper focuses on the unique development of Ngou Yim 五音, a newly created hybrid Chinese used in chanting, and its literacy in Thailand. Since Ngou Yim is an artificial mixture of various Chinese dialects, it has no native speaker. The esoteric knowledge of Ngou Yim had been maintained exclusively in Mahayana monasteries in an idiosyncratic manner before one of the Bangkok-based publishers started to supply new texts with Thai alphabets in the 1980s. As a result, the reading of specific Ngou Yim texts has been fixed, has become open to wider lay audience, and has become dependent on Thai literacy. Nevertheless, even after the 1980s, Ngou Yim is still fluid. The idiosyncratic nature of Ngou Yim pronunciation is reflected in various versions of the same text, each of which shows different sets of mixture of dialects according to individual monks who order the publication of their own texts.

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Singkawang, West Kalimantan, Indonesia is known for its high concentration of Chinese residents, and is referred to as “City of Beautiful Women” (Kota Amoy). The phrase acknowledges the prominent role that the city has come to fill for foreigners seeking a bride. Since the late 1970s, Singkawang has sent a huge number of Chinese brides to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The migration phenomena initially emerged in response to exclusionary policies against Chinese living in Indonesia, especially to the 1967 Dayak Raids, through which about seventy thousand Chinese became refugees. In addition to these political factors, “the division of reproductive labor,” which has gained strength since the 1970s throughout Asia, also has driven Indonesian Chinese women to marry out. In this paper, I discuss the forces driving marriage migration and the practices of “global householding” and moral economy in the Singkawang context. My research was conducted in a former refugee camp. Through elaborating three particular cases in detail, I suggest the following four features to the phenomenon of marriage migration. First, female marriage migrants come from lower socioeconomic classes. When they lost financial supporters such as husband or father, the women choose to marry abroad in order to secure financial support. Second, a single family sends several members as brides or workers abroad. Third, sisters tend to marry out in order of seniority. Fourth, sisters who marry abroad assume the central role in maintaining the welfare of their families of orientation over a long period of time.

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“Quan Thanh Mieu” is a small temple for the worship of Guan Di in Truon Village, Hoa Loi Commune, Chau Thanh County, Tra Vinh Province in Vietnam. July 15 on the lunar calendar is the Hungry Ghost Festival. A small vegetarian banquet is prepared. The acculturation of Chinese immigrants is found in the festival. The Chinese descendants who manage Quan Thanh Mieu in Truon Village today cannot speak Chinese, even though their grandfathers or fathers were Chinese. They have adapted to the Khmer culture of their grandmothers or mothers. The women who prepared the vegetarian meal for the Hungry Ghost Festival at the temple cooked the Vietnamese-styled “Banh tet” and the Khmer-styled “Xiem lo.” The appearance of the temple building and the composition of the gods and tablets of Quan Thanh Mieu still maintain traits of Chinese culture. However, the Vietnamese and Khmer cultures from the domestic sphere, of which women are in charge, are very important for the festival at the temple. In addition to pressure from majority groups in the rural area of Chau Thanh, the everyday practices in the private sphere of intermarried families in this area urge the ethnic Chinese to adopt the Vietnamese and Khmer cultures.

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This research note presents a part of the religious activities of ethnic Chinese who constitute one of the main ethnic groups living in the Mekong Delta region in South Vietnam. Chi Thien Minh temple Confucian sanctuary (Chua Chi Thien Minh.Khong Tu Thanh Dien , hereafter: Khong Tu Thanh Dien), which is a facility of Minh Duc Nho Giao Dai Dao religion located in Cau Ngang county, Tra Vinh province, was chosen as an example. According to documents obtained at Khong Tu Thanh Dien, it is regarded as the only Confucian temple in the activity area of Cau Ngang and that people gathering there are Confucianists. However, we found some similar points among Confucianism, Tien Thien Dao(Chinese: Xian Tian Dao) and Cao Dai during our research. Objects of worship of these three religions were placed on the altar in Khonh Tu Thanh Dien. Thien dan (spiritualist meeting to heighten order and discipline among the believers) were enshrined and Pho loan(planchette writing) was often carried out. In addition, costumes worn at the Bon Festival were similar to those of Cao Dai. On the basis of these facts, we consider Minh Duc Nho Giao Dai Dao being a religion related to Tien Thien Dao and Cao Dai.

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From the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, Dai An village already comprised many Chinese residents and some religious facilities. There are three Chinese temples in Dai An village, Tra Cu county, Tra Vinh province, Vietnam at present. This report describes the current situation of the Minh Huong temple (Dinh Minh Huong), a Chinese temple in Dai An village. The social situation surrounding the Minh Huong temple has undergone changes in recent years. The Minh Huong temple was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, but it was left in ruins for a long time. However, since the renovation of the temple began in 2004, the temple building’s size and appearance and its management methods have changed significantly. After the renovation, the temple has become more alluring and has attracted the local resident’s attention. Three Chinese descendants were involved in the major changes occurring in the temple. In fact, their vital roles and the presence of a new Chinese temple are remarkable to the local residents of the Dai An village. This report on the Minh Huong temple shows that the temple’s activities are tinged with regional features. It is essential to focus on the Khmer and the Kinh people as well because the village has an incredible cultural mix. Furthermore, the facts elucidated in this study correspond to recent changes in Vietnamese society. Some of the changes include an extension of Buddhist faith, the recovery of folk (Taoism) religions, and increasing socioeconomic disparities.

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The aim of this article is to review historical and anthropological studies concerning religion in Chaoshan Ethnic group. Especially I give a report of the territorial cult, Dejiao and worship of restless ghosts in and out of mainland China. Study of religion group in Chaoshan ethnic group focus on Kings of Three Mountains (Sanshan Guowang) and parade of deities and examined revival of religion and traits of Chaoshan society through socio- economical background. And discussion of worship of restless ghosts in Chaoshan ethnic group, investigated a relation between host society and Chaoshan ethnic group through ritual, so that proved the position in host society and relation to other ethnic groups. In conclusion, I note that problem which needs to be discussed on study of Chaoshan ethnic group are an inquiry into the network to other countries, the influx of capital, position in host society and relation to a major religious groups in the host society.

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