Toh Peh Kong Kalimantan

Toh Peh Kong

The Chinese in West Kalimantan worship Toh Peh Kong, as their god and protector, as part of their ancestral traditions, brought over from China.The ancestral doctrine is that of Sam Kao, or the three doctrines, a mixture of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian tenets. There are fused with the Toh Peh Kong cult, which in fact is unknown in China.The central place of worship of the Toh Peh Kong cult is the Chinese temple of Tri Darma Budi, in Singkawang.

The Toh Peh Kong cult exists only in West Kalimantan, and is in fact clarification of the pioneers of the Chinese in West Kalimantan.Those pioneers consisted of seven Chinese commanders, who served under Ike Mese and Shi Bi, the armada commanders who came to attack Singasari in 1293. In their homeward voyage, Ike Mese ordered seven of his officers and 250 men to stay in West Kalimantan.Toh Peh kong here is also known in Java, but there he is the personification of Admiral Cheng Ho, the Moslem Chinese seafarer who once visited Java.

In West Kalimantan, Toh Peh Kong is not identified with any mortal of the past.Toh Peh Kong here is worshipped in the shape of a grandfather statue although there are also couples of statue representing the deity. Toh Peh Kong couples can be seen in the Chinese temple of Tri Darma Bumi, in Pasar Tengah, Singkawang. There is also one in the Chinese temple in Sebangkau village. Along the road between Pontianak and Sambas, a Chinese temple is found in almost every village, dedicated to the worship of Toh Peh kong.