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Article: Ancestor Worship and Identity: Ritual, Interpretation, and Social Normalization in the Malaysian Chinese Community.
- Article from:
- SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia
- Article date:
- October 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ancestor worship has historically been one of the central institutions of Chinese society regardless of temporal and geographic boundaries. As such, ancestor worship has been a popular and fruitful area of investigation for social scientists attempting to gain a greater insight into the nature of Chinese culture and society in both the mainland and Taiwan (Yang 1967, pp. 29-31; Freedman 1979; Jordan 1972; Wolf 1974; Zito 1977, p. 200). Although ancestor worship is also a common form of ritual activity found amongst ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, it (along with other aspects of the folk religious system) is a somewhat neglected area of research. Moreover, it is often regarded ...