Chinese Temple of Dili

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Chinese Temple of Dili
Cina Maromak
entrance
Entrance of the temple
Religion
AffiliationTaoismBuddhismChinese folk religion
Location
MunicipalityDili
CountryEast Timor
Chinese Temple of Dili is located in Dili
Chinese Temple of Dili
Shown within Dili
Geographic coordinates8°33′18″S 125°34′50″E / 8.5551347°S 125.5804497°E / -8.5551347; 125.5804497
Architecture
Completed1928

The Chinese Temple of Dili is a temple used by the Chinese diaspora of Dili, East Timor. The temple was built in 1928, during the Portuguese control of East Timor, and is still in use today.[1]

The main shrine of the temple is dedicated to

Guan Yin, a bodhisattva venerated in Chinese folk religion.[2]

History

In 1926, the Chinese community who migrated from Macau set up a shrine in a garage where they worshipped a 30 cm high statue of Guan Gong that had been sent from China. In 1928, after getting funding from both the Portuguese government[3] and the Chinese diaspora,[4] they built the current temple and enshrined the statue inside the temple.[1] The Guan Di temple was believed to have been built in 1936 or 1937. A shrine dedicated to Guan Yin was built in 1977.

The temple survived the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Indonesian occupation without being vandalized.[2]

  • Chinese New Year 2018
  • Shrine for Guan Yu
    Shrine for Guan Yu
  • Statue of a Deity
    Statue of a Deity
  • Plaque with tribute to three benefactors
    Plaque with tribute to three benefactors
  • Benefactors: Lieutenant Manuel M. Oliveira; Lieutenant Eurico Correa Lemos; Merchant Leong Heng Hia (1937)
    Benefactors: Lieutenant Manuel M. Oliveira; Lieutenant Eurico Correa Lemos; Merchant Leong Heng Hia (1937)

References

  1. ^ a b "THE CHINESE TEMPLE". Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "东帝汶:帝力关帝庙 (in English "East Timor: Dili Guandi Temple")". Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Real, Jose Fernando (16 September 2015). "Photo of Portuguese memorial plaque found in the temple".
  4. ^ Real, Jose Fernando (16 September 2015). "Photo of Chinese memorial plaque".