- This article is written to share important information to some western folks, who is planning to set up an altar to pray to Chinese Deities and might end up using the wrong altar.
- This article will also explains about the 'Landlord God' - 地主 (Di Zhu) of Folk Taoist Path (Folk Taoism).
What is going-on wrong:
*This happens because some folks can't read and understand Chinese Language*
1) One Westerner is using a 'Landlord God Altar', by placing it on a desk , to pray to Goddess of Mercy
2) Another person happened to drop by a Chinese Prayer Shop in Chinatown and pick up a 'Landlord God' Altar and asked whether it can be used as an Altar for praying to Chinese Deities.
Who are the 'Landlord Gods' (地主神)：
In Singapore and Malaysia, on the 'Landlord Gods' (地主) Altar, You will see it is often written as "五方五土龍神、唐番地主財神" - "The 5 Earth Dragon Gods Of 5 Directions , Tang (Chinese) - Foreigner Landlord God Of Wealth".
五方五土龍神 - The 5 Directions Earth Dragon Gods:
Dragon God (龍神), is a god who protects the earth veins, and is also a god valued by Feng Shui Practitioners.
五方五土龍神 - The 5 Earth Dragon Gods of 5 Directions represent the gods of the 'Five Directions of Feng Shui Dragon Caves' (五方龍穴神明), who bring 5 directions of wealth to homes and business premises.
At the grave, praying to Dragon Caves Gods will bring prosperity to the descendants. Likewise, a house also needs to invite the 5 Dragon Cave Gods to help bring prosperity to family.
唐番地主財神 - Tang (Chinese) - Foreigner Landlord God Of Wealth:
地主財神 - Landlord God Of Wealth means the deity who is in-charge of money in the house / premise.
The 唐番地主 are interpreted as Chinese (唐) landlord and Foreigner (番) landlord. Some people also say that Foreign people believe in Islam, so landlord god cannot be worshipped with pork. This is not correct.
In fact, 'Foreign people' also believe in other religions. It does not necessarily refer to race, but can also be interpreted as the "番地" - Foreign Place. In this way, it is not limited to a single ethnic group.
Generally, people with high morals who died in "番地" - Foreign Place may become "番地主公" - Landord Of Foreign Place, including the indigenous people, Indians, Thais, Chinese and other ethnic groups.
Difference between Earth God（土地公） & Landlord God (地主公)：
The earth god (土地公 - Tu Di Gong) is not to be confused with the landlord god (地主神 Di Zhu Shen) who is a different entity. The two are often mistaken as the same spiritual entity.
The earth god is a spirit in a bureaucratic position recognized by the higher deities as being the ruler of a certain area of land, while the landlord god is in actuality any miscellaneous spirit that has taken up residence, without any official permission or recognition from higher deities, in the space of a single home, residential unit, or business premise / shop.
Placement of Landlord God Altar:
The altar of Landlord God - 地主 (Di Zhu), is traditionally placed at the ground level of hall or doorway, or in an independent shrine on the ground outside, or at the floor level right below Main Altar at home. Each property has its own Landlord God.
Why is Landlord God popular among the Chinese Business Owners and Chinese Families?:
The answer is: exclusivity and accessibility. The Landlord God is responsible for a very small number of people and should, presumably, be pretty free to entertain all requests large or small. As a no-ranking spirit, he doesn’t have any ethical restrictions either.
Different Countries - Use different Landlord God Altar
- In Singapore & Malaysia, the Landlord God Altar is often written as "唐番地主财神" (táng fān dì zhǔ cái shén) - The Tang (Chinese) -Foreigner Landord God Of Wealth
- In Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Landlord God Altar is written as "前后地主财神" (qián hòu dì zhǔ cái shén) - Front-Back Landord God Of Wealth
- In Thailand, the Landlord God Altar is often written as “中泰地主财神” (zhōng tài dìz hǔ cái shén) - Chinese-Thai Landlord God Of Wealth) or "中外地主财神" (zhōng wài dì zhǔ cái shén) - Chinese-Foreigner Landlord God Of Wealth).
*Some Landlord God (地主公) Tablets / Altars are suitable for Homes and some are suitable for Business Premises, base on outer-side rhyming couplet.*
Some popular outer-side rhyming couplets:
- "地藏天下寶，主納世間財" means: "The earth conceals the world’s treasures, lord pays the world's wealth". - For Home
- "地主扶持運氣旺,財神到來金滿堂" means"The landord god supports luck, gods of wealth coming with golds". - For Home
- "五方財寶進，中外貴人扶" means:"Treasures come from 5 directions, Support by the Chinese & Foreign Noblemen" - For Home
- "生意興隆通四海 財源廣進萬方來" means:"Business is prospering through the four seas, and wealth is coming in from 10,000 direction". - For Business
Take Note: *If You intend to buy a Landlord God Tablet / Altar to pray at home or at business premise but can't understand / read Chinese, or simply don't know which one is suitable, remember to ask the shop assistant. DON'T BUY THE WRONG ONE.*
There are 5 Manifestation Days / Birthdays of 5 Di Zhu(s) - 地主诞有五个神诞:
- 10th day of 1st Chinese Lunar Month - Middle Landord God Of Wealth
- 10th day of 2nd Chinese Lunar Month - East Landlord God Of Wealth
- 10th day of 3rd Chinese Lunar Month - South Landlord God Of Wealth
- 10th day of 4th Chinese Lunar Month - Western Landlord God Of Wealth
- 10th day of 5th Chinese Lunar Month - Nothern Landlord God Of Wealth
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