Kelenteng Tiao Kak Sie (Vihara Dewi Welas Asih), Cirebon井里汶潮觉寺

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Indonesia · West Java Province · Cirebon · Jalan Kantor No. 2, Lemahwungkuk, Cirebon (near the old port)

First built

the 17th century · The temple’s own account places its founding around 1595–1600; the seventeenth century is generally taken as the credible range, and the exact year remains to be determined

Heritage status

Listed as a Cagar Budaya (Cultural Heritage Site) of Cirebon city

Overview

Kelenteng Tiao Kak Sie stands in the old port district of Cirebon and is one of the oldest Chinese temples on the north coast of West Java; the temple’s own account of its history claims a founding at the end of the sixteenth century, though the seventeenth century is generally taken as the more credible range. It is dedicated principally to Guanyin (Dewi Welas Asih, the Indonesian rendering, meaning “Goddess of Compassion”), with Tianshang Shengmu, the Correct God of Blessing and Virtue, Guandi and others enshrined alongside. Cirebon was an important old port on the north coast of Java and a meeting place of Chinese, Arab and Javanese culture; the palaces and tombs of the local sultanate make extensive use of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain shards in their decoration, with Chinese craftsmen taking part in the work, and the temple’s architecture likewise shows marked local adaptation. Under Suharto it was re-registered as a Buddhist vihara, with the legal name Vihara Dewi Welas Asih. The temple’s founding date lacks independent documentary support, and this entry makes no assertion about it.

Highlights

• One of the oldest Chinese temples on the north coast of West Java
• Principally enshrines Guanyin, known in Indonesian as Dewi Welas Asih (“Goddess of Compassion”)
• Cirebon was an old port where Chinese, Arab and Javanese cultures met
• The local sultan’s palaces and tombs are decorated with abundant Chinese blue-and-white porcelain shards
• The founding date lacks independent documentary support