Casa Abuelo Lung Kong Cun Sol, Havana哈瓦那龙冈公所关帝坛

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Cuba · Havana Province · Havana · Within the Chinatown (Barrio Chino) of Havana

First built

Late 19th to early 20th century · No reliable record of the exact founding year survives; the Lung Kong is a clan federation of the four surnames Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao

Overview

The Lung Kong Cun Sol (in Cuba, Casa Abuelo Lung Kong) is a clan federation uniting the four surnames Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, taking its meaning from the Peach Garden oath of brotherhood in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and established widely across Chinese communities worldwide; the Havana branch is located in the Chinatown and houses an altar to Guan Gong (San Fan Con), one of the principal sites of Guandi worship for Cuba's Chinese community. Its religious content parallels that of the Min Chih Tang, both centered on sworn brotherhood and loyalty, and it has likewise undergone a fusion with the Afro-Cuban cult of Shangó. It must honestly be noted as to its nature: the Lung Kong Cun Sol is a clan association rather than a temple, its altar attached to the association's building, with worship intermixed with clan mutual aid, funeral assistance, and the transmission of language and culture — this is precisely the typical form taken by Chinese religious life in Latin America, markedly different from the pattern in North America and Southeast Asia centered on independent temple buildings. Today the community is severely aged, with activities centered on the Lunar New Year and the birthday of Guandi.

Highlights

• A clan federation uniting the four surnames Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao
• Houses an altar to Guan Gong (San Fan Con)
• A fusion of identity with the cult of Shangó
• A clan-association altar rather than an independent temple
• Activities centered on the Lunar New Year and Guandi's birthday