local guardian ancestor-deities worshipped in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
←
hokkien / cantonese
(poj)
拿督
ná-tok
datuk (honorific Malay male title)
←
malay
datuk
honorific male Malay title; grandfather; elder
+
hokkien / cantonese
(poj)
公
kong
honorific male Chinese title; grandfather; elder
etymology notes
From Hokkien slang 督公, a clipping of Hokkien and Cantonese 拿督公, Ná-Tok-Kong, who were a type of ancestor-deity worshipped in Nusantaran Chinese folk religion. They were believed to have been humans who had achieved something outstanding or great in their field, or had a high social standing and prestige. The practice of worshipping such figures originated in traditional Malay culture, and syncretized well with the folk religious customs of ancestor worship that Chinese immigrants to the region were accustomed to. Both Malay datuk and Hokkien 公, kong are honorific male titles that also mean "grandfather" or "elder", making the Hokkien name Ná-Tok-Kong a bilingual tautological expression or pleonasm. 拿 is sometimes written as 嗱.