槟城鲁班行的成立沿革略论 Brief History of the Carpenter’s Guild in Penang

Abstract

华人社团是维系早期海峡殖民地华人社会的主要支柱。早期的华人业缘社团同样具有方言、地缘的色彩。本文的研究对象鲁班行虽为木匠业缘组织，却也兼备鲁班行业神信仰的神缘与广东方言群的地缘功能。本文主要探讨鲁班行成立的历史沿革，再整理祖师信仰以及师徒制度的传承。

Chinese societies played an important role in sustaining Straits Chinese communities. In the early period, there were occupational associations with dialect and territorial affinities. Although this study aimed at studying the carpenters’ association called Loo Pun Hong, it also focuses on the worship of the deity Lu Ban and the territorial functions of this worship within the Cantonese dialect groups. This study will deal with the history of the formation of the Loo Pun Hong, the worship of Lu Ban, and how the master-apprentice system was perpetuated.