kongsi

plural kongsis

1. IndonesiaMalaysiaSingaporeA benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname.

   A kongsi is a clan house, a building that’s partly a temple and partly a meeting hall for Chinese of the same clan or surname.

   2004, Simon Richmond, Marie Cambon, Damian Harper, Richard Watkins, Lonely Planet: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei

   2 more examples

   By 1970, for instance, the state authorities considered these kongsi to be unfit and unhygienic for living, and they were ordered to be dismantled.

   1998, Zawawi Ibrahim, The Malay Labourer

   The term kongsi loosely referred to any association of the Chinese, ranging from a business partnership to governments in West Borneo, secret societies and clan associations.

   2003, Wu Xiao An, Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State, 1882-1941

   Synonyms: association