Definition of "joss"

Don't forget they're mostly just joss-worshipping heathen an' they don't get no kick out of the more classy breeds o' religion. Though I guess there ain't that much diff'rence. It ain't many's so Lord Almighty in theirselves that they don't need a joss of some sort, an' I guess it's what yu think about him matters not the sort o' joss.

1939, Philip George Chadwick, The Death Guard, pages 111–112

She had twisted a piece of heather into her mail box for good joss, and this was the safety signal.

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 178