MaZu

With approximately 14,500 kilometers of coastline and naval history spanning thousands of years, China has its own sea gods in its pantheon. Among them, Mazu counts as one of the most influential. The legendary goddess of the sea is deeply rooted in China’s rich maritime culture.

Viewed as the navigation guardian goddess in China, Mazu, also popularly known as “Tianfei” (Princess of Heaven) and “Tianhou” (Empress of Heaven), is at the heart of beliefs and customs prevalent in the country’s coastal areas.

In Hong Kong, she is called “Tin Hau,” which means the Heavenly Empress in Cantonese. The name of Macao is derived from the word “magao,” referring to the shrines dedicated to Mazu.

Taipei’s Lugang Tianhou Temple in China’s Taiwan is the most renowned among over 1,000 Mazu temples in the island region that serve about 17 million Mazu devotees, more than two-thirds of the population on the island.

Mazu belief and customs, inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on September 30, 2009, primarily contains three parts – sacrificial and worship ceremonies, folk customs and folk tales, which have been deeply integrated into the lives of coastal Chinese and many Chinese communities around the world.

It is universally believed that Mazu was born as a kindhearted maiden named Lin Mo (or Lin Moniang) in a small fishing village on Meizhou Island, in Fujian Province on the 23rd day of the third lunar month in 960.

There are many variations to the legends around her death and deification. The most frequently-told story reads that she sacrificed her life to save fellow town people who met with a thunderstorm while fishing out at sea.

Local residents thus built a temple and created statues in honor of the virtuous and kind woman and worshiped her like a goddess – a holy symbol of mercy, kindness and compassion.

People living in the coastal areas, especially those who make their living on the South China Sea, such as fishermen and sailors, venerate her as the guardian capable of protecting them from the storms and other water-related calamities.

They hold worship ceremonies and offer sacrifices as a tribute to her and pray to statues of her for a safe voyage and a peaceful life.

As maritime activities and trades flourished along the Maritime Silk Road, worshiping Mazu, which originated in a small island of south China, has been widespread all over the world by Chinese seafarers, immigrants, and ambassadors.

More than 10,000 temples devoted to Mazu are dotted in 40 countries and regions while there are over 300 million believers, countless veneration practices and commemoration events worldwide.

Mazu beliefs and customs, however, are still widely observed as it has become a strong bond among the Chinese communities, which boosts the concord of family and society, strengthens the social identity of the communities, and promotes the cultural exchanges between different countries and regions, especially those along the Maritime Silk Road.

The Meizhou Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival, launched in 1998, is annually staged on the sea goddess’ hometown, drawing thousands of devotees from over 20 countries to participate in the grand opening ceremony. Also at the goddess’ birthplace is the permanent venue of the annual International Mazu Culture Forum, which was established in 2017.

The Mazu Ancestral Temple in Meizhou, which is universally regarded as the original temple of all other Mazu temples across the globe, receives more than four million pilgrims each year, including massive overseas visitors. More than one hundred groups of people from Southeast Asia make the pilgrimage to Meizhou throughout a year.

Worship of Mazu is overwhelmingly popular in Southeast Asian countries, where there are a massive number of Chinese immigrants, and most of them are descendants of the coastal Chinese from southern Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

There are more than 150 Mazu temples and cultural institutes in Malaysia. Nearly 160 Mazu temples are built in the Philippines and over 50 located in Singapore.