Zhusheng Niangniang

Introduction

You pray to her when you want a child, you pray to her when you're pregnant, and once the baby arrives you pray to her still. Zhusheng Niangniang, the Birth Registrar Goddess, called Zhusheng Ma by Taiwanese, looks after everything from trying to conceive to raising a child. Her domain is wider than you might think: praying for a child, a smooth pregnancy, a safe delivery, and a healthy baby, all under one roof. In temples she is rarely the main deity. She usually sits in a side hall of a Mazu or Guanyin temple, but walk over and you'll see that the incense ash before the side hall is sometimes thicker than in the main hall. Taiwan's birth rate is now the lowest in the world, yet her incense has not dwindled. If anything, because every pregnancy is more precious, every stick of incense is more heartfelt. Many young parents now bring their children too, praying that they'll be easy to raise, rarely sick, and growing strong. The Zhusheng Niangniang halls of Manka Longshan Temple and Lukang Tianhou Temple are always packed with people making wishes around her birthday.

Legend & Origin

Beside Zhusheng Niangniang's statue usually stand twelve little fairy women, each holding a baby. They are the Twelve Midwives, also called the Twelve Flower Fairies: her delivery team, each with her own role in helping births and child-rearing.

The most intriguing detail is the flowers on her altar. White and red flowers are often placed before her. The traditional explanation is that white flowers stand for praying for a boy and red for a girl (some places say the reverse), so worshippers hoping for a particular sex pay close attention to which flower they touch or take.

The folk stories mostly go like this: someone came to pray to Zhusheng Niangniang for a child, touched a flower almost without thinking, and then really did get pregnant, and the baby turned out to be a boy or girl to match the color of the flower.

Believe it or not as you like. But the steady stream of families coming back each year to give thanks, bringing their children for her to "take a look at," says at least one thing: on the road to having a child, the one Taiwanese trust most is her.

Worship Guide

What to pray for: a child, a stable pregnancy, a smooth delivery, and a child's healthy growth. These days people even come to pray for IVF and fertility treatments to go well.

How to worship: bring fresh flowers, four kinds of fruit, and gold paper. Many people bring sesame-oil chicken with rice wine (the traditional restorative food for new mothers, and the most fitting offering), and some bring tiny clothes and shoes to symbolize welcoming new life. When you offer incense, state your name, age, and situation (trying to conceive, pregnant, or praying for a child's health); the clearer the better. Afterward you can lightly touch the flowers on the altar: white if you hope for a boy, red if you hope for a girl. Customs vary by place, so the temple staff will know best.

The most important rule: if your prayer for a child is answered, you must come back to give thanks, bringing the child to let Zhusheng Niangniang see them and saying thank you. Give back what you asked for, and next time will go just as smoothly.

Festivals

The 20th day of the 3rd lunar month is Zhusheng Niangniang's birthday. Temples that enshrine her alongside their main deity hold birthday rites. The Zhusheng Niangniang halls at major temples such as Manka Longshan Temple in Taipei and Lukang Tianhou Temple are especially busy around her birthday, when many worshippers hoping for a child or a safe pregnancy come to make their wishes.

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