Mazu (Goddess of the Sea)

The most heart-wrenching scene in her legend takes place at a loom. Lin Mo-niang was weaving one day when she suddenly closed her eyes and slumped over the loom, her face like someone gone very far away. Out at sea a storm had broken, and the boats of her father and brother were in danger. With her spiritual power she had gone out to rescue them — one hand gripping her father, her teeth clenched on her brother's clothes. Her mother, seeing her unconscious, shook her awake in a panic. The moment Lin Mo-niang opened her mouth to speak, the brother she held in her teeth sank beneath the waves. Her father came home safely; her brother never did.

Lin Mo-niang was born in 960, the first year of the Jianlong era of the Northern Song. A bright child, she could read the scriptures by the age of eight, and for years she stood by the shore watching the sky and guiding fishing boats away from storms. In 987, the fourth year of the Yongxi era, at the age of 28, she passed away in meditation on the summit of Meiyu on Meizhou Island. Grateful villagers built a temple in her honor, and successive imperial courts kept raising her titles — from 'Lady' and 'Heavenly Consort' all the way to 'Empress of Heaven' and 'Heavenly Holy Mother.' A fisherman's daughter who could not save her own brother became the guardian of the entire Chinese seafaring world.

Offerings to Mazu are mainly vegetarian: fresh flowers, four kinds of fruit, longevity peaches, red tortoise cakes, and fa gao (prosperity cakes) are all good choices. Mazu likes cleanliness, so keep the offering table neat. How to pray: on entering the temple, first offer incense at the Heaven censer, then go before Mazu's main altar and tell her your name, your address, and what you are asking for — safe voyages, career, marriage, and children are all fine to ask about.

The 23rd day of the third lunar month is Mazu's birthday, and for weeks before and after it, processions and pilgrimages run across Taiwan. If you want to experience it yourself, walk a stretch with the Dajia Mazu or Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage and bow respectfully as the palanquin passes — one of the moments of blessing Taiwanese people cherish most.

Mazu's birthday on the 23rd day of the third lunar month is Taiwan's biggest religious occasion. The nine-day, eight-night pilgrimage procession of Dajia Zhenlan Temple and the walking pilgrimage of Baishatun Gongtian Temple draw hundreds of thousands of devotees every year, and are counted alongside the Christmas Mass at the Vatican and the pilgrimage to Mecca as one of the world's three great religious events. The Mazu procession of Beigang Chaotian Temple is famous for its spectacular folk performance troupes.