TiT Festivals:The Spiritual Side of Taiwan Celebrating Matsu's Birthday

Celebrating Matsu's Birthday

By Christopher Logan
Photos by Sung Chih-hsiung Taiwan's favorite goddess turns 1,037 years old on April 29, 1997. Matsu (媽祖), who was born in 960, has been revered for over 10 centuries as the Goddess of the Sea. Not surprisingly, the island of Taiwan, which in the past depended on fishing and other sea-based activities for its livelihood, heralds Matsu's birthday with an extravaganza of lively and exciting temple festivals. The yearly celebration is a spectacular opportunity for visitors to see the spiritual side of Taiwan.

Every year, the goddess' birthday is celebrated with offerings of incense, fruit, chicken, and canned foods. The Fishermen's Friend
Legend has it that Matsu was born on the small fishing island of Meichou (湄州) just off the coast of Putien county in Fujian province (福建省蒲田縣) in mainland China. Her parents were devout Buddhists, so from an early age Matsu studied holy scriptures. It is said that when Matsu was 16, a Taoist immortal climbed out of a well and gave her an amulet, which she used to protect ships at sea and to bring timely rain.

Word of her powers spread. A number of famous men came to ask for her hand in marriage, including Pao Sheng Ta Ti (保生大帝)--later worshipped as the patron saint of the medical profession. However, Matsu chose a celibate life of spiritual development.

During a celebration at Lukang, costumed figures representing Matsu's guardians get ready for the procession.

Another legend has it that her suitors included an odd pair of monsters, one which could hear every sound carried on the winds, named Shun Feng Erh (順風耳) and the other, which was said to be able to see for a thousand miles, called Chien Li Yen (千里眼). The two demons fought over her, but Matsu converted them both to her spiritual path and they became her servants. Now temples all over Taiwan have statues of these two guardian monsters flanking Matsu's image.

Huge Matsu celebrations take place at Peikang's Chaotien Temple, in southern Taiwan. It was her ability to save drowning sailors which really made Matsu's reputation with the seafaring Fujianese. One story relates that she and her mother were sewing while her father and brother fished off the coast. Suddenly, Matsu saw her father's fishing boat sinking. In a trance she reached out and took her father in one hand and her brother in the other. Her mother distracted her and she dropped her brother. Later the family learned that her brother had been drowned in a fishing accident, but that the father had miraculously survived.

Matsu is believed to have used her spiritual powers to save numerous sailors before mysteriously disappearing into the misty mountains at the age of 29. Many believers assume that she ascended into the realm of the immortals, and after her departure sailors in distress continued to call for her. A large number of drownings were said to have been miraculously averted in this way, and temples dedicated to Matsu began to appear along the Fujian coast.

Matsu worshippers from Chenlan Temple in Tachia make a three-day walking pilgrimage every year to visit the famous Matsu image at Hsinkang. Matsu's birthday is always celebrated with deafening bursts of firecrackers. Matsu's Arrival in Taiwan
Most Taiwanese today are descendants of early Fujianese settlers, who arrived from across the perilous Taiwan Strait in small boats and took much of their livelihood from the sea. Wherever these pilgrim ancestors settled, they immediately built some sort of Matsu temple. Taiwan has 383 temples dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea dotted across its soil. The island's oldest communities are marked by 300-year-old temples where celebrations marking Matsu's birthday are the year's biggest event.

The pilgrims from Tachia are welcomed at Hsinkang with folk dancing and music. Taiwan's best-known Matsu temple is located in the south Taiwan town of Peikang (北港), in Yunlin county. Every spring around the lunar date commemorating Matsu's birthday (the 23rd day of the third moon), thousands of Matsu followers crowd to Chaotien Temple (朝天宮) in Peikang.

A few miles away, a thousand-year-old statue of Matsu is revered in the Fengtien Temple (奉天宮) in Hsinkang (新港). A large number of devotees from Chenlan Temple (鎮瀾宮) in the town of Tachia (大甲), just north of Taichung, make an annual pilgrimage by foot to this old temple. A huge entourage carries a statue of Matsu as the believers walk for three days and three nights, stopping and resting at temples along the route. As the pilgrims make their way toward Hsinkang, onlookers and followers from other temples swell their ranks. They arrive at Hsinkang in a flurry of incense smoke and deafening firecrackers. Traditional folk performers wear age-old costumes as they dance and parade the town.

Historic Lukang (鹿港), near Changhua in central Taiwan, has a statue almost as old as the one at Hsinkang. Call the Tourist Hotline in Taipei (tel: (02) 717-3737) for details of the massive celebrations at these temples.

Matsu Celebrations in Taipei
Probably the most spectacular Matsu birthday celebration in Taipei will be held at Tsuyu Temple (慈祐宮) at 761 Pateh Rd., Section 4, near the Jaoho Night Market in the eastern district of Sungshan (tel: (02) 765-9017). Every year, worshippers from all over the city flood to the temple to pay their respects to an ancient statue of Matsu, which arrived from Fujian province in the early 18th century. During the ceremony, Taiwan's unique peikuan (北管) musicians beat complex rhythms on gongs and drums, and wail unlikely melodies on the suo-na (嗩吶, a double-reed chanter best described as a bagpipe without the bag). Tattooed dancers in exotic face paint leap and twist in surprising patterns to circulate positive chi (氣, sacred energy) around the temple.

Through a shower of fireworks, strong temple youths carry Matsu's statue on a palanquin around the neighborhood for her annual inspection tour. It may seem disrespectful that her bearers shake Matsu from side to side, but this, too, is said to raise good chi. At several stops along the tour, residents salute the goddess with fireworks and music before her triumphant return to Tsuyu Temple.

Not many foreigners have the opportunity to see at first-hand temple celebrations like this. The public is welcome to view, and the festivities are well worth attending, for they offer a unique view of Taiwan culture. Foreign visitors who know the island chiefly as a center for manufacturing and business activities may be surprised at the wealth of folk and religious culture displayed during Matsu's birthday.

Another excellent place to see Matsu birthday activities is the Tsusheng Temple (慈聖宮) at 17 Paoan St., Lane 49, near historic Tihua Street in downtown Taipei. This lovely old Matsu temple will continue the goddess' birthday celebrations for a week after the 29th. Visitors with an interest in Taiwan culture can enjoy traditional music, puppet theater, and Taiwanese opera at this unique venue. Each evening, outdoor folk performances will enliven the gracious temple courtyard (tel: (02) 562-9978). The shows are free.

One of the oldest Matsu temples in the Taipei area is Kuantu Temple (關渡宮) at 360 Chihhsing Rd., Peitou, in north Taipei (tel: (02) 858-1281). First built in 1661, this amazing temple is filled with carvings dating back to the early Ching dynasty (1644-1911).

The Hsimenting (西門町) shopping and entertainment area is graced by Tienhou Temple (天后宮) at 50 Chengtu Rd. (tel: (02) 331-0421). Tienhou, which means "Queen of Heaven," is another of Matsu's titles. Although the temple is not old, it has a beautiful and haunting atmosphere, especially in the evening. For several days around the 29th of April, devotees will enliven the area with music and elaborate devotional rites.