Last month Taiwan's best-loved goddess, Matsu, took her annual vacation. Following a tradition begun in 1847, pilgrims from the little town of Tachia (¤j¥Ò) carried their statue of
the goddess southward on a great palanquin. Their destination was 150 kilometers away, in the heartland of Taiwan's Matsu worship. There, at Fengtien Temple (©^¤Ñ®c), they renewed their faith and received blessings in a ceremony called "Sharing the Incense Fire."The three-day march began with fireworks and the waving of temple flags as the sacred statue left Tachia. The locals are devout, and they knelt along the road on the outskirts of town to receive Matsu's blessing. Upon her arrival in Hsinkang (New Port, ·s´ä), the goddess received a similar welcome as she was escorted into Fengtien Temple. Another Matsu statue, one of Taiwan's oldest, greeted the visiting delegation.
Struggle for Seniority
There's a bit of a rivalry, actually, between Hsinkang and the town of Peikang (North Port, ¥_´ä), only five kilometers away. Taiwan's original "mother temple" for Matsu was at the port of Penkang, located between the two rivals. A huge flood ripped the center out of the town, and
with it the old Matsu temple; however, locals were able to save its beautiful old statue of Matsu, which had come from her home town of Meichou in Fukien province. In 1811, they built Fengtien Temple to house the image in the town of Hsinkang.
By this time Chaotien Temple, on the north end of Penkang, was already more than half a century old. Later, the area came to be called Peikang. For over a century, Peikang was considered the "mother temple" by most worshipers. Only in the last few years, since 1988, has special importance been attached to the ancient statue and its devotees in Hsinkang. After a long history of visiting Peikang, the faithful of Tachia now carry their statue to Hsinkang.
Presiding over the rites within Fengtien Temple this year, statues from both the Tachia and Hsinkang temples were dressed regally, in embroidered silk robes and jeweled crowns. A huge crowd murmured prayers in anticipation of the ceremony, and officials made last minute preparations.
Holy Exchange
At the main altar, a great caldron of incense had been burning all year. A steady stream of Hsinkang's faithful had added new incense each day as they prayed to the goddess. Needless to say, a lot of ashes had accumulated. It was for the purpose of sharing these holy ashes that the pilgrims from Tachia had brought their own censer to Hsinkang.
Accompanied by chanting and carefully orchestrated ceremony, a Taoist priest blessed the big caldron, still billowing fragrant clouds of incense smoke. The priest wrote sacred words on a piece of golden paper, which he added to the fire. As the huge crowd of worshipers sang incantations, a Buddhist monk scooped ashes, fire, and incense into Tachia's caldron. At midnight, the visitors began the march home, carrying their statue and, symbolically, the prayers of the mother temple. Ecstatic celebrations of farewell expressed satisfaction that the two temples had shared "chi"--the life force--and strengthened each other. Faith in Matsu had been renewed as well, in an age of cynical materialism. The sound of fireworks did not cease until they were well on the way back to Tachia.