March is the month when local people get excited about Mazu. Her birthday falls on March 23rd of the Chinese lunar calendar. Celebrations dedicated to her are held in Tien Hau temples (?后宮), a general name for temples where Mazu is worshipped, all over Taiwan. Approximately 200 temples worship Mazu only, and several hundred more worship her along with other Taoist or Buddhist deities.

If you ask around about the most exciting worship activity taking place, the most likely answer you may get is Jhen-lan Temple in Dajia, Taichung County (台中縣大?鎮瀾宮).

For over 200 years, the Jhen-lan Temple has been a religious Mecca for Mazu worshipers in dozens of local villages, and has also drawn huge numbers of followers from all over the country.

Taichung County Government decided to make the most of the religious and cultural fever for Mazu and created the Dajia Mazu International Tourism and Cultural Festival. This year, a massive cycling event preceded the festival on February 21st with 2,284 cyclists riding together and making it to the Guinness Book of World Record as the largest cyclist participation in an event, according to a press release from the Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council.

To spur public interest, the cycling event began three years ago to follow the annual Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage Procession route that usually winds through Taichung and Changhua counties in central Taiwan and the neighboring Yunlin and Chiayi counties in the south.

The 2009 Dajia Mazu International Tourism and Cultural Festival which stretches up to a month consists of an exhibition on still images of Mazu including her statuette, clothes, embroideries, and figures of lion and tigers' heads. The organizers have arranged various performances such as traditional martial arts, puppet shows, Chinese opera, Taiwanese opera, dragon and lion dances, flamenco, live music, circus, and magic shows by foreign groups from Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. For visitors to Dajia throughout March, there's always something to attend.

Different competitions are held under Mazu's name during the festival, including the Mazu Cup Wedding Dress Design Competition (媽祖盃國際文化婚禮新娘造型創意大賽), Mazu Cup Best Bartender Competition (媽祖盃?酒大賽), and the annual National Chungcheng Cup Shaolin Martial Arts Tournament (全國中正盃少林拳道武術錦標賽). Incorporating multifarious activities has been a key trait of the Dajia Mazu International Tourism and Cultural Festival.

In case you get hungry watching all the shows, a shop specialized in traditional pastry, Yu Jan Shin (裕珍馨), greets visitors with its butter cream cakes and taro cakes. A local delicacy is a must-buy for worshipers especially when they come from other Taiwan counties.

Silent Maiden

Mazu is also known as Empress of Heaven. She was born to a fishing family in Meichou Island off the coast of China's Fujian province in the year 960. As a baby who never cried, her parents named her Lin Mo-niang (林默娘), which means "silent maiden."

It turned out that she was no ordinary girl but one with superpowers to heal the sick, predict the weather, and dispel evil. Once when her father and brother went fishing and were trapped by a raging typhoon, Lin wielded her superpowers to save them and other fishermen.

At the age of 28, the story goes, she climbed to the top of her hometown's highest mountain, ascended to the sky, and became the Empress of Heaven. Since then, fishermen reported that Lin would appear to guide them when they got lost in the ocean.

Initially, Mazu just blessed the sea for fishermen. But as time went by, people would pray to her for health, career, farming, relationship, and all sorts of concerns. She has become a guardian angel for Taiwanese people. According to a research team studying Taiwanese Folk Religion at the Providence University in central Taiwan, Mazu has to go on a tour of inspection in her precinct every year. She has to do this to check on her people, spread her blessings, and repel evil for them. Pilgrims organize processions to escort Mazu every year. The ritual serves as a social event for Mazu in different regions and her followers.

Dajia Mazu Procession

This year, the Dajia Mazu Procession will start on March 21st at 11:30 p.m. from Jhen-lan Temple and on the third day, arrive at Fengtien Temple（奉?宮）in Chiayi's Hsinkang Township where her followers celebrate her birthday with sacrifices, chanting, and kowtows. The procession heads back to Jhen-lan Temple again. The whole journey stretches more than 300 kilometers, and takes 8 days to finish. Along the way, local residents would prepare food and beverage to greet her and her entourage.

The pilgrimage tradition goes back to ancient times, when it was a local religious activity. Since the mid 1980s, when Jhen-lan Temple leaders worked with people from political circles as well as the press, the annual pilgrimage grew to be the largest one in Taiwan. Each year, a few hundred thousand participants bring considerable revenue to the local economy.

The complex and creative Mazu-worshipping ceremonies and activities have been listed by Discovery Channel as one of three major religious festivals in the world, according to officials of the 18th-century Jhen-lan Temple.

Pioneering the procession, there is usually a group of people wearing ritual costumes and performing exaggerated gestures. Bobe-a(報馬仔), Ci Ye and Ba Ye（七爺八爺）, and the Eight Generals（八家將）usually make their appearance. Bobe-a is Mazu's messenger who beats his gong to inform believers to get ready and greet her arrival. Ci Ye and Ba Ye are underworld messengers and ghost catchers. The former is tall and white-complexioned, the latter short and black-faced. Next to them are the Eight Generals, who arrest wandering demons or evil spirits and cast them to the underworld.

Devout followers

A typical pilgrimage carries a flag, a triangular piece of cloth attached to a pole topped with a bell and a temple charm. The flag must pass through the smoke rising from the temples' censers along the way, to make sure that it is blessed by Mazu. The flag is repeatedly used each year to accumulate blessings.

Worshipers on foot usually have their backpacks transported by worshipers who drive through the way. Those who feel too tired from walking could rest in the cars as well. Kindness is shared, friendships are built between strangers.

During the procession, people get in line to crouch under Mazu's palanquin so that it passes over them. Such ritual represents believers' dedication to her, and their belief that they will be protected by Mazu in the years to come. For Mazu worshipers, participating in the procession is a must in their lives. To be part of the entourage is a practice with which followers show their faith for Mazu. The harder the journey is, the greater their willpower is. Taiwanese peoples' enthusiasm toward Mazu is candidly shown in the pilgrimage.

Whether you are a believer or not, joining the pilgrimage for a day or two is an excellent opportunity to discover the Mazu culture that is rooted deeply in the Taiwanese heart. This is something you have to see for yourself.

Log on to the official site of the 2009 Dajia Mazu International Tourism and Cultural Festival to check out the performance schedule. Free shuttle buses are provided for tourists.

Message from Huang Chung-sheng

Taichung County Magistrate

Taichung County is full of cultural heritage and tourism resources.

Our Mazu Cultural Festival is now on its tenth year. It has grown from a local event to an international festival that draws the attention of scholars worldwide.

Worshipping activities in various locations have connected with each other to form a nationwide event with a huge participation from all over Taiwan.

To further enrich the festival, Taiching County Government invited performers from different countries. It is truly an international gathering for all.

By presenting cultural diversity, we hope to boost Taichung County's tourism and devotion to the Mazu pilgrimage. Our goal is to preserve art, academic work and culture, and to upgrade local industries and religious fervor.

Have fun in Taichung County!

Links:

Dajia Mazu International Tourism and Cultural Festival http://mazu.taichung.gov.tw/English/index.asp (English)

http://mazu.taichung.gov.tw/htm/t014.asp (Chinese)

Jhen-lan Temple

http://www.dajiamazu.org.tw/en/page01-1.html (English)

http://www.dajiamazu.org.tw/ (Chinese)