The Importance of Mazu in Taiwan

Mazu also known as Matsu is a goddess in Taoism and Chinese buddhism, she is the goddess and patron of the South China Sea, she is belived to protect anyone sailing on the sea from fishermen to ordinary sailors, she is not only worshipped in Taiwan but in many other countries including southern China and Vietnam. She is more known as the 'Empress of Heaven' and 'Holy Mother Empress of Heaven' as well as many other titles.

Unlike the god in the monotheism religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) Mazu was actually walking this very planet back in the year 906. According to legend she was a silent baby and did not cry at birth, she always seemed to predict the weather and warned many sailors about bad weather approaching, she was a very good swimmer and rescued many people from the sea even if the weather was dangerous. Her death is unclear as there are two versions, the first version was that Mazu went out to sea to search for her lost father during a storm and the second version was that Mazu climbed a mountain alone and went up to heaven to become a goddess.

She is still worshipped today, especially in Taiwan. Many Mazu temples have been built up around the coastline of this island nation, she is such an important goddess in Taiwan because of the history of Taiwan, obviously many of the people living in Taiwan today would of had their families migrating to the island many years ago, all through history people migrating to Taiwan from the mainland of China would of had a small ornement of Mazu on their ships and boats to have a safe passage across the South China Sea,

In Taiwan there is a temple in almost every county surrounding the island's coastline including four not far from my home in Changhua.

Taiwan has really interested me with the amount of religion and history related to their small island, even though I follow a completely different religion which is nowhere near like the religions here, it is still rather interesting to learn and find out, many of the stories related to these religions are fascinating and really wants to make me learn more about the different stories, gods and goddesses of Taiwan.

Hope you enjoyed my small blog on Mazu and why she is an important goddess in Taiwan.