Devotees of the deity Matsu on Monday marked the goddess’ 1,051st birthday by treating 100 Matsu statues to a nationwide tour via long-haul buses.
“It’s so interesting,” said many people who witnessed the scenario, in which Matsu statues took up all passenger seats on the buses.
“The driver of this Mastu bus is very lucky,” said Central Election Commission Chairperson Chang Po-ya (張博雅), who presided over a fireworks ceremony.
Photo: Yu Hsueh-lan, Taipei Times
Bus driver Huang Chi-jung (黃啟榮) agreed, saying he considered himself very lucky “because the blessing by Matsu will last all year.”
Chiayi City’s Tianxuangong Temple chairman Teng Chin-tien (鄧慶田), whose temple was in charge of hosting the event, said it was the first Matsu pilgrimage to travel around the nation.
One hundred statues participated in the event to coincide with the celebration of the Republic of China’s (ROC) centennial this year, he said, adding that he hoped the event could promote the goodwill of Matsu in saving all living beings, good weather and a prosperous and peaceful future.
There was a gathering of 323 worshipers to represent Matsu’s birthday on the 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar that accompanied the statues on eight buses. The bus trip will head north from Chiayi and visit 46 temples along the way. It is scheduled to return in the afternoon on Saturday.
On the bus, every two seats carried three statues seated in specially made cloth-covered wooden boxes and fastened by seatbelts to prevent them from dropping to the floor when the buses turn. One driver and one tour guide are the only people to serve the statues on each bus.
Ethnologist Lin Mao-hsien (林茂賢) said most gods have regional borders. Traveling within the region is called a pilgrimage (遶境), while crossing borders is called a meeting (會香) or visiting (進香), he said.
Lin said that in the past, statues of gods were carried by men, but as times change, modes of -transportation have also improved. Now statues not only travel by car or bus, he said, but also by plane as religious culture flows between Taiwan and China.
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