The goddess Mazu is a guardian deity of seafarers originally worshipped on the coastal communities of mainland China. To this day, there are over 1,000 temples established in Mazu’s honor, particularly on the island of Taiwan. Her merciful image is a blessing for safe sea-travel— thus, pilgrimages in her honor are made yearly ,primarily by fishermen.
Mazu is a deified version of the purportedly historical figure, Lin Mo-niang. During her lifetime in the 10th-Century, Lin Mo was recognized for her abilities as a clairvoyant, healer, and profound religious scholar who comprehended an expansive grasp of Buddhist and Confucius texts at a young age. Her most famous achievement came at the age of 16 when her father and her brothers, far away at sea on a fishing voyage, were caught by a tremendous storm. It is said that she slipped into a trance just as the storm was at its fiercest. After she regained consciousness, her father and her brothers returned home safely, swearing that Lin Mo had projected herself out into the ocean to save them. An alternative legend says that she saved her brothers, but because she was disturbed during her trance she let go of her father, who then drowned. According to another version, she swam out to sea and searched for her father, but drowned and was washed ashore in the Matsu Islands—for whom Mazu the goddess is named.
In religious depictions, Mazu is represented with noble clothing—adorned with beads and jewels, she holds a ceremonial hu tablet and wears a mian guan headdress, which were traditional to Chinese rulers, nobles, ministers, and high officials. In her mythology, she is renown for defeating and hiring two demons, who often flank her altars: Qianliyan, “Eyes that See a Thousand Leagues,” and Shunfeng’er, “Ears that Hear the Wind.” In addition to her skills as a healer and shaman, Mazu possessed physical prowess in swimming and martial abilities. In some legends, she subdued these demons using a silk scarf with magical properties.
