A statue of the sea goddess Matsu has completed a 13,000km journey from Cape Town, South Africa, to Yunlin County, returning home to Beigang Chaotian Temple for the first time in nine years.
The Cape Town Matsu came back to Taiwan to perform Yezu (謁祖), a type of pilgrimage where an enshrined icon revisits its original temple in a ceremony featuring lion dances and fireworks.
Wei Yu-hsun (韋佑勳), chairman of Mar Tzu Temple in Cape Town, said temple staff had asked the icon in mid-February if she wished to visit to perform Yezu, with the goddess expressing agreement.
Photo: CNA
While COVID-19 flight changes and cancelations created some uncertainty around the trip, the Cape Town Matsu eventually arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday last week, Wei said.
The Cape Town Matsu has not performed Yezu since 2002, one year after the South African temple was built, he said.
Taiwanese expatriates, fishers and religious acolytes in South Africa founded the Cape Town temple by asking the Beigang Matsu to share her spirit and power, he added.
The temple is active in the local community, working with charity groups to serve free meals and donating supplies to a nursing home, Wei said.
In addition to Cape Town, the Beigang Matsu has temples in more than 20 nations, including Japan, the US, Australia and Malaysia, Beigang Chaotian Temple said.
Matsu, also known as Tian Hou (天后, Queen of Heaven), is a deity who has been worshiped for protecting fishers and seafarers in Chinese communities since at least the 12th century.
Over the centuries, belief in Matsu spread throughout China’s coastal regions and overseas Chinese communities, eventually reaching Taiwan via Chinese settlers during the late Ming Dynasty.
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