A Matsu (媽祖) temple in Tainan is threatening legal action against a shrine in the city that produced a poster proclaiming the marriage of the sea goddess to Guan Gong (關公), the deity of war and martial arts, and conducted a pilgrimage to unite two idols.
Luermen Tianho Temple (鹿耳門天后宮) in a statement on Tuesday said that it was not informed beforehand of the so-called marriage and pilgrimage carried out by the Wuxuan Shrine (武玄壇), a privately owned site in the city.
On June 9, the Wuxuan Shrine conducted the pilgrimage to Luermen Tianho Temple, transporting its own idols, which wore marriage paraphernalia.
The shrine’s actions had tarnished Luermen Tianho Temple’s reputation, the temple said, adding that it would demand a formal apology and reserved the right to pursue legal action.
In the pilgrimage, Guan Gong was said to have married a Matsu subordinate to the main one enshrined in Luermen Tianho Temple.
The shrine gave its Matsu the married name “Guan” in its promotional materials and placed red pom-poms on the chests of the deities inside the palanquin that carried them.
Luerhmen Tienho Temple staff initially blocked the pilgrimage, only acquiescing once decorations in the form of the Chinese character for marriage, 囍, were removed from the idols on the palaquin.
In an interview with TVBS, temple chair Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) asked whether the party from the shrine was trying to leverage the prestige of the Matsu temple, which was built in 1946.
While the marriage was considered a private matter within the shrine, it should not have been conducted without notice, Lin said, adding that “even Matsu would be shocked.”
There was also outrage online, with some comments expressing support for legal action, fearing that without it, “acts of vandalism or worse might be justified as the will of heaven.”
The Wuxuan Shrine initially insisted that the betrothal was blessed.
“Instructions from the deities are not subject to the opinions of critics online or the consent of the public,” it said on Sunday last week, urging the public to “maintain their own spiritual cultivation and avoid creating negative karma.”
However, the shrine closed its Facebook page and on Wednesday apologized for “bringing unnecessary trouble to Luermen Tianho Temple and causing a social disturbance.”
There was no “marriage” planned and the wording of the “internal campaign” was leaked due to inadequate control, leading to misunderstandings, it said in a statement.
“If there are further malicious attacks or verbal abuse against our legitimate religious beliefs, we will gather evidence and take appropriate legal action to uphold our freedom of religious belief,” it said.
Originating in China’s Fujian Province, Matsu was a shamaness believed to have special powers to protect fishers and seafarers.
Over the centuries, worship of Matsu spread. Belief in Matsu was brought to Taiwan by early Chinese settlers and is still widely held.
She came to be regarded as a benevolent protector of all, not just fishers and seafarers.
Guan Gong was a deified general from the Three Kingdoms period in China, and is remembered as one of the greatest military figures of Classical China, revered for his loyalty, righteousness and integrity.
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