In a roar of firecrackers, cymbals and horns, several devotees carried the shrouded wooden statue of a serene-faced woman, holding it aloft on a brightly decorated litter as they made their way through tens of thousands of spectators.
As the porters advanced, hundreds of people were in their path, kneeling on the road and waiting for the statue to pass over their heads.
Some cried when he did it; many smiled and took selfies. “I love Mazu and Mazu loves me,” the crowd shouted.
Mazu, sometimes known as the Sea Goddess, is the most revered of dozens of folk deities to whom many Taiwanese turn for comfort, guidance and good luck. The huge annual processions in her honor are loud and showy. And yet, For many, they are also deeply spiritual events, showing that Mazu and other spirits remain vibrant presences here, along with Buddhism and Christianity.
Taiwan’s two largest pilgrimages in honor of Mazu — called Baishatun and Dajia after the temples from which pilgrims depart — have attracted record numbers of participants. A surprising number of them are in their teens or early twenties and are drawn to experiencing Mazu traditions, such as throwing crescent-shaped pieces of wood in a ritual to divine his future.
“People used to think the Mazu faith was for rural elders,” said Chou Chia-liang, 28, a fashion designer who had traveled from Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, for the Dajia pilgrimage, which begins in Taichung. “Look around — it doesn’t seem like it.”
Many Taiwanese say they are proud of their right to choose among a host of religions, particularly in contrast to strict religious controls in neighboring China. About a fifth of Taiwan’s 23 million people are Buddhist, another 5 percent are Christians, and more than half practice Taoism and a variety of related folk religions, including the Mazu cult.
For decades, the Chinese government, which claims Taiwan as its lost territory, has invoked shared religious traditions, including Mazu, to try to appeal to the Taiwanese people. Mazu has followers on the eastern coast of China, where, the story goes, he was born around 960 AD in Fujian Province and used his special powers to save sailors from drowning.
But many pilgrims spoke of Mazu as a distinctly Taiwanese goddess. Some dismissed politics and said they worried that the pilgrimages were being sullied by too much ostentation, including groups of dancers and pop songs blasting from speakers.
“Many people like noise and light and sound effects,” said Lin Ting-yi, 20, a professional spiritual medium who participated in a Mazu pilgrimage in March. “Whenever I want to talk to the deities, I like to feel and pray in silence, alone.”
In 2010, the Baishatun pilgrimage attracted about 5,000 registered participants; This year, nearly 180,000 pilgrims signed up, which does not include the tens of thousands who joined informally along the way.
When the pilgrimage reached Beigang Chaotian Temple in southern Taiwan, its main destination before returning home, Mazu was greeted by fireworks, gongs and nearly 500,000 people — a record, organizers said. Despite the commotion, some pilgrims described falling into a meditative walking rhythm and sometimes striking up deep conversations and friendships with strangers walking alongside.
“As you walk, you can give yourself more time and space to think deeply about things you haven’t thought about before,” said Hung Yu-fang, a 40-year-old insurance company employee who was making the 9-day pilgrimage to Dajia for fourth year.
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