What festival is Mazu?
There is a proverb in Chaoshan: "The salt stove god owes delay." It is said that once upon a time there was a man who went out to do business in Yanzao Township, Chenghai County. Before he left, he took a sacrifice to the temple to test his future and got a lucky sign. So he left happily and came back at a loss. In a rage, the man pushed the idol to the ground, still not feeling wronged, dragging it around the ground with a rope.
After that, he went out to do business again, but he came back and made money. When people heard the news, they all followed suit and took pleasure in dragging their spirits. Over time, you will do as the Romans do.
Similar to this way, it is the trip of "Three Kings" in Woshi Township, Chaozhou. Every year, on the ninth day of the first month, the villagers will carry out six wooden statues such as the "Big Prince" in the temple. On the tenth day of the first month, every household in the township put up sacrifices, burned incense and burned gold ingots. On the eleventh day, the gods were sent back to the temple.
When returning the idol, some people put it under their arms, while others carried it on their shoulders, deliberately letting the idol collide. After the parade, gather the idols in an empty place and throw them with your arms. This is called "Master Ma".
Some places even put a straw rope around the idol's neck and "dismember the body" on the ground. This way, Chaozhou proverb is called: "The more you eat, the more surprised you are." It is said that the more broken and rotten idols are, the more lucky they will be in the coming year. All you have to do is repair the idol after wandering. In Chaoshan area, the most solemn worship activity is to visit "Anji Wang Sheng".
In the early Ming Dynasty, chaozhou people Xie Shaocang was appointed as the magistrate of Yongchang County. Once, when there was a drought in the local area, he opened a warehouse to help the people, only to offend the court and be tortured. When he was executed, he dreamed that a god was sheltered in the light and shade. Xie Shaocang thinks this god is exactly the same as the statue in Wang Kang Temple.
To be grateful, I took them back to Chaozhou. When the Han River was in an emergency, the statue was placed in the "Qinglong Ancient Temple", and the flood was indeed relieved. Later generations were grateful and called it "Anji Shengjun".
To visit the "King of Anji", you should first toss a cup to choose an auspicious day, usually 1 23rd or 24th of the month. The first one is "Xi 'an Road".
In front of the procession of "Xi 'an Road" is a horse-headed gong, followed by a ceremony of "silence" and "avoidance", marching on the future route, and knocking the gong to announce the date of marching.
The purpose of Xi 'an Road is to clear roadblocks and drive away evil spirits, and at the same time, to inform all households in advance. After hearing this, all families packed up and prepared five kinds of sacrifices, including steamed sweet candied fruit, hearts, hair candied fruit, gold ingots and firecrackers.
After intense preparation, on the day of wandering, I fired a salute in front of Seiryuji.
After the salute sounded, Prince Anji and the gods of the "First Lady" and "Second Lady" were invited to the sedan chair, and then a "horse worship" ceremony was held. After the ceremony, several big men marched with sedan chairs.
At the front of the procession is a horse's head gong, with six colorful flags of gold and silver painted on silks and satins, the "no" and "no" signs of Anlu and eight treasures. Then an old man in a gown held a small incense table in his hand, followed by twenty-four pairs of tin incense burners; Behind it is the first sedan chair of "King Anji", the second and third sedan chairs of "First Lady" and "Second Lady".
Then there is 13 Chaozhou gongs and drums. There are three or six colorful labels in each class, one drum, eight gongs, two pairs of cymbals, sonorous gongs, moon gongs, cymbals, Qin Zi, deep waves, Su gongs, suona, 28 flutes, dulcimer, guzheng, xylophone, cloud gongs, big bowls, big kettles and so on.
The sacred sedan chair passed by the roadside, and every household arranged sacrifices at the door. Visiting Mazu is also grand. Rich people often give Mazu gold rings and necklaces. When Mazu wandered in the street, it was a great honor to wear Yu Pei and gold ornaments.
There are many legends circulating among the people that Mazu appeared to punish evil and promote good.
Once, a thief saw Mazu wearing Jin Shanshan's ring and took it off. Unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped out of the temple gate, I was dizzy and didn't know how to get there. I walked in the temple all night. The spring cold in March didn't go, and it was dawn. The temple wished to go out and saw the thief huddled in the cold and curled up at the door of the temple.
There is also a kind old woman who burns incense and prays in front of the statue of Tian Fei every day. Tian Fei felt sincere and gave the old woman a ring. On this day, when the old woman finished burning incense and just walked out of the temple gate, she saw a ring on the ground. The old woman turned and walked into the temple, threw a cup in front of Tian Fei and asked her if she could take the ring to get the Holy Grail. So the old woman happily took the ring.
Whenever you visit Mazu, people on the sidelines scramble to touch the idol or sedan chair for good luck in the coming year.