Matsu Pilgrimage

Matsu, the goddess of the sea, is a very popular spiritual diety who has a very cool festival/pilgrimage in her honor. I read that there is over 500 temples in her honor on Taiwan. On the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month a week long pilgrimage starts in her honor. It travels through three counties, and is walked around 280-300km across the island, round trip. THe story, as we know it, of Matsu is that she was an intelligent and gifted girl who loved the sea. She would dress in red and help direct sailors safely into the harbor during storms. After she ascended to heaven, she often appeared to distressed sailors. She was brought over from mainland China, as Taiwan was settled primarily by fishermen.

Luckily for us, the pilgrimage happens to go through Changhua, so we didnt even need to get lost trying to find out where it goes through in other towns. We talked to some co-workers, and they told us where some popular spots are to see it. Matsu is followed by many devoted, some bicycling, others walking, and some riding in trailers or vans. It is sort of a "parade" as the devoted pass through the town before the big spectacle. You are never quite sure when Matsu will arrive, so many people arrive many hours early to guarantee they have a good view and to show their devotion. In Changhua alone, they visited many temples, and fireworks and firecrackers were being shot off all over for many hours. It is dependent on many variables when Matsu will go through the towns, so its not possible to plan far ahead. A coworkers tells us of the time when Matsu came through a downtown area in Changhua at three am, and its not like they kept it quiet because people were sleeping.

This is an extremely noisy affair, which I loved. Matt and I got out pretty early, because I really did not want to miss anything. We found a seat on the bridge, and sat there for about 1.5 hours before the parade started. It wasnt too bad, there was a beautiful Porsche we had driven by earlier in the day that pulled up, plus there was some Matsu devotees catching some sleep on the sidewalk, and other things to keep us entertained. Being foreigners in Taiwan, we also had several people take our picture (that we noticed!). Some tried to be sneaky, but others were up front and said "Thank You" afterwards. We witnessed some of the parade, which was decent. It was very different because normal cars and scooters were pulling in and out. It wasnt in parade formation, it was basically that you went through when you got there. If you are driving, you just find a space and squeeze in. The parade had vehicles with statues and shrines, and also people dressed in costumes designed to look like various dieties. Mostly though, it was devotees either walking, cycling, or in vehicles. Vendors came out with grilled squid, sausage, etc. We were supposed to be meeting friends for dinner, so we were very happy when a nice lady from Taipei chatted us up, and told us that the big show would be around eleven. We left for two hours, then came back. It was crazy. This is one of the biggest intersections in Changhua that we were hanging out at, at least 2 lanes each way, and in some places very wide. They ended up shutting it down around eleven thirty. People just slowly crushed in until it was one lane each way, then only a one way, and then they shut it down. I cant even guess how many people were there.

Well, Matt and I knew basically nothing about the Matsu pilgrimage. We just knew there were a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, but the actual events we didnt know. We just kind of imitated what everyone else around us was doing. We ended up all scrunched together when the Matsu statue came into view. People were going crazy all around us. Then somebody laid down like a brick of firecrackers, and stuff was raining down everywhere. The heat wave was pretty intense as well, but Matt didnt really feel it. He was too busy trying to stay on his feet. I felt like I was back in a mosh-pit at a heavy metal concert, because people were trying to get out of the way, and I almost lost my shoes like I did at the Panic at the Disco (an old band from my high school years) concert. The fireworks show was absolutely, ridiculously amazing thing I have ever seen. They were going down a 4 lane road, shooting off the types of fireworks that you see at your towns annual firework show, with spectators only 10, 20, 30, 40 feet away. The fireworks only go maybe 10 stories high, and the ash is falling all around you. The smell of sulfur is all around. You have to crane your neck really far back to see them shooting right above your head. The show is nonstop fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes. You can feel it all around you, the noise is insane, and it's absolutely beautiful. What is also worth mentioning that as we were walking behind Matsu, there was several Moms there with infants, who were fast asleep! How could you sleep during that?!? Even though it was midnight by the time the show started, there was no age that would be inappropriate to be there. There were two year olds, and 80 year olds. Anybody is welcome. And what is even better, Matsu will be coming back through this weekend. Lucky us! There will be a video coming soon, but me being me can't figure out how to load it. We were hoping youtube but I dont know why thats not working...