PHOTOS BY Sarin Ale & courtesy of Wikipedia
Tin Hau, the Empress of Heaven is first and foremost a sea deity and protector of sailors and, no surprise, her temples crop up all over the island from Tai O to Chek Lap Kok. While some, like the temple on Chi Ma Wan Road (Lantau Trail Stage 12), were built in the Ming dynasty, most are Qing-built; all have been regularly restored and refurbished over the years, and many are listed, including the impressive, Grade 111, cliff-side temple at Fan Lau Miu Wan.
Tin Hau’s birthday falls on the 23rd day of the third lunar month (April 27 in 2022), so that’s the perfect day to pay her a visit. The temples in Lantau come in all shapes and sizes though they are typically small and low-key like the goddess herself. Statues of two Guardian Gods – Thousand Li Eyes and Favourable Wind Ears – stand on either side of the main altar. The Tin Hau statue is usually draped in red clothing.
Fisherfolk worship Tin Hau as a bringer of calm seas and a plentiful catch, the rest of us simply look to her to protect our families. So, what’s the story there?
Well, according to folklore, Tin Hau started out as a mortal named Mòniáng, born around 960 CE on the island of Meizhou in Fujian Province. One morning, her father and brothers went out to fish with the local fleet and a typhoon struck. Fortunately for them, Mòniáng immediately fell into a trance and astral-projected out to sea to rescue them. As she was bringing them back, her mother woke her, causing her to drop one of her brothers. The next day, only her father and all but one of her brothers returned, all of the other fishermen were lost at sea.
Mòniáng was so revered in life for her shamanism, that after her death at age 27, the islanders continued to ask her for help, believing that she had ascended to heaven to take her place among the immortals. Over time, more and more reports of the goddess intervening during crises at sea began to circulate among the sea-faring communities of Fujian and Guangdong. As her fame increased, her temples began to spring up all over Southern China and beyond.