Folk Beliefs and Customs

Ⅹ-85Folk CustomsMacao, ChinaBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

After the mid-Ming dynasty, as commerce between China and foreign countries expanded, many people gradually settled in Macau, most of them coming from the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong and Fujian, among other places. Owing to homesickness, the need to make a living, and other factors, the image of the Earth God, who guards the land and keeps the people at peace and which lay hidden in their hearts, came to Macau along with them, taking root and continuing to be passed down. The Macau Earth God beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation to the present day and have evolved into customs and habits indispensable to people's daily life; ordinary families, fishermen, martial arts practitioners, and merchants all worship the Earth God in normal times, with still grander ceremonies on the birthday of the Earth God.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Chinese nation's worship of the land is of long standing; land worship in primitive society was an important component of the nature worship of primitive religion. To give thanks for the land's merit in giving birth to and nurturing all things, people piled up earth to form a she altar and worshiped it; this is the she deity, a term already seen as early as the Zhou dynasty. As the times changed, the she deity gradually became a minor local deity worshiped by resident communities, called the shegong (Lord of the Community), gradually acquiring the function of a guardian of the local area, serving to gather the lineages of villages and neighborhoods, guard the land and keep the people at peace, and protect the safety of the land and waters. The Earth God is also known as the God of Merit and Virtue or the Righteous God of Merit and Virtue; one account holds that in the Zhou dynasty there was a tax official named Zhang Fude, who was honest and upright in office and diligent in governing and caring for the people; after his death the people missed him and built a temple to worship him, taking his name as his title - hence the 'God of Merit and Virtue.' The Macau Earth God beliefs are practiced mainly through the people's daily sacrifices and the celebration of the birthday of the Earth God; the specific sites of worship are Earth God altars scattered through streets and lanes and inside and outside homes, as well as larger Earth God temples (Fude shrines). In daily life, adding incense and worshiping the Earth God is the main form of sacrifice; the altars and temples scattered across the land can be said to have thriving incense offerings. The birthday of the Earth God on the second day of the second lunar month is the key expression of the Earth God beliefs, including offering incense and worship and holding birthday celebration ceremonies; martial arts halls taking turns to perform the lion dance and presenting red envelopes for the birthday; arranging shengong opera to be performed during the birthday; distributing gifts to the elderly and neighborhood members; and holding banquets honoring the elderly. For hundreds of years, whether Earth God temples or Fude shrines, the incense has burned unceasingly in the streets and lanes of Macau, and the birthday celebration activities have continued year after year - this is precisely the important characteristic of the Macau Earth God beliefs. The people living in Macau express their gratitude to the land and their wish for harmony between humanity and nature by worshiping the Earth God.

Daily incense offerings at home and in the lanes

Earth shrines in the lanes and in courtyards are where the daily offering of incense takes place, with burning joss all year round.

Celebrating the earth god's birthday

The earth god's birthday combines incense rites, lion dances with red packets, opera offerings, gift distributions and a feast for the elderly.

The management board of the Zulim Garden shrine

A management board runs the Zulim Garden earth shrine and organises the birthday rites, a typical form of organisation in Macau.

From earth shrine to福德正神

The earth god developed from the Zhou-era soil shrine into the village guardian known as Dukgong or Fude Zhengshen, charged with gathering the community and keeping the land safe.

The two ancient Nezha temples

Alongside the earth god rites, the Shishan and Taipa Nezha temples each run their own boards and processions, giving the city's devotional life two focal points.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Earth God beliefs are widely practiced in Macau.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Macau Earth God beliefs are of long standing, passed down over many years, and are a folk belief deeply rooted in society. The Earth God beliefs have become an important medium through which residents cultivate a sense of community identity and belonging, serving to coordinate relations among the people, ease conflicts, rally strength, and give expression to their ideals. Zheng Quanguang (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1950, a native of the Macau Special Administrative Region. He has lived in Shishan since childhood, participated in birthday celebration activities, and holds deep reverence for Prince Nezha. In 1996 he reorganized the Board of the Nezha Ancient Temple in Shishan, Macau, and served as its executive chairman. He is responsible for planning and coordinating the processions of Prince Nezha of the Nezha Ancient Temple in Shishan, and has worked to promote the application of Macau Nezha beliefs for listing as a national-level intangible cultural heritage representative project. In terms of transmission and dissemination, he has frequently engaged in exchanges and communication with Nezha prince temples in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and various places abroad, in order to jointly promote Nezha belief culture. Representative inheritor of Folk Beliefs (Macau Nezha Beliefs), an item of the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. He has actively cultivated successors, making the birthday celebration activities of the Nezha Ancient Temple in Shishan, Macau increasingly prosperous, and has had considerable influence on the transmission of Nezha beliefs in Macau. Ye Da (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1948, a native of the Macau Special Administrative Region. He grew up in Cilin Lane, where the St. Paul's Nezha Temple is located, and began participating in the birthday celebration activities held at the temple at the age of seven. Since 1989 he has been responsible for the affairs of the St. Paul's Nezha Temple, including its revival and restoration and the resumption of its birthday celebration activities. In 1992 he became president of the Board of the St. Paul's Nezha Temple, reformulating strategies for the cultural transmission and exchange visits of the St. Paul's Nezha belief, encouraging neighborhood believers to participate together, and strengthening ties with other community organizations. He has promoted Nezha beliefs through attending events, giving lectures, and television publicity. Representative inheritor of Folk Beliefs (Macau Nezha Beliefs), an item of the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. He has led several dozen children and grandchildren to participate in Nezha belief activities, and through running Nezha belief transmission training classes has cultivated more inheritors for these activities.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

Wu Jishan 05-3019
Xu Shunwei 05-3020
Huang Guanghui 05-3021
Chen Jikun 05-3022
Sinapinchu 05-3023
Liu Shimei 05-3024
Zhang Qingming 05-3025
Zheng Quanguang 05-3026
Ye Da 05-3027
Li Yaohui
Luo Shengzong

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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