Chua Ba Thien Hau Pagoda
The Chua Ba Thiên Hậu Pagoda (The Pagoda of the Lady Thiên Hậu) is a Chinese-style temple in the Cho Lon district of Ho Chi Minh City. It is dedicated to Thien Hau, the Lady of the Sea, also known as Mazu. Thiên Hậu is a deity of traditional Chinese religion who is revered in the southern maritime provinces of China and overseas Chinese communities. She is not specifically a deity of Taoism or Buddhism, though she has been brought into connection with figures and themes from Taoism and Buddhism.
Seafaring cultures revere Thiên Hậu as she can travel over seas, by mat or cloud, to protect or rescue stranded seafarers and fishermen. The pagoda, one of the oldest in the Chinese communities in Ho Chi Minh City, was built around 1760 and restored continuously in 1800, 1842, 1882, 1890, and 1916. Many of the materials used for constructing the pagoda were brought from China.
The temple's interior is a partially covered courtyard, at the end of which is the altar to Thiên Hậu, where three statues of the goddess stand. The faces of the statues are bronze in color, and the clothes and crowns are multi-colored. The exposed portions of the courtyard contain incense burners and give a view of the remarkable porcelain dioramas that decorate the roof. The dioramas show scenes from a 19th-century Chinese city and include such colorful figures as actors, demons, animals, and Persian and European sailors and traders. One scene depicts three Taoist sages representing longevity, fecundity, and prosperity.
Suspended over the main worship area, in front of the altar of Thiên Hậu, are dozens of incense coils. Visitors to the temple frequently purchase these, attach their names to the coils, and then have them hung from the temple ceiling. As the incense smoke curls upwards, the pilgrims believe their prayers are transmitted to the deity. Many incense coils are large, with a diameter of more than a meter, and can burn for several weeks.
The festival of worshipping Thiên Hậu on the 23rd day of the 3rd month of the Lunar Year is one of the most popular annual festivities of Chinese people in Vietnam.
Martin Gray is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study of pilgrimage traditions and sacred sites around the world. During a 40 year period he has visited more than 2000 pilgrimage places in 165 countries. The World Pilgrimage Guide at sacredsites.com is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject.