“Cisha” Memorial Ceremony for Mazu

125. “Cisha” Memorial Ceremony for Mazu

Nominating Unit: City of Shenzhen

“Cisha” Memorial Ceremony for Mazu is a traditional folk custom in Tianhou Palace of Chiwan, Nanshan District in the City of Shenzhen. According to Huangjian’s Notes of the side of the Tianfei Temple in the Ming Dynasty, it was later developed into a tradition that the local fishermen or sailors offer sacrifices to Tianhou (the Queen of heaven) to pray for safety.

It takes three days to complete “Cisha” Memorial Ceremony for Mazu. On the night before the ceremony starts, shrine offerings must be well-prepared and paper King Oni and City God must be made. On the first day, the local people worship Mazu and put on all kinds of performances on the square of Tianhou Palace to entertain the God. Besides, people pray for safety for their family through such activities as buying mascots, worshipping Mazu with clothes, drinking holy water to pray for health, touching the bed of the state, touching the objects in the palace with both hands, and plucking leaves. On the second night, people carry the paper King Oni to the square of Tianhou palace, and everyone vies for the scrap of paper from the waistline of the King Oni and puts it on to eliminate evils and prevent disasters. Later on, they incinerate the paper King Oni. The third day comes the climax of this ceremony. In the morning, there is a grand worshipping rite. The red and white flowers, which stand for newly-born babies, are distributed to people. At last, the names of the people who take part in this ceremony are written on a piece of red paper, which is then put in the hand of the paper City God. Hosted by a local wizard, the paper City God is incinerated. With people’s wishes gone with the blue smoke to Tianhou Queen, “Cisha” Memorial Ceremony for Mazu finally comes to an end.(https://www.daowen.com)

This custom, with a history of more than 500 years, has survived intact through many vicissitudes and played an important role in Mazu beliefs and marine culture in the coastal areas of southeast China, which is rather valuable in the study of folklore, anthropology and history.

Due to some historical reasons, this custom was once stopped for many decades, which greatly minimized its influence. In addition, under the impact of the exotic culture, the youths take little interest in it. As a result, the authentic folk customs are gradually replaced by modern entertainment. “Cisha”Memorial Ceremony for Mazu is in imminent danger, for which measures should be taken.