The Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage is set to kick off June 11, Jenn Lann Temple Vice Chairman Cheng Ming-kun announced during a news conference June 8 in central Taiwan’s Taichung City.
Taking place over nine days and covering 340 kilometers, the round-trip pilgrimage will stop at seven temples located in Taichung, Changhua County in central Taiwan, Yunlin County in western Taiwan and Chiayi County in southern Taiwan. The procession, which attracts around 1 million devotees from home and abroad each year, was postponed in February to prevent the local spread of COVID-19.
The number of official procession members will be capped at 800, in line with Central Epidemic Command Center’s guidelines limiting large-scale events to 1,000 participants, Cheng said. He urged members of the public to worship the deity from afar by watching the event’s livestream.
All worshipers’ names will be registered and those with cold symptoms are advised not to attend, Cheng said. Pilgrims are additionally required to wear surgical masks at all times and undergo daily temperature screenings.
Attendees are expected to maintain distance from the Mazu statue’s palanquin. Crawling under it, an act believed to bring blessings, is discouraged during this year’s procession, Cheng said.
The Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage is a widely anticipated event of local culture and religious tradition dating back 200 years. It is held annually to celebrate the goddess’s birthday, which falls on April 15 this year.
Mazu is the most revered deity in Taiwan, with an estimated 2,300 temples dedicated to the goddess countrywide. (TYT-E)
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