Incense-Offering and Obtaining the Magical Power of Qi: the Mazu (Heavenly Mother) Pilgrimage in Taiwan=Incense-Offering and Obtaining the Magical Power of Chi': The Matsu (Heavenly Mother) Pilgrimage in Taiwan
This study explores the Chinese concept of qi (life force) and how qi can be obtained by participating in a temple pilgrimage. It combines documentary and field studies to present a native's perception of qi and its manifestation in a present day Taiwanese pilgrimage.
To me, Chinese folk religion systems are a historical combination of shamanism and the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism). The folk concept of qi should be understood both from the view point of the Three Teachings and from the practices of the native people of Taiwan. The study of documents expressing the Three Teachings' ideas of qi provides a basic knowledge of qi. The folk people's ideas of qi and how they are related to religious factors, such as temples, incense, gods, ghosts, ancestors, and souls indicate how qi has been incorporated into their religious practices.
The field work that is the basis for this thesis was focused on the largest annual pilgrimage in Taiwan: the Dajia pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is held for the goddess, Dajia Mazu, so she can return to her mother temple and be empowered with the spiritual qi of the mother temple. Depending on the socioeconomic class of the pilgrims, they have varying roles in the pilgrimage and assimilate different degrees of spiritual qi. The different degrees of assimilated qi are then recursively used to explain the ranked social groups of the pilgrims. In other words, religion legitimatizes the differentiation of social groups.
The Goddess Mazu, compared to other Chinese goddesses, is more humane and this-worldly. Believers, therefore, ask the goddess for blessings for a better life and they base their local community identity on her reflected blessings and compassion. Under the embrace of the same goddess and the need to accomplish the same goal, to arrive at the destination temple, different social groups are reconciled and share a degree of felt "communitas" during the journey. These are social groups between which there is normally some degree of friction.
The obtaining of spiritual qi is not the final goal of folk beliefs, i.e., it is not an end in itself. The ultimate concern of folk people is to acquire qi to help them achieve a life of balance, health, wealth and prosperity. The purpose of ritual practices and observing precepts for folk people is to assure a successful life for them in this world. Even though rituals or even sacred sites can change, folk people, with their circular logic and "after the fact reasoning", can perpetuate their belief in the efficacy of qi and continue their lives.
