Graceful flying eves decorated in black and white curve upward over ridges of green semicircular ceramic tiles on a typical traditional roof over a pavilion of the A-Ma Temple in Macau, China. The temple, dating from 1488 AD, stands where A-Ma or Tin Hau, Taoist mother-goddess and protector of seafarers, landed safely in a fishing boat after a storm before she ascended to heaven.
Macau, China: graceful decorative flying eaves curving upward above ridges of green semicircular ceramic tiles are typical features of the traditional Chinese roofs covering the complex of pavilions and prayer halls of the ancient A-Ma Temple, built on the spot where the Taoist mother-goddess and protector of seafarers, A-Ma or Tin Hau, is said to have landed safely in a poor man’s fishing boat after grander vessels were wrecked in a storm. According to legend, A-Ma was a poor girl looking for a passage to Guangzhou, who was turned away by wealthy junk owners but found a poor fisherman who agreed to take her on his boat. During the voyage, a sudden storm wrecked all the junks at sea, but left his boat unscathed. The fisherman returned to land and witnessed A-Ma walking to the peak of nearby Barra Hill before ascending to heaven in a glowing aura or bright beam of light. The fisherman is said to have built a temple on the spot where they landed on the south-western tip of what is now known as the Macau Peninsula - a name derived from A-Ma. The site was originally at the water’s edge but now, due to land reclamation, it lies at the entrance to Macau’s Inner Harbour. The present temple, founded in 1488 AD during the Ming Dynasty, attracts pilgrims to Macau every Spring for the A-Ma Festival. Elsewhere, A-Ma is worshipped in Hong Kong as Tianhou or Tin Hau, and in mainland China and other East and South East Asian centres of Chinese culture either by the title Mazu (Maternal Ancestor) or by various other names. Her cult is observed in around 1,500 temples across the Sinosphere.
Size: 2601px × 2601px
Location: A-Ma Temple, Macau, China.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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