Red-painted, barrel-shaped traditional tanggu temple drum, its upper surface sprinkled with ash from incense coils burning in the A-Ma Temple in Macau, China. Tanggu drums, covered in buffalo hide and beaten with sticks, were first used in the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 535 AD. The temple dates from 1488 AD and is dedicated to Taoist mother-goddess A-Ma or Tin Hau, protector of seafarers.
Macau, China: a red-painted traditional tanggu temple drum, resting on a wooden stand, its upper surface covered with a thick layer of ash from the incense coils that burn at all times inside the A-Ma Temple, founded in 1488 during the Ming Dynasty. Barrel-shaped temple drums such as this first appeared during the Northern Wei Dynasty, which lasted (in terms of the western Julian and Gregorian calendars) from 386 to 535 AD. During the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912 AD), they were known as zhanggu drums. They are covered at both end with buffalo hide or other animal skins and are played with sticks as part of temple rituals. Macau’s A-Ma Temple was built in the place where A-Ma or Tin Hau, the Taoist mother-goddess and protector of seafarers, is said to have landed after surviving a shipwreck. She is believed to have later ascended to heaven from the peak of nearby Barra Hill. Like other traditional Chinese temples, most flat surfaces within the A-Ma Temple are covered in layers of ash from the slow-burning incense coils suspended above worshippers’ heads.
Size: 2586px × 2585px
Location: A-Ma Temple, Macau, China.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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