How Hong Kong has made Tin Hau festival its own
Celebration of Queen of Heaven's 'birthday' began with boat dwellers and spread from Fujian, Jason Wordie writes
Tin Hau temples across Hong Kong this month put on a striking display for the Queen of Heaven’s “birthday”. And – as with popular festivities of any other religious or cultural orientation – community groups competed to have the most elaborate decorations and displays; colourful triangular pennants are always a notable feature, and indicate exactly who funded what.
While widely venerated in Hong Kong, the Tin Hau cult (alternative names are used, such as Leung Ma, Ah Ma and Ma Cho) originally centred on boat dwellers, of which there were once many.
Now considered completely “local”, the Tin Hau Festival is – like most aspects of contemporary Hong Kong culture and society – an import that, over time, became significantly modified from its origins, yet nevertheless remains recognisable.
Tin Hau worship spread extensively around the Pearl River estuary during the 14th century, with the large-scale migration of Fujianese boatbuilders to Guangdong’s coastal areas. Macau’s evolution from the 1550s, and the expansion of Guangzhou, greatly stimulated coastal and regional trade.
Macau’s Ah Ma Temple, on the Inner Harbour, was built by these migrants.
The most skilled Chinese boatbuilders at that time, many left Fujian in search of opportunity.
In consequence, Tin Hau temples can be found in Penang, Singapore, Manila and Taiwan – all major destinations for these migrants (naturally enough for the latter, in particular, given its proximity to Fujian).
Charming descriptions of longago Tin Hau festivals can be found in Colonel V.R. Burkhardt’s threevolume Chinese Creeds and Customs, first published (by the South China Morning Post) in 1953. A Chinese linguist and Sinologue, Burkhardt lived in China for decades before retiring to Hong Kong, where he lived in Stanley until his death.
He describes the brightly bedecked flotilla that proceeded from Hong Kong Island’s fishermen’s anchorages to converge on the Tin Hau temple in Joss House Bay, where the main festivities were once held.
“There is something extremely friendly about a Chinese religious festival,” Burkhardt writes. “All classes attend, but there is not the slightest distinction between them apart from dress. Ladies in silks sit next to boatpeople in their customary black, or amahs, hawkers and shop girls, conversing as if they had known them all their lives.”
Long out-of-print, Burkhardt’s works provide great period enjoyment – and instruction.
In older European writings, Chinese temples were typically referred to by the generic term joss house. “Joss” was pidgin English for luck or fortune; thus, “joss sticks” referred to incense burned to generate good fortune.
Joss was a mispronunciation of the Portuguese word deos – gods. Much of the earlier Chinese coast pidgin English lexicon – now mostly vanished – was of Portuguese origin.
Like the Tin Hau Festival itself, these linguistic and cultural introductions have all added to Hong Kong’s diversity.
For more on Hong Kong history and heritage, go to scmp.com/topics/old-hong-kong
