Legend of the goddess with many names

Chapter Fourteen

Chinese mythological Goddess- mazu

Mazu, also known by several other names and titles, is a Chinese sea goddess, the deified form of the historical Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness traditionally dated to c. 960 – c. 987. Revered after her death as a patron of seafarers, including fishermen and sailors, her worship spread throughout China's coastal regions and expatriate communities throughout Southeast Asia. She was thought to roam the seas, protecting her believers through miraculous interventions. She is now generally regarded by her believers as a powerful and benevolent Queen of Heaven, a role in which she is sometimes syncretized with similar figures, such as Guanyin and the Virgin Mary. Mazuism is most popular on Taiwan; her temple festival is a major event throughout the country, with the largest celebrations around her temples at Dajia and Beigang. It is a notionally illegal cult in the People's Republic of China but is broadly tolerated and sometimes conflated with approved Taoist beliefs.

Although many of Mazu's temples honor her titles Tianhou and Tianfei, it became customary to never pray to her under those names during an emergency since it was believed that, hearing one of her formal titles, Mazu might feel obligated to groom and dress herself as properly befitting her station before receiving the petition. Prayers invoking her as Mazu were thought to be answered more quickly.

The legends around Lin Moniang's life were broadly established by the 13th century.She was said to have been born under the reign of the Quanzhounese warlord Liu Congxiao (d. 962), which eventually developed into the specific date of the 23rd day of the third month of the Chinese lunar calendar in ad 960, the first year of the Song.
The late Ming Great Collection of the Three Teachings' Origin and Development and Research into the Divine ,however, placed her birth much earlier, in 742.

The early sources speak of her as "Miss Lin"; her given name Mo ("Silent One")or Moniang ("the Silent Girl") appeared later. It was said to have been chosen when she did not cry during birth  or during the first month afterwards; she remained a quiet and pensive child as late as four.
She was said to have been the sixth
or seventh daughter of Lin Yuan.

Late legends intended to justify Mazu's presence in Buddhist temples held that her parents had prayed to Guanyin for a son but received yet another daughter. In one version, her mother dreamt of Guanyin giving her a magical pill to induce pregnancy and woke to find the pill still in her hand; rather than being born in the conventional way, Mazu shot from her mother at birth in the form of a fragrant flash of red light.

By 13, she had mastered the book of lore and gained the abilities to see the future and visit places in spirit without travel. She was able to manifest herself at a distance as well and used this power to visit gardens in the surrounding countryside, although she asked owners' permission before gathering any flowers to take home. Although she only started swimming at the relatively late age of 15, she soon excelled at it. She was said to have stood on the shore in red garments to guide fishing boats home, regardless of harsh or dangerous weather.

She was said to have died in meditation, though in some accounts she did not die but climbed a mountain alone and ascended into Heaven as a goddess.

Marine folklore is filled with tales of catastrophes averted when the goddess Mazu, dressed in red, appeared to sailors as a warning that unseen storms were rising and that their voyages should be postponed.

Many a seafarer has recounted times when the goddess Mazu appeared as a bright light on their troubled ships, arriving just in time to calm a storm and save their lives. Some said that Lin Mo could actually ride clouds across the ocean, and appear in the flesh to rescue them.