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KEITH G. STEVENS
or halls.32 Nearly 70% of all nunneries are on Lantau island, whereas only 10% of the monasteries are; and three hundred and fifty-three temples and monasteries have resident staff.
There are thirty-two temples in Macau, of which two are well-nigh derelict. Of the thirty-two temples, six are coastal, twenty-four are urban, and two rural. The majority of temples contain a mixture of Buddhist and folk religion images (no temples contain only Buddhist images), and the remainder contain only folk religion deities.
Degrees of popularity of the major deities in temples and shrines
The total number of temples dedicated to a specific deity throughout the two areas reflects the importance of that deity to devotees. In Hong Kong and Macau, forty-four different gods each have at least one temple dedicated to him (or her), whilst only seven gods have more than five temples to him (or her). The seven, in order of precedence (based simply on them being the main deity of a temple or monastery), are Tian Hou (seventy-eight) (*), Sakyamuni Buddha (thirty-nine), Guan Yin (thirty-eight), Guan Di (twenty-one), Hong Sheng (twenty), Bei Di, who is better known as the Northern Emperor, (ten), and Lu Zu or Lu Dongbin (seven). Although this gives only a very rough guide, the number of images of Guan Yin throughout Hong Kong and Macau vastly outnumbers those of Tian Hou. However, when the criterion is the number of temples in Hong Kong and Macau in which a particular deity is to be found (on any altar and not necessarily as the main deity), then the first five are Guan Yin, whose image appears in at least seventy-five temples, Tian Hou (114), Guan Di (88), Qi Tian Da Sheng (Monkey) (61), and Di Zang Wang (59).
The Kitchen God, most frequently depicted by a reddish-orange paper pasted on the chimney above the stove, is the most common deity to be seen on the household altar, followed closely by Guan Yin, whose image, as we have noted, is also to be seen in 70% of all temples. The most common deities outside the home are Tu Di Gong, the Earth God (the local tutelary deity), in both urban and
* The totals are not the number of images seen but the number of temples in which the deity is the main image in both Hong Kong and Macau.
30
KEITH G, STEVENS
or halls.32 Nearly 70% of all nunneries are on Lantau island where- as only 10% of the monasteries are; and three hundred and fifty three temples and monasteries have resident staff.
There are thirty-two temples in Macau, of which two are well- nigh derelict. Of the thirty-two temples, six are coastal, twenty-four are urban and two rural. The majority of temples contain a mixture of Buddhist and folk religion images (no temples contain only Buddhist images) and the remainder contain only folk religion deities.
Degrees of popularity of the major deities in temples and shrines
The total number of temples dedicated to a specific deity throughout the two areas reflect the importance of that deity to devotees. In Hong Kong and Macau forty-four different gods each have at least one temple dedicated to him (or her), whilst only seven gods have more than five temples to him (or her). The seven in order of precedence (based simply on them being the main deity, of a temple or monastery) are Tian Hou (seventy-eight) (*), Sakya- muni Buddha (thirty-nine), Guan Yin (thirty-eight), Guan Di (twenty-one), Hong Sheng (twenty), Bei Di, who is better known as the Northern Emperor, (ten), and Lu Zu or Lu Dongbin (seven). Although this gives only a very rough guide, the number of images of Guan Yin throughout Hong Kong and Macau vastly outnumbers those of Tian Hou. However, when the criterion is the number of temples in Hong Kong and Macau in which a particular deity is to be found (on any altar and not necessarily as the main deity), then the first five are Guan Yin whose image appears in at least seventy- five temples, Tian Hou (114), Guan Di (88), Qi Tian Da Sheng (Monkey) (61), and Di Zang Wang (59).
The Kitchen God, most frequently depicted by a reddish orange paper pasted on the chimney above the stove, is the most common deity to be seen on the household altar, followed closely by Guan Yin whose image as we have noted is also to be seen in 70% of all temples. The most common deities out of the home are Tu Di Gong, the Earth God (the local tutelary deity) in both urban and
* The totals are not the number of images seen but the number of temples in which the deity is the main image in both Hong Kong and Macau.
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