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most places she holds a sceptre in the palm of her right hand resting against her shoulder.
She is said in some places to be particularly efficacious in helping children do well at school, and also for adults to pass tests, examinations and interviews. She is also prayed to separately by ladies, young and old, with the request that they may never lose their good looks and is offered perfume, talcum powder and handkerchiefs on her birthday, all taken home again by the devotees once the Holy Mother has blessed them. Her festival is celebrated on her birthday though this date varies from area to area, the most popular dates being the 4th or 25th of the second lunar month, the 4th of the fifth lunar month and any two days between the 10th and 16th of the tenth lunar month.
Her full title is Nantian Shuiwei Shengmu ****, The Holy Mother of Shuiwei of the Southern Heaven. She has also been referred to as Nantian Shantian Shuiwei Shengniang 水尾聖娘, Shuiwei Niangniang 水尾娘娘 and Shuiwei Shengniang 水尾聖娘. Colloquially however, she is simply known as Shengmu, the Holy Mother.
The legend describing the Holy Mother's origins has been related with little variation in all the areas where her shrines have been noted. A fisherman named Pan who lived many, many years ago in Wenchang county in eastern Hainan island kept hauling in a piece of wood whilst fishing and no matter how many times he cast the net he pulled in the same piece of wood. It finally dawned on him that there was more to it than caught the eye and he called out in a loud voice that he would take the wood home with him and have it carved into a holy statue if the next two casts of his net brought him large hauls of fish. Despite landing exceptionally large hauls he forgot his promise and even used the wood to make a door for his pigsty. His son remarked that every time he passed the pigsty he thought he saw a remarkably beautiful woman combing her hair sitting on the bough of a tree. This reminded the fisherman of his promise but being poor he was unable to build a shrine for the deity and, wondering what to do he consulted a spirit medium who revealed where the shrine should be built. The goddess, in the guise of a village woman, appeared before a local builder and ordered bricks and timber to be delivered to the site but after delivery he was unable to find anyone to whom he could present
55
most places she holds a sceptre in the palm of her right hand resting against her shoulder.
She is said in some places to be particularly efficacious in helping children do well at school, and also for adults to pass tests, examinations and interviews. She is also prayed to separately by ladies, young and old, with the request that they may never lose their good looks and is offered perfume, talcum powder and handkerchiefs on her birthday, all taken home again by the devotees once the Holy Mother has blessed them. Her festival is celebrated on her birthday though this date varies from area to area, the most popular dates being the 4th or 25th of the second lunar month, the 4th of the fifth lunar month and any two days between the 10th and 16th of the tenth lunar month.
Her full title is Nantian Shuiwei Shengmu
****, The
Holy Mother of Shuiwel of the Southern Heaven. She has also been referred to as Nantian Shantian Shuiwei Shengniang ANTLE 娘, Shuiwei Niangniang 水尾娘娘 and Shuiwei Shengniang 水尾聖 . Colloquially however, she is simply known as Shengmu, the Holy Mother.
The legend describing the Holy Mother's origins has been related with little variation in all the areas where her shrines have been noted. A fisherman named Pan who lived many, many years ago in Wenchang county in eastern Hainan island kept hauling in a piece of wood whilst fishing and never mind how many times he cast the net he pulled in the same piece of wood. It finally dawned on him that there was more to it than caught the eye and he called out in a loud voice that he would take the wood home with him and have it carved into a holy statue if the next two casts of his net brought him large hauls of fish. Despite landing exceptionally large hauls he forgot his promise and even used the wood to make a door for his pigsty. His son remarked that every time he passed the pigsty he thought he saw a remarkably beautiful woman combing her hair sitting on the boungh of a tree. This reminded the fisherman of his promise but being poor he was unable to build a shrine for the deity and, wondering what to do he consulted a spirit medium who revealed where the shrine should be built. The goddess, in the guise of a village woman, appeared before a local builder and ordered bricks and timber to be delivered to the site but after delivery he was unable to find anyone to whom he could present
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