Dajia Mazu returns to Taichung temple as procession concludes

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) The annual Dajia Mazu pilgrimage procession, one of the most-watched religious events in Taiwan, concluded Sunday with the sea goddess Mazu returning to Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia District.

Due to a spike in domestic COVID-19 infections, the number of followers who took part in the nine-day, eight-night procession of the Mazu diet enshrined in Jenn Lann Temple this year dropped sharply compared with the past few years, according to the event organizers.

Only those who provided evidence of having received three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine were officially allowed to participate.

The procession, which took the sea goddess on a 340-kilometer journey through Taichung, Changhua County, Yunlin County, and Chiayi County and back, began on the night of April 8 and concluded back at the temple Sunday night.

A large number of worshipers followed the palanquin carrying Mazu when the procession returned to Taichung on the last leg of its journey Sunday.

On its last leg, the procession passed through Dadu, Shalu, Longjing, Qingshui and Waipu districts in Taichung before returning to Dajia, with local residents along the route offering free food to worshipers.

Locally transmitted COVID-19 infections in Taiwan increased sharply during the nine-day period, with the daily number of confirmed domestic cases jumping from 384 on April 8 when the procession started to 1,210 on Sunday.

As a result, the number of followers who participated in the event tumbled this year and the traffic and throngs of people in past years were not seen this year, the event organizers said.

The palanquin carrying Mazu returned to the temple at 11:25 p.m. Sunday, followed by an enshrinement ceremony attended by Deputy Taichung Mayor Huang Kuo-jung (黃國榮) and temple Chairman Yen Ching-piao (顏清標).

(By Su Mu-chun and Evelyn Kao) Endtiem/AW