Mazu Belief and Customs

The belief in Mazu is a sea-goddess faith that arose in Fujian and spread along the Chinese coast and into Southeast Asia; in Macau it has a long history, and the legend holds that when the Portuguese first landed and asked the name of the place by the A-Ma Temple they heard "Mage" and rendered it "Macau," showing how deep the link is between Mazu and the city's very name. In 2021 Mazu belief, declared by Macau, entered the fifth national ICH list.

Centred on the A-Ma Temple, Macau's Mazu belief sees a grand festival each year on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month, the goddess's birthday, with rituals, opera for the deity and processions inside and outside the temple, as devotees offer incense and draw divination lots, the fair lasting several days and ranking among Macau's largest folk festivals.

The Mazu belief crystallises Macau's maritime culture and the faith of Fujian and Guangdong settlers, carrying the shared wish of coastal people for safe passage at sea, one of the cultural foundations of Macau as a Sino-Western port city, with outstanding folkloric and historical value.