Hello i really have to say thanks for all the info on this site. Been reading almost half the pages here haha
I grew up in a taoist/Buddhist/sintua environment since young. I have always prayed to guanyin, guan gong, mazu and other mainstream gods/goddesses. But i have never really asked much about the lesser known deities that were not as known. So thank you very much for educating us.

Want to ask some questions regarding sintua.

1. I always see guanyin have 1 pair of hands but occasionally we see her having thousand hands. And also i wonder there is a Buddhist goddess that seems to be worship in sintua circles called Zhun Di and she seems like very similar to thousand hand guanyin. Are they all 3 the same goddesses or different goddesses?

2. There is a goddess my aunts got tell me before. She is called Song Zhi Niang Niang. She is apparently the goddesse alot of young just married couples pray to for children. I sometimes see her image on some small shrines but she also look like guanyin. So is she also another different form of guanyin? Or is she a seperate goddesses?

3. Since young i always hear stories of chang er the moon goddesses and i really feel a connection with her. But there doesnt seem to be any temples or shrines of her. Is there more info you can share about her. Like how to pray to her and what she usually grants as a blessing. Another thing also is i heard a long time ago from grandparents generations that boys do not usually pray to chang er. I dont't know why but i would like to pay my respects to her one day.

4. If I am praying for good looks to be a yandao kia and to attract ladies do i worship Pigsy god too? I know usually is prostitute, pimp and bar girl pray to him but he seems like the deity that is good as a "playboy" character even though he is not exactly attractive physically. (No offence tho)

This post has been edited by raggen: Nov 21 2017, 03:09 AM

Hello and welcome to the sintua thread, raggen. Allow me to answer your queries.

1. The Thousand-Hand Guan Yin is the same goddess as the regular Guan Yin. As noted earlier in the thread, Guan Yin performed an incredible act of altruism by giving up her eyes and hands for use in preparation of medicine to heal her ailing father, King Miao Zhong (despite the fact that he had tried to kill her previously). This resulted in her attainment of Bodhisattva status. Stricken with remorse, Miao Zhong decreed that his daughter be offered the reverence she deserved, and that all statues of her be depicted as 'quan shou quan yan'/全手全眼, 'whole in hand and eye', a.k.a. with their hands and eyes unblemished. The sculptor responsible for producing the statues was a deaf old man who heard the king's request as 'qian shou qian yan'/千手千眼, 'possessing a thousand hands and eyes', and sculpted the statues accordingly. In retrospect, this was not entirely in error, as the multiple hands and eyes symbolise Guan Yin's prodigious ability to 'extend a helping hand' and spot suffering people in need.



Zhun Di is not the same as Guan Yin. Both the goddesses are two similar female aspects/emanations of the sexless Avalokitesvara. I regard them as being sisters of sorts, which isn't entirely wrong, I would think. While Guan Yin personifies compassion, Zhun Di symbolises enlightenment, wisdom and courage. She is a more dynamic and martial individual than Guan Yin, signified by the fact that she can often be seen wielding divine weapons and making sacred mudras with her eighteen hands to shield/protect her followers, actively ward off evil and dispel the dark clouds of doubt. By contrast, Guan Yin is a strict pacifist who does not wield weapons of any kind.



2. Song Zi Niang Niang/送子娘娘, 'The Maiden Who Brings Children', a.k.a. Zhu Sheng Niang Niang/注生娘娘, 'She Who Watches Over Birth', is a motherly and benign fertility goddess who is a disciple of Guan Yin and entirely separate from the Bodhisattva. As you correctly state, she is the matron of childless couples and can bring them the joy of parenthood; she also ensures a safe and uncomplicated childbirth. She loves flowers; those seeking a baby boy should offer her white flowers and those seeking a baby girl should offer her red flowers.





3. Chang Er the Moon Goddess CAN actually be found in many a temple. She is just revered under a different name: Tai Yin Xing Jun/太阴星君 or the Lunar Lady. Likewise, her husband Hou Yi is also known as Tai Yang Xing Jun/太阳星君 or the Solar Lord. She is in charge of the moon and all it does/stands for, particularly its control over the sea's tides; her husband conversely controls the sun and the lifegiving qualities it imparts to those who reside on this earth, plant, human and animal alike. There is absolutely no reason why a male devotee cannot revere her; just go to a temple where she is present and offer the standard incense, et cetera.



4. As far as my knowledge goes, there are no gods who are specifically in charge of 'male charm'. The most eligible bachelor among the Chinese pantheon is Lord Er Lang, the Jade Emperor's nephew, although he is 'married to his work' and not a Don Juan by any stretch of the imagination, much to the dismay of many a Heavenly maiden. It is actually wrong for pimps to pray to Piggy, because he does not promote prostitution or smile upon the pimps' work; it is the prostitutes themselves that he watches over. He protects them from their clients, their pimps, diseases, and the like.

Thank you so much for your readership; do stick around and keep those questions coming.

Thanks for the clarification nachtsider! Esp about guanyin, zhun di and song zhi niang niang
Paiseh ah I got alot of questions still want to ask haha. Didnt think you would reply so quickly!

1. In ancient greek religion and hinduism there are both sex goddesses (Aphrodite and Rati) I grew up going to a shrine where there was a yue lao. I was told yue lao is not actually a deity for sex or pleasure. He is strictly love and bringing 2 people together. So is there a deity in sintua related to love/sex/pleasure?

2. So since we talking about yue lao. I also heard taiwan gay people worship a rabbit gay god. He is like a yue lao but for gay people. But i don't see this in Msia/Sg area. Maybe is that I don't know about it but i only heard about this recently only. Was curious what the stance on homosexuality is in sintua circles. Or rather what do the gods view homosexuality. In Christianity they have the bible where it is written in stone that cannot homosexuality for example. But in sintua is there a right or wrong for this?

3. I also see alot of temples/kopitiam and even people house nowadays got thai gods. I think they are thai gods but i may be wrong. One is a lady i think her name is nam guat. She supposed to welcome wealth. Than there is a fat buddha. But he is not the laughing buddha. I think his name is san cat chai. He is always at many kopitiam nowadays in my area. And also got the four face buddha. They seem very common nowadays but hope you can share more info about them since they are like adopted into sintua religion now.

4. Do you know which deity is in charge of arts? For example someone who do graphic art/ illustration and sculpting those kind of profession can pray to? For good career and progression in this kind of art industry?

5. You spoke about er lang shen being married to his job and is a bachelor. Was curious are there any other aspects of him? I heard he is a good fighter and warrior for example. What his job is in the heavenly realm. Also i know he has a third eye on his forehead but what is it specifically for? And what I can pray to him for?

6. My uncle got tell me before also that some temple like to keep cat and dog because the cat is believed to be the hu shen (tiger god protector of the temple) spirit and the dog is believed to embody the er land shen pet dog. I'm not sure about this, but if i feed these cat and dog and take care of them is it akin to honouring the gods in a way? Just curious about this haha.

Really paiseh. I think i will have more questions in the future. but really thank you for answering my questions

You can always expect prompt replies from me, raggen, especially if the questions are interesting ones.

1. The Old Man Under the Moon is a god of marriage, yes. We have no deity explicitly in charge of the sensual aspect of love. Sex is something that the religion still generally considers to be out of the scope of polite conversation.

2. I know about this rabbit fellow, yes. Given that Malaysian and Singaporean societies are still largely uncomfortable with the notion of homosexuality, you are not likely to find him worshiped here anytime soon. I imagine the authorities would crack down hard on any house of worship seen to openly promote same-sex unions. That being said, Chinese folk religion does not consider homosexuality to be a sin in itself. It only views homosexual relations as wrong if said relations result in betrayal of trust, or people otherwise getting hurt. For instance, a gay man who stays in the closet and marries a woman only to have gay sex behind her back? He is going to be in deep, deep trouble. Same goes for a gay paedophile who molests or rapes young boys.

3. Thai occult and sintua are NOT compatible with one another, and to mix them together is not correct. They operate on different principles, and trying to blend their magic will result in each cancelling the other out. I am no expert regarding Thai occult figures, and would thus not be the right person to ask about them.

4. Most unusually, I can identify no Chinese deity who is in charge of painting, sculpting or illustrating, at least not right off the bat. There are patrons of music, opera and so on, but oddly none that are coming to mind for the fields that are relevant to you.

5. Er Lang is indeed a formidable fighter, yes; he is one of the Five Camp Commanders, who are the five major generals of the Heavenly armies. His third eye serves to see through illusions and other spells of subterfuge. Apart from his soldierly role, he is also a patron of hunting, and the protector of all dogs.

6. Being kind to dogs will quite possibly earn you the approval of Er Lang. Although a number of deities have tigers or lions as familiars/totem animals, there is no patron of domestic-type cats that comes to mind, and keeping a cat or dog in a temple will not mean that they embody Er Lang's hunting hound or the temple's guarding Tiger General.

Nacht

Thanks Nacht!
I wasn't aware the Thai occult deities is not compatible with our sintua gods. So far i noticed most temples don't have thai gods inside them but some temples now have 4 face buddha. Is there a reason for that?

That's because a lot of people think he is an actual Buddha, while in fact he is not.

He is actually the Hindu god Brahma.

thousand hand n thousand eye come actually come from guan yin vow according the sutra ......
when guan yin is 1st level of Bodhisattva, he practice the great compassion mantra from another buddha(cant remember the name)
from 1st level, he straight "promote" to 8th level , deswai now u see many monk chant the great compassion mantra bcos is very powerful ...
after he achieved the 8th level, he vow n said if he can save all sentient being from suffering pls let him have 1000 hand n 1000 eye ....
"ping" then he got 1000 hand n 1000 eye on his body.....
that is where the 1000 hand n 1000 eye come from ....... is bcos of his vow ....
the miao sin princess story is more on the folklore story ......

Well, this IS the folklore thread...

other than 1000 hand n 1000 eye .... kuan yin also got 11 head ....3-3-3-1-1

Thanks about the info regarding the four face buddha and his relation to the hindu god brahma.

1. You mention previously that there are gods who are patrons of music and opera. Can share some of them that may come to your mind?

2. In kew ong ya (9 emperor god festival) usually before the gods leave certain places or temples, someone will take a belt / whip and whack hard hard on the floor. Is there a story and any symbolism for this you can share too?

3. I saw your post on the god Nerzha (lotus prince) and realize he very common to be prayed by lion/dragon dance troupe. Most of these troupe HQ i go too seem to have him as the main deity there. I know about his story but was wondering is there any particular reason why lion and dragon dance performance people like him? I suspect its because he is youthful and full of energy but then the monkey god is also very full of energy and nimble.

Hello raggen,

1. One who comes immediately to mind is Tian Du Yuan Shuai/田都元帅 or Marshal Tian Du. He was a personal court musician to one of the Tang Dynasty emperors. He is easily recognisable by the crab tattooed on his forehead (legend has it that he started life as a baby abandoned on a deserted beach by his parents; the crabs looked after him and fed him), and the little dog and chicken at his feet (he befriended these animals and brought them with him to his initial audition, where he amused the evaluators by having them perform clever tricks as interludes to his musical pieces).





2. The 'huat soh'/法索 ritual whip is an invention of Lord Zhang the Serpent Queller; its snake-headed design is based on his cobra familiar, which transforms from a giant serpent into a whip that he uses to scourge demons and other nasties. This ritual tool is cracked to purify an area so as to allow sintua rituals to be performed, and to allow the gods to manifest. Strictly speaking, it should not be allowed to touch the floor when cracked; the whip is actually meant to be cracked in mid air. The huat soh is not unique to the Nine Emperor Gods and their rituals; it is used for all deities. It is treated as a living creature and afforded the proper respect.





3. I am not aware of Na Zha having a specific function as patron of lion dancing. Perhaps if you could ask the troupe members, that would prove informative.

Nacht

Hi Nacht, would like to know who are the assistants of tua pek kong??? I believe one of them is wen chang, no idea who the other is.

The assistants of Tua Pek Gong are Wen Pan Guan/文判官, the Civil Judge, and Wu Pan Guan/武判官, the Military Judge.

As their names suggest, they preside over civil and military matters, respectively; Wen Pan Guan yields a notebook and brush, while Wu Pan Guan wields a mace.



Wen Pan Guan is not the same as Wen Chang, the god of literature and patron of scholars.

Wen Chang outranks Tua Pek Gong by a considerable margin.

Note that there are actually many pairs of Wen Pan Guan and Wu Pan Guan; some assist the Earth Gods such as Tua Pek Gong, while others assist the City Gods.

Only an Earth God of sufficiently high rank may be assigned a Wen Pan Guan and a Wu Pan Guan as assistants.

Thanks Nacht for the valuable information on tua pek kong assistants. I was about to get the assistants for my home tua pek kong before chinese new year, but after I consulted fu de tan klang medium told me not to, and also another incense shop owner said the same thing. Just wondering what's the reason behind it, it seems they will take away my tua pek kong power.

As I've mentioned, only senior Tua Pek Gongs get to keep assistants.

Perhaps yours isn't of sufficiently high rank.

That may change down the road though, so never say never.

Is it compulsory to take off shoes before entering a temple prayer hall?

I was told from young to do that. But these days, I seldom see people doing it especially the youngsters. The temple caretaker is also not bother to ask them to leave their shoes outside.

Hi Nacht, does by adding additional holy stuff into yr diety statue gives them more power??? The thais do add stuff at the bottom example leklai, amulets n takrut, the Taiwanese do also at the back of the diety statue, they actually drill a hole at the back add stuff n close it back.

If the temple or shrine does not explicitly instruct you to take off your shoes before entering, there is no need to do so.

A statue of a deity requires consecration to be of any ritual value.

As per sintua, consecration of a statue of deity X can only be performed by a medium who is (1) channeling deity X, (2) channeling an equal or superior of deity X, (3) channeling a subordinate of deity X who has been given the appropriate authorisation.

The consecration method generally involves the medium anointing the statue's eyes, ears, mouth, nose and limbs (the sensory and motor faculties, essentially), as well as its handheld items (e.g. weapons) with substances ranging from his own blood, saliva or sweat, to ink and incense ash.

A very old-school consecration method, rarely performed today except in places like certain parts of Taiwan, involves the sealing of a live animal (usually a predatory insect or arachnid like a wasp or scorpion) inside the statue, in order to imbue it with 'life' and/or 'killing aura' (the latter is particularly relevant if the statue is that of a warrior deity).

This last method is what you are citing.

All these consecration procedures are what turn the statue from a lifeless lump of wood into a conduit through which one can commune with the deity that it represents, and are essential to effect this transformation.

Adding anything else to the statue apart from the necessary props (e.g. its default weapons) is superfluous and does not achieve any further effect.

Hope this is clear.

Hi Nacht, pictures of a mazu goddess adding stuff to the back.