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History and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy: The Ma Tsu Cult of Taiwan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

P. Steven Sangren
P. Steven Sangren
Affiliation:
Cornell University
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Extract

Worshippers of the goddess Ma Tsu constitute Taiwan's most encompassing ritual community. The cult's close association with Taiwanese history and cultural identity is well known to Sinological anthropologists. Every year pilgrimage groups (usually organized by local territorial cults) converge on cult centers at Pei-kang, Hsin-kang, Chang-hua, Lu-kang, T'u-ch'eng, and Tainan, among others (see Figure 1). These centers compete actively for cult supremacy, and the arguments invoked in this rivalry are mainly of an historical nature. The question I explore here is, Why is history so important in establishing the authenticity and charisma of this goddess?

Type
Cultural Power
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , October 1988 , pp. 674 - 697
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1988

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