The morning call., 1892-02-21

called Ngu Heng Kung, and many who are
not professional thieves make offerings to
him.
4" presume you have seen in the temples
one of the gods holding ia his hand round
ball the size Of small love apple. You
nave? ! thought SO well, that is Lob Uong
Chu Su, the god of medicine, and that which
he holds in his hand Is supposed 10 be
pill He was at one time doctor OF fame.
who after his death was converted into
one of many gods: His principal devotees
are the vendors Of drugs. but he is propi-
tiated when there Is sickness in the family.
The god who is supposed to be the close
companion Of the one | have alluded to just
now is | Kuang Tai Tong, the god of
surgery He is visited in the interest Of
those who nave been seriously wounded or
by accident have broken bone or two.
Then there is another god who is wOr-
SHIPPED by all, as Is the god of wealth, and
that is the god of the kitchen. He, like
wise, is to be found in every wel-regulated
Chinese family as we'll as in the temple.
Some prOpitiate him twice a month, and
there are others who make a daily Offering,
for they say that he is a hungry god. The
Offering usually consists of food. to which
at times are added candles, incense and
mock money.
~ believe, f." continued the narrator, chat
] have given you short description of all
the male gods that l can think of, maybe
there are a few who are lurking in some
corner that have ESCAPED me, but If they
are they are of minor importance. Now |
suppose that you want to know something
about the females who have been turned
into gOddesSes."
THAT certainly is now in order"
zone of the gOddesses that is held in
high reverence by these idolatoTs is the
goddess of smallpox. The Chinese have a
dread Of that disease, so do all they can to
ward it off; that is, by following,
/ mt sanitary rulpS Init sunprSti tiDus
notions. The preparations Tor calling
the aid of the goddess is something extern
| sive and continues for several days. This is
| done with view of inducing the goddess to
make the disease as light as possible. II
/ the patient RECEIVERS and is not deeply
marked there is thanksgiving feast
! in honor of the protecting goddess
| if the patient dies there is none and
the relieved console themselves with
| the belief that they have done something
! that has offended the goddess. and for
which they have not been forgiven by one
| Of the other deities. The goddess Of
measles is accredited with the same powers
as the goddess of smallpox, and she is
wOrshiped in the same manner.
"A goddess that is held in high generation
is the Goddess OF Mercy who is known as
Kuang log Hulk. Some of those who wor-
ship her believe that she is half man, half
woman, and that she is gifted with ex-
traOrdinary powers Many of her worship
! ers have Images OF her In the finest
porcelain. She is Toasted more than any
other of the gods and goddesses, and at a
certain period a necklace OF pearls is
placed on her neck as an index of her dig
nifty. Her image is found in every private
family, and she is almost daily worshiped
by married women who wish to be blessed
by the addition Of baby boy.
1.-The Chinese who go out to sea, either in
the junks or on big ships, pay their deyotons
to Ma Chu, the goddess of sailors. The
sailors before going on voyage go to the
temple, procure ashes from the censor in
front of her image. place it in little rec
bag. and carry 1t as an omen of good luck
If there is a storm while at sea. the
sailors hold this omen in their hand
and call upon Ma Chm to delve
them. They assert that she makes herse
manifest in the shape of luminous pail
IL the ball is noticed ascending the foremost
it is construed into evil, as il means tina
Ma Gnu is deserving the ship, but If it Is Gb
served coming down, it is construed into
sign that she is going to remain during the
storm ami save the ship and all on beard.
Il shall mention one yet, and l think tina