Macau’s Na Tcha Temple Association hosted its annual Spring Festival blessing ceremony on Saturday, announcing that Macau’s first “Na Tcha Cultural Festival” will be hosted in mid-September.
The association’s president, Ip Tat, told the Post on Saturday that through the traditional Na Tcha customs and beliefs, they prayed for world peace, the nation’s prosperity and the well-being of Macau residents.
According to Ip, this year’s “Birthday of Prince Na Tcha and the upcoming 27th Anniversary of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR)”, scheduled for late June, will be larger in scale and richer in content than in previous years. It will include blessing ceremonies, a colourful float parade, a Poon Choi banquet (Poon Choi is a traditional Cantonese dish originating from historic walled villages), and ritual opera performances, Ip said.
Na Tcha’s (Nezha in Putonghua) birthday is on the 18th day of the fifth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. In the Western calendar, his birthday this year falls on July 2.
Ip said the aim is to develop the birthday celebration into an appealing folk custom tourism brand, enabling more visitors to appreciate the significance of Macau’s Na Tcha culture.
Ip also said that in mid-September, Macau’s two Na Tcha temples will jointly host Macau’s first “Na Tcha Cultural Festival”. Representatives of the Na Tcha traditions and beliefs from the Chinese mainland, China’s Taiwan region, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia will be invited to participate, Ip said.
Macau boasts two temples dedicated to Na Tcha – the one close to the Ruins of St Paul’s and the other on Calçada das Verdades behind Ginza Plaza.
The event’s goal is to promote Macau’s distinctive Na Tcha customs on the world stage, fostering cultural exchange, and ensuring the transmission of this local intangible cultural heritage, according to Ip.
According to his local adherents, Na Tcha, known in Putonghua as Nezha (哪吒), aka Nezha the Crown Prince (哪吒太子), is a protection deity in Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion. Besides, Na Tcha, a prominent figure in Chinese mythology, is a divine hero whose origins are rooted in ancient Chinese folklore and religious traditions. According to the mythological narrative, Na Tcha was born during the Shang Dynasty (商朝, around 1600–1046 BCE), and his famed story is closely tied to the Investiture of the Gods (封神演义), a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel set in that era.
Na Tcha Temple Association members pose during Saturday’s annual Spring Festival blessing ceremony in front of Na Tcha Temple next to the Ruins of St Paul’s. – Photo courtesy of Na Tcha Temple Association
