Mother (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

This week's Photo Hunt theme looks to have been planned to coincide with this weekend's Mother's Day commemoration in many -- but not all -- parts of the world. But like tnchick, certain other events in my area have inspired me to opt for a less conventional approach to the theme than I am thinking many others will take.

In my case, it's not so much natural disaster than a festive commemoration of a legend: that is, the birthday of a female deity variously known, among other things, as Mother Ancestor along with Heavenly Queen. In Hong Kong, she's known as Tin Hau; in Macau, A-Ma -- and yes, Macau actually derived its name from the goddess who is particularly popular with seafarers and fishing communities as far afield as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia (and has temples dedicated to her even in Australia and the United States of America).

I blogged about my visit to Joss House Bay on Tin Hau's Birthday in the post preceding this one. But I took so many photos this past Thursday that I wanted to share more of them on this blog. At the same time, because Hong Kong's Chinese Temples Committee forbids photography inside of the temples it administers (including the 13th century Tin Hau Temple in Joss House Bay) by non authorized personnel, here's first putting up a photo of an effigy of the deity from Macau's A-Ma Temple (where no such photographic restrictions are in abeyance) -- taken, coincidentally, four Tin Hau/A-Ma birthday celebrations back in 2006!