How many god and goddess in a typical Taiwanese folk religion temple?

Back in February when I was visiting Nan-Joung 南庄 of the Miao-Li 苗栗 county with Meeilei's brother, Jau-Fu, I had a conversation with a Hakka driver (he drove us from Nan-Joung 南庄 to Fong-Lai 蓬筙 and from Fong-Lai 蓬筙 to Nan-Joung 南庄.). Here was our short conversation.

"How are Haaka's temples different from those of Hok-lok?", I asked.

"Well, the temples should look the same. But the god and the goddess we Hakka worship are different from those of Hok-Lok.", answered the driver.

"Do Hakka worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess?"

"No, the Hakka here do not worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess."

Out of curiosity, I did some research on Taiwanese folk religion temples. I also went into a Hakka temple, Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮, at Nan-Joung 南庄 to write down the god and goddess in the temple.

Since Taiwanese folk religion is a mixture of both Buddhism and Taoism, Taiwanese temples also have two different kinds: the Buddhist type is called Shu 寺; while the Taoist type is called Kon 宮. The temple that I visited at Nan-Joung 南庄 is called Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮. Since it is called 'Kon' 宮, it is a Taoist temple.

How many god and goddess at Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮? There are fifteen. On the top, there are three: Blessing Heavenly god or 賜福天官, Forgiving Earth god or 頳罪 地官, Turning-Around-Fate Water god, or 解厄水官. Below these three Heavenly, Earth, and Water gods, there are three more: the Supreme Emperor, or 玊皇大帝, Kwan-Sei-Ing, or 觀世音, and the Sun Star, or 太陽星. There are nine other gods below them. Among them are Confucius, the Agricultural god, or 神農, the Literary god, or 文昌公, Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母, goddess for mothers, or 註生娘娘. Of course there is Tou-Ti-Kon 土地公, or the Earth god who is the most favor god of Taiwanese.

Here are some interesting points. First, for Hok-Lok's temples, the Supreme Emperor 玊皇大帝 usually rank the first. At Chau-Tien-Kon 朝天宮 of the Hakka temple, the Supreme Emperor 朝天宮ranks the second. Second, you may notice that Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母 is also among the list. Actually, the Heavenly Divine Mother, or 天上聖母 is Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess that is another Taiwanese favor goddess. Indeed, the Hakka do worship Ma-Zu. The driver was wrong. To make sure this is indeed the case, I asked similar question to a Hakka friend at Six-Twei 六堆 of Ping-Tong County a month ago. That Hakka friend told me that Hakka at Ping-Tong county do worship Ma-Zu 媽祖, the sea goddess.

Why so many god and goddess in a given temple? My guess is that different god or goddess may offer different needs to each individual. For example, an expecting mother may have a more urgent needs to get the blessing from the goddess for mothers, or 註生娘娘 than from the teaching of Confucius.

How about a person just makes a worship and offer to the rank # 1 god, in this case is Blessing Heavenly god or 賜福天官 and forgets about others? That would not do it. The situation is similar to what happen when you are working for a company. Even the president of the company is good to you, your life will still be miserable if your immediate boss gives you a hard time. For a worshiper, he needs to make sure that all god and goddess are pleasing with your worship and offering.

Here comes how a temple manager makes services to the worshipers. If a worshiper donates NT $500, the manager will pray and offer for you to make every god and goddess happy.