A-Ma Temple
| A-Ma Temple | |
|---|---|
媽閣廟 | |
 A-Ma Temple, Macau | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Barra, Macau |
| Town or city | Macau |
| Country | Macau |
| Completed | 1488 |
| A-Ma Temple | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Main Hall | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 媽閣廟 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 妈阁庙 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Temple of the Pavilion of the Mother | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Portuguese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Portuguese | Templo de A-Má | ||||||||||||||||
The A-Ma Temple is a temple to the Chinese sea-goddess Mazu located in São Lourenço, Macau, China. Built in 1488, the temple is one of the oldest in Macau and thought to be the settlement's namesake.
History
[edit]The name Macau was thought to be derived from the name of the temple. It is said that when the Portuguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place, the natives replied Maa-gok or A-maa-gok (lit. "The Pavilion of the Mother"). The Portuguese then named the peninsula "Macau".[1] The temple was well described in ancient Chinese texts as well as represented in paintings, related to Macao. It is also one of the first scenes photographed in Macao.
In 2005, the temple became one of the designated sites of the Historic Centre of Macau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Architecture
[edit]The temple consists of six main parts:[2] Gate Pavilion, the Memorial Arch, the Prayer Hall, the Hall of Benevolence (the oldest part of the temple), the Hall of Guanyin, Zhengjiao Chanlin - Buddhist Pavilion.
Gallery
[edit]-
A 19th-century painting of the facade of A-Ma Temple by English architect and artist Thomas Allom -
Main entrance of A-Ma Temple -
World Heritage marker -
Prayer Hall -
Hall of Benevolence -
Zhengjiao Chanlin Buddhist Temple
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
See also
[edit]- Kun Iam Temple, built in 1627
- Tam Kung Temple (Macau), built in 1862
- Na Tcha Temple, built in 1888
- Sam Kai Vui Kun
- Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong
- Qianliyan & Shunfeng'er
- Religion in Macau
- List of historic buildings and structures in Macau
References
[edit]
- ^ "Hakka and Macau" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ^ "A-Ma Temple". Wondermondo. 14 November 2014.
22°11′10″N 113°31′52.10″E / 22.18611°N 113.5311389°E
 | This article about a Macau building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a Chinese religious building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |