The Chinese language sea goddess Mazu is massive enterprise in Taiwan and the blockchain might make it even greater.
The Mazu deity, referred to as a protector of seafarers and worshiped by Chinese language communities all over the world for hundreds of years, is particularly fashionable in Taiwan. The Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung metropolis organizes an annual 300-kilometer nine-day pilgrimage with a statue of the goddess that attracts lots of of hundreds of followers.
The pilgrimages and associated festivals have fashioned what is named the “Mazu financial system,” referring to donations and spending on Mazu-themed merchandise and enterprise alternatives surrounding the faith.
Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, which dates again to the Qing Dynasty within the 1700s, has determined so as to add a Internet 3.0 component to its actions. It’s minting and promoting sea goddess non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that act as a precedence cross for the pilgrimage that normally occurs within the Spring.
The MazuDAO NFTs went on sale in August at NT$ 18,880 (US$615) by the temple’s e-commerce platform MazuBuyBuy and elsewhere. Up to now, the temple has minted and bought greater than 2,800 NFTs.
“In keeping with estimates the nine-day pilgrimage can generate greater than NT$5 billion (US$163 million) in spending. On the day when Mazu returned to the house temple, we noticed about 500,000 individuals becoming a member of the pilgrimage,” Mingkun Cheng, vice chairman of the board of the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, informed Forkast.
Extra youthful persons are becoming a member of the pilgrimage so the MazuDAO NFTs enchantment to them, stated Cheng.
On-line gods?
Many conventional cultural actions are adapting to digital and technological innovation, Mao-Hsien Lin, an affiliate professor of Nationwide Taichung College of Schooling’s Taiwanese languages and literature division, informed Forkast.
Nonetheless, Lin, who researches Mazu faith, stated many elder followers are usually not so positive in regards to the developments.
“They like the bodily contact and the direct contact with the statue of the deities,” Lin stated. They aren’t so positive that in the event that they worship on-line that the deities are additionally on-line to listen to their prayers.
Nonetheless, Lin stated the pilgrimage precedence perk for NFT holders may not be too enticing for conventional believers.
“Usually once we pray, the gap between you and the statue doesn’t actually matter. It’s not such as you’d get particular therapy in case you’re nearer,” he added. “It’s turning into a bit too commercialized.”
To faucet into the market of conventional believers, the NFT challenge crew organized offline advertising and marketing campaigns — an method totally different from most NFT initiatives that prioritize on-line advertising and marketing channels.
Jerry Yan, challenge lead of MazuDAO, informed Forkast that many elder followers didn’t also have a smartphone and “very a lot stay in a Internet 0.0 world.”
“We needed to arrange promotional cubicles in entrance of the temple to introduce MazuDAO NFTs to these Web0 believers,” Yan stated, including additionally they wanted a landline customer support crew as a result of it was the one solution to attain older temple followers.
“Typically on the telephone, we’d ask them to name for his or her grandchildren to assist out and arrange crypto wallets on their behalf.”
Industrial Mazu
Cheng stated that the temple has approved some on-line distributors to make use of its Mazu mental property to make merchandise on the market on its e-commerce platform MazuBuyBuy.
Lin the researcher stated Mazu has develop into a highly-commercialized mental property in Taiwan, with Mazu-themed merchandise in comfort shops and on main on-line buying websites.
“Once more, I believe a big a part of the essence of faith lies in providing that psychological consolation for believers. It’s not essentially an excellent factor if it will get too commercialized,” Lin stated. “If we see the deity as a enterprise generator, it could lose a way of divinity.”
Nonetheless, Cheng of the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple stated the temple’s annual pilgrimages have attracted an growing variety of youthful individuals and lots of put up movies of the pageant and the pilgrimage on social media platforms reminiscent of Instagram and YouTube.
A Korean YouTuber based mostly in Taiwan (referred to as Korean Kimchengu, actually “Korean enoki mushroom”) joined the pilgrimage final 12 months and made a video that has gained over 580,000 views.
Logan Beck, an American YouTuber based mostly in Taiwan, additionally uploaded a video of the 2021 pilgrimage, which now has greater than 405,000 views.
