princess of supernatural favour

the town my mom comes from is called nan (or south) fangao - 南方澳. there is also a bei (north) fangao. when all the people who lived in bei fangao were moved so that the area could be turned into a military base, the only thing that didn't move was the temple to Mazu, the goddess of the seas and protector of all sailors and fishermen. the people went to the temple and asked her, by using divination blocks, if she wanted to move to bei fangao. the divination blocks, or bwa bwei, are red, crescent-shaped wooden blocks that you throw on the ground. depending on how they land, your question will be answered with a yes or a no. she repeatedly said no, so the temple stayed. when we were looking for a new cook and caretaker for my grandpa's house in yilan, the woman who was interested in the position was taken to the local Mazu temple by a family friend and they used the divination blocks to ask Mazu if she approved of this woman working for our family. apparently the answer was yes.

we have two altars on the third floor of the house in nan fangao, where i spent most of this past week. the one on the left is dedicated to our ancestors and the one on the right is to the gods. i'm not particularly religious, but the questions i asked for new year's were:

(abbreviated)

to the gods: 

is bagel a good man? yes

is graduate school a good idea? no

i can't remember the last one

to the ancestors:

is bagel a good man? yes

is going to graduate school a good idea? no

do you watch over me? yes