Tourism Authority of Thailand calls in ancient goddess to clear away ghosts from its beaches after tsunami

Statue of Mazu, Meizhou Bay in Putian, Fujian Province

BANGKOK (Reuters, Aug 19/05) - Mazu, a Taoist goddess of the sea [and protector of sailors and immigrants], has a huge following among fishermen and shipworkers in coastal provinces of southern China and Taiwan.

With Asian tourists still shunning its southern beaches [because they feel it is inauspicious to visit a place of mass death], Thailand is calling in … revered Chinese sea goddess to ward off the restive spirits of the thousands who died in last December's tsunami.

A statue of Godmother Ruby, known as Mazu in Chinese, will be brought to the Thai island of Phuket … [from China] … for ghost-clearing rites, said Suwalai Pinpradab of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.