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Yating Yang

In China, during the Lantern Festival, a unique folk custom involves the worship of a Toilet Goddess.
The unlikely ritual sees people create life-size straw portraits of the goddess and hold ceremonies near toilets, pigpens and kitchens to honour her and seek predictions for the coming year.
The Lantern Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month, is the first major festival after the Chinese Spring Festival.
On this day, people admire decorative lanterns, watch dragon and lion dances and gather to eat glutinous rice balls, which symbolise reunion and togetherness, creating a vibrant and festive atmosphere.
is a lesser-known traditional folk ritual held on the night of the Lantern Festival to receive Zigu, which literally means “Purple Sister”, also known as the Toilet Goddess.

This custom has been practised in both northern and southern China and was recorded as early as the Northern (960–1127) and Southern (1127–1279) dynasties.
Zigu is a deity in Chinese folk belief associated with the toilet.
There are multiple legends about her identity, but one widely circulated story says she was a concubine called He Mei of Li Jing, a prefect during the Tang dynasty (618–907).
Out of jealousy, the principal wife abused her and ultimately killed her in a toilet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Moved by her tragic fate, the Emperor of Heaven later deified her as the Toilet Goddess.

Therefore, during the Lantern Festival, people sympathise with her suffering and commemorate her on that date by crafting life-size effigies from straw and cloth scraps and holding welcoming rituals in her honour.
Another version of the story says that Zigu was the emperor’s daughter.
On her deathbed, she reportedly said that she had always loved going out and enjoying festivities.
She asked those around her to welcome her spirit with garments on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so that she could continue to revel in the lively celebrations of the Lantern Festival.


Before the ceremony, people would make a life-size effigy of her using materials such as straw, scraps of cloth or plants.
Historical records also note that everyday objects like winnowing baskets, brooms or chairs were sometimes used as vessels to invite the deity’s presence.
The ritual was traditionally held beside latrines, pigpens or kitchens, places where it was believed she had once suffered.
The central ritual of welcoming the spirit involves reciting a specific invocation: “Your husband is absent, the wife has departed; Little Aunt, you may now come forth.”

According to folk belief, if the person holding the straw effigy suddenly feels it grow heavier, it is taken as a sign that the spirit of Zigu has descended.
On this day of worship, local people, especially women, stand before Zigu’s image and speak to her as if she were a close sister.
They confide their thoughts, seek comfort and pour out their grievances, treating her presence as a sympathetic confidante.
However, the primary purpose of the Zigu ritual is divination.
Participants use it to predict matters such as the year’s silkworm harvest, the fortunes of agricultural work and other personal concerns.


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Why Chinese honour Toilet Goddess with straw effigies, rituals during Lantern Festival

During the Lantern Festival in China people honour the Toilet Goddess, Zigu, with life-sized straw effigies and rituals around toilets and kitchens. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu/yahoo.com.tw

A small altar set up inside a toilet during the annual Lantern Festival. Photo: Weibo

A painting of the Toilet Goddess, Zigu, a deity whose legend stretches back centuries. Photo: Baidu

A woman pictured during the annual Lantern Festival celebrations. Photo: Getty Images

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People & Culture

Centuries-old folk custom takes place near latrines, pig pens and kitchens; places where the divine spirit is said to have suffered in the past


Centuries-old folk custom takes place near latrines, pig pens and kitchens; places where the divine spirit is said to have suffered in the past.


Chinese superstitions

Why Chinese honour Toilet Goddess with straw effigies, rituals during Lantern Festival

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Centuries-old folk custom takes place near latrines, pig pens and kitchens; places where the divine spirit is said to have suffered in the past

Centuries-old folk custom takes place near latrines, pig pens and kitchens; places where the divine spirit is said to have suffered in the past