A real goddess?

from www.pilotguides.com/articles/mazu-goddess-of-the-sea-festival/
Where: Across Southern China and Taiwan, centred around the main temple in Meizhou Island, Fujian Province, South-East China
When: 23rd day of third lunar month (usually April), and ninth day of ninth lunar month (usually October)
What happens: Shaolin daredevils, dancing girls and depictions of the goddess Mazu in puppet form, followed by a belching procession!

Mazu, the goddess of the sea, is one of the most loved of all goddesses in Chinese mythology. Also known as Ma-Tsu, A-ma, Tianhou, Motherly Matriarch, Kuan Yin of the Southern Sea, Daughter of the Dragon, and Empress of Heaven, it is said that if you call but one of her names she will appear to help
you. If you call her as Empress of Heaven she will be delayed coming to
your aid by having to dress in her finery!
She is thought to have been born as Lin Mo Naing. Her mother prayed to the goddess Kuan Yin to provide her with a
daughter. Lin Naing was born with a flash of light. She did not cry in
her first year and she was a very intelligent young girl with a
photographic memory. She first learnt the art of healing then trained as
a Buddhist, and later Taoist monk, while training in the martial arts.
When she was older she gained her second sight standing in front of a
statue of Kuan Yin who imbued her with the power to see in to the
future. A second theory is that a sea serpent leapt out of the water as
she was standing with a group of friends and presented them with a gold
disc. The others ran off, but Lin Naing calmly accepted it and with it
she gained her powers.
It is the miracles she performed for seafarers for which she is best known. She would present herself in red before captains and sailors when
she knew that the weather was taking a terrible turn for the worst and
prevent them from sailing to their deaths. The most well-known miracle
that she performed involved her brother and father. As she sat weaving
at home she was suddenly transported out to sea where her family had
been washed from their boat and were about to drown. She first lifted
her brother back to safety, but as she was rescuing her father, her
mother awoke Lin Naing from her trance and he fell back into the sea and
drowned.
Two men were said to have fallen in love with Mazu, General Chien-li-yen (Eyes that See a Thousand Miles) and General Shun Feng Erh (Ears that Can Hear the Wind). She told them that she would fight both of
them and whoever won she would marry. If they lost they would be at her
service for evermore. She killed them both with her exceptional martial
arts skills.
At the age of 28 she announced that it was her time to leave and walked
to the top of a hill, where she became enwrapped in a cloud and mist
that transported her up to heaven. Where she had stood, a rainbow
appeared that is associated with the dragon in Chinese legend. Dragons
bring good luck and also unite the sea and the air.
Over the last millennia her title has been raised in status no less than twenty times. She has 100 million devotees and there are over 1,500
temples devoted to her.