To the uninitiated, a Taoist temple can seem intimidating. But the San Fernando Four Kings Mansion aims to welcome everyone.
The temple is located inside the South San Nicolas Volunteer Fire Brigade at the intersection of Dasmarinas and Juan Luna Streets in Binondo, at the foot of the San Fernando Bridge, after which the temple is named. The volunteer fire station has an ornate Chinese-style roof that makes it easy to spot.
The temple’s origins are compelling: stories say that historically, there have been many deaths along the bridge dating back to when it was first built in 1796, during the Spanish occupation. While most of the deaths have been accidental, there are also allegations that the waters below were a dumping ground for bodies. Whether true or not, the bridge acquired a local reputation as an area that attracted death. It was said that sometime in the 1960s, some community members, in cooperation with the local government, contacted a “monk” to build a temple on the site to appease the souls that lingered nearby. Locals say it worked for a time, but then the deaths continued.
This changed in 2023. The Binondo-Intramuros Bridge was being built, and when it was realized that it would affect the temple’s location, community leaders called Taoist Master Nixon Co, who represents the Jade Emperor and the Four Heavenly Kings of Taoist tradition, to facilitate the temple’s transfer to a new location. Co realized that the old temple had been neglected and practically abandoned, hence its inefficiency. He likened it to hiring a security guard, then forgetting to feed and pay them. The temple was transferred to its current site inside the fire station, and an altar to the Jade Emperor and the Four Heavenly Kings was installed as well. Co likens it to asking the mayor to help a barangay captain keep an area safe. If all of this sounds highly bureaucratic, that’s because it is. Taoism is a bureaucratic religion, with the Jade Emperor as the head administrator. “In our experience, the local community’s response has been overwhelming,” Co said in Taglish. “People donate incense and candles, and people drop by so they can pray, ask questions or favors, or make religious vows.”
The temple is “self-service,” meaning there is no clergy attached to it on regular days, and anyone is welcome to drop by, either to visit or to worship. The temple is open 24/7. Visitors who come at odd hours can ask the fire station guard to turn on the lights for them. There are incense sticks and candles on hand for visitors to use. There are also moon blocks, two red wooden blocks shaped like half moons used for divination, that can be used to ask questions answerable by “yes,” “no,” or “maybe/ ask again.”
Co said that the temple incorporates Taoist and Buddhist elements, and welcomes anyone, regardless of religion or ethnicity. He suggests asking a Chinoy friend for temple etiquette, but the basics include being respectful of one’s surroundings, lighting three sticks of incense, bowing three times in front of the Jade Emperor’s altar located against the wall, then saying prayers or making wishes before placing the unlit end in the insence holder and doing the same to the original temple deities located in the small “house” facing the water.
The requests visitors make are varied: some pray for their health or that of their loved ones. Others pray for the return of wayward spouses. Others, for good jobs. Though not required, they make a vow, promising to return with incense, candles, pastries (mamon is a favorite), or just to simply say thank you once their wishes are fulfilled. The number of donated incense and candles, as well as the number of devotees who attend the temple’s annual celebrations (whose schedules are posted on Co’s Facebook Page), stands as a testament to the number of wishes granted. “If you were to ask me, the temple’s role for its devotees is to grant them their wishes, ” Co said. “We accept and accommodate everyone.”