In Chinese mythology, there are six household deities. The two most notable categories of these are the "
door gods" and the "toilet gods". Toilet gods have been worshipped since the
Six Dynasties period. The door gods and toilet gods were very popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Among the toilet gods, Zigu and
Sanxiao Niangniang are particularly enshrined. Women worshipped her in the form of a homemade doll on the fifteenth day of the first month each year, when she was ritually summoned in the latrine during the night. Prayers were said to the doll, telling her that the husband and wife had gone and that she could come out safely. The motions of the doll – sometimes manifested as
automatic writing – were used for
fortune telling by the worshippers. Another interpretation came from a popular novel of the
Ming period, which portrayed the latrine deity as three sisters who were responsible for the Primeval Golden Dipper (
hunyuan jindou) or celestial toilet bowl, from which all beings were born. == See also ==