Borrowing and Borrowing Back: The Mother Goddess Religion in the Northern Mountains of Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract: The Lên đồng spirit possession ritual and traditional festivals related to the Mother Goddesses religion are widely practised across Viet Nam. The process of integrating elements of ethnic minority culture into the Mother Goddess religious rituals themselves - worshiping indigenous ethnic spirits, and appropriating music, melodies, songs, and costumes, has similarly formed part of the long process of ritual creativity in development of the Lên đồng ritual. This paper describes practitioners of the Lên đồng ritual who have borrowed religious elements from minority communities, in particular the Tày and Nùng minority groups in the mountainous region of northern Vietnam. The recent fieldwork also revealed how knowledgeable ritual masters (thầy cúng) from these communities are often called upon to perform the invocation rites that initiate a Lên đồng ritual for Việt majority spirit mediums. The paper argues that people’s increased awareness of indigenous religious practices has contributed to their improved perception of ethnic minority people’s cultural practices. The authority and meaning of the religious expression of minority groups is shown in this story of a ritual master of ethnic minority origin with a reputation for high ritual efficacy.