A provincial Vietnamese newspaper follows the rise of an ancient folk tradition once banned by the Communist Party.
‘August is the Feast for our Father, March is the Feast for our Mother’ — so goes the Ancient Vietnamese proverb.
These words have rung true for centuries across many different traditions practiced in Vietnam, including the folk religion Đạo Mẫu, which takes the Mother Goddess as its focus of veneration. This cult is a branch of popular Vietnamese folk beliefs and practices, drawing on elements of Buddhism, Taoism and animism, but with strong shamanic overtones.
Just south of the Vietnamese capital, celebrations for the Mother Goddess took place in Nghệ An province this March. Writing for the local newspaper Báo Nghệ An, journalist Thanh Nga reports on the celebrations, including the specific practice of Hầu Đồng, “the infamous ritual of Mother Goddess worship, unique among other Vietnamese customs”, in which the gods are invited to descend into the person performing the rite in order to give out messages, cure diseases, and even exorcise evil spirits. It is, in effect, a form of spirit mediumship.
The ritual itself takes place in a temple. Live music is performed, and the interplay between the rhythm, words being sung and the thick incense smoke creates a solemn atmosphere, Nga reports. Only the spirit medium can participate in the ritual possession itself. They take centre stage, reaching an ecstatic state and inviting the gods to descend upon them. Their bodies twist and dance as each spirit inhabits the medium’s body for a brief moment. “Each spirit medium, in essence, aims to convey the human aspiration for peace and happiness”, Thanh Nga writes: “it is important that all those taking part in the ritual must wish for peace with the purest heart”.
The precise way in which the Mother Goddess is worshipped varies across the country. Some traditions worship Her as an all-encompassing feminine figure, while others worship more specific manifestations represented by legendary figures like the Âu Cơ, the immortal goddess who gave birth to the Viet nation’s first people, and the Trưng Sisters, military leaders who successfully rebelled against Han Chinese rule.
During early Communist rule, worship of the Mother Goddess, and rituals surrounding it such as the practice of spirit mediumship, were seen as forms of superstition – and banned. Over time, however, restrictions were relaxed. The tradition’s popularity grew. In 1987, the government relented, and the practice was formally re-allowed. It has only grown since then. In 2016, it was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, mirroring its resurgence within contemporary Vietnamese culture.
This year, huge crowds have flocked to the temple gates in this part of the country, Thanh Nga reports. The journalist speaks to spirit Medium Cao Huy, one of the organisers of celebrations to worship the Mother Goddess across the region, in the provinces of Nghệ An, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa. (His own practice of mediumship is at the Mother Goddess Temple of Sister Song Son in Thanh Hoa.) “Every time I practice this ritual, the sacred meaning multiplies; I believe this spiritual power reverberates across the country, attracting more people to pilgrimage here for worship every year”, he tells Thanh Nga. It is a moment of collective intensity. “There are some spirit mediums that perform for over an hour. But the crowd stays in a state of rapture, applauding to the very end”, he says.
The continuation of these traditions form part of a “strong Vietnamese cultural identity that has been preserved across generations”, Thanh Nga notes. She is careful to emphasise their sacredness. But she also describes a recent trend, far from the temple, for performers to incorporate elements of Hầu Đồng into their stage shows. Performances of folk culture aimed at tourists have begun to include it as part of their repertoire. Thanh Nga points out that this violates the sanctity of the practice as protected by UNESCO regulations, which state that it can only properly be performed at Mother Goddess shrines in temples.
Spirit Medium Cao Huy offers his own interpretation of the ritual’s cultural and personal significance: “When practicing the ritual of Hầu Đồng, participants have a chance to express deep respect, honour and gratitude to the gods. They can wish for good things for themselves and those around them… This practice teaches cultural traditions, history, and morality.” But he has a warning, too: “If practiced in the wrong context, it will be counterproductive and only offer a distorted performance”.
At this time of year, in the month of the mother, it takes on a particularly strong meaning. “The practice of the ritual of Hầu Đồng at the Mother Goddess festival in March gives the worship of Mother Goddesses even more solemnity and sacredness”, Cao Huy tells Thanh Nga.
TMH
The original article by Thanh Nga was published in Vietnamese on 1 March 2025 under the title ‘Văn hóa hầu đồng và tiệc Mẫu tháng 3’
It is available here.
Báo Nghệ An is the official news media of Nghệ An Province, and is managed by Nghệ An Provincial Party Committee.
