TL;DR: According to Đinh Hồng Hải (2021), 'tam linh' and 'du lich tam linh' are recent coinages in Vietnamese society whose current meanings differ sharply from 20th-century dictionary definitions; they emerged within the market economy and the post-Doi Moi tourism boom, and are analysed through theories of religious commodification. Studies of the Huế Festival, the Bà Chúa Xứ shrine at Núi Sam, and the Thai Dương Hạ fishing village show that beliefs can be reconstructed and exploited as tourism products, but that does not mean judging whether a belief is efficacious. This is why the site uses the word 'tam linh' cautiously, separating belief from the product that bears its name.
What do 'tam linh' and 'du lich tam linh' mean differently from before?
In Vietnamese today, "tam linh" is commonly used to refer to matters of spiritual life, belief in supernatural forces, or activities connected with religion and folk belief. But according to Đinh Hồng Hải (2021), this is a recently adopted word, and its current meaning differs sharply from the definitions recorded in 20th-century dictionaries. He traces the etymology of "tam linh" and "du lich tam linh", then places them in the context of their emergence and existence in contemporary Vietnamese society, from the Doi Moi period to the present.
According to the author, these are two terms that have only recently appeared in Vietnamese society, used to speak of activities at the intersection of religion and folk belief with the economy and tourism. The study uses K. Marx's theory of commodification and Ludwig v. Mises's praxeology to examine related issues in the period from Doi Moi to the present.
Đinh Hồng Hải's work (2021) places these two concepts alongside Western terms for comparison: "spirituality" tied to spiritualism, and "pilgrimage" tied to major religions such as Christianity or Islam. In Vietnam, according to the author, "tam linh" and "du lich tam linh" instead arose from the socialist-oriented market economy together with the tourism boom after Doi Moi.
This means that when people use the word "tam linh" in Vietnamese today, they usually no longer use it with its old dictionary meaning, but as a concept tied to the market and consumption. This is a point to keep in mind when reading any article on this topic.
How does the Huế Festival reconstruct the Nam Giao ceremony?
Oscar Salemink (2007) studied the Huế Festival and showed that court rituals are reconstructed as a heritage product serving tourism. The study is titled "The emperor's new clothes: Re-fashioning ritual in the Huế Festival", published in the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies.
Salemink (2007) describes the Huế Festival as a periodic cultural event at which court rituals, most notably the Nam Giao ceremony, are restaged and recreated as a heritage product for visitors. The author calls this process "re-fashioning": ritual is reshaped to suit the demands of the tourism market.
What is notable is that this reconstruction is not merely the revival of an ancient ritual, but a deliberate activity aimed at creating a cultural product that attracts visitors. Salemink's study (2007) shows that ritual in this context carries both cultural symbolism and economic value, and the two aspects are not separable.
What does the Bà Chúa Xứ shrine mean for An Giang tourism?
The work of Hồ Thị Đào and Nguyễn Quốc Bình (2021) discusses the cultural value that the worship of Bà Chúa Xứ at Núi Sam contributes to An Giang's tourism industry.
Hồ Thị Đào and Nguyễn Quốc Bình (2021) argue that the worship of Bà Chúa Xứ at Núi Sam together with the Vía Bà festival is both a distinctive cultural product and an indispensable element in the spiritual life of An Giang residents. In the recent period, as tourism developed, authorities, managers and businesses turned that belief into a signature tourism product of the locality.
According to these two authors, the legend of Bà Chúa Xứ at Núi Sam (An Giang) has existed for many centuries; local residents hold the Lady in utmost reverence, and that reverence is expressed in many forms: building places of worship, arranging statues, making clothing, offering gifts, and especially the ritual of worship and the solemn annual organisation of the Vía Bà festival.
As for the festival, the two authors Hồ Thị Đào and Nguyễn Quốc Bình (2021) list many forms of activity: arts performances linked to four ethnic groups, sports competitions, entertainment, art exhibitions and cooking contests. These activities draw large numbers of visitors, and are held annually.
From the perspective of exploitation, this work asserts that in An Giang, Núi Sam together with the Bà Chúa Xứ shrine and the Vía Bà festival brings together all the elements that make a destination attractive to visitors from everywhere, and is also a valuable cultural tourism resource for the province's tourism industry.
In folk belief, local residents believe in the sacredness of Bà Chúa Xứ, and this belief is expressed through worship rituals and offerings.
Hồ Thị Đào and Nguyễn Quốc Bình (2021) also raise the opposite side: people's belief in Bà Chúa Xứ was originally just a folk belief, but at times it has been turned into superstition, and that indirectly benefits those who live around the Lady's shrine, those who want to profit from the faith of pilgrims and visitors in the Lady's sacredness.
According to this work as well, tourism is a two-sided phenomenon: on one hand it drives economic, cultural and social development; on the other, it causes degradation of the natural environment and the cultural and social environment, and tourism exploitation easily erodes the cultural identity of each locality and each ethnic group.
How does tourism affect the cau ngu festival in Thai Dương Hạ?
Nguyễn Thăng Long (2020) studied the belief life and festivals of the residents of Thai Dương Hạ village, pointing out traditional values and trends of change in the present period.
According to Nguyễn Thăng Long (2020), Thai Dương Hạ is a coastal village with a long history of formation on the old Thuận Hoá land. Situated in a habitat with the sea on one side and lagoons and rice fields on the other, the residents of Thai Dương Hạ created diverse cultural features bearing strong elements of sea, lagoon and inland residents.
The study points out that in sea-based economic activities with precarious, dangerous and uncertain conditions, a system of belief in supernatural forces formed in their religious life[1].
Through Nguyễn Thăng Long's survey (2020), the practice of beliefs and festivals in Thai Dương Hạ today has changed in many ways, from timeframe and scale to ritual ceremonies. Previously, in years that fell due for the "tam nien dao le" cycle, villagers held the cau ngu festival lasting 3 to 5 days; today the festival lasts only 1 to 2 days. Similarly, the custom of worshipping the Whale now retains only the offering on the death anniversary of the whale at the whale shrine; the offerings still follow tradition but have been somewhat simplified.
According to this work as well, life has become more prosperous, and through socialisation, the community organises beliefs and festivals on a larger scale than before. Economic growth is also an advantage, acting as a foundation that helps preserve and restore belief and festival activities not only in Thai Dương Hạ village but also in many other localities across the country.
However, the work also points out the downside of economic growth: people are easily caught up in the struggle to make a living, sometimes forgetting spiritual and cultural values and the needs of spiritual life; they are ready to give money instead of directly contributing labour to belief and festival activities.
Discussing urbanisation, according to Nguyễn Thăng Long (2020), Thai Dương Hạ village now plays the role of the core of Thuận An town. The formation and development of Thuận An urban area from 1999 onward is among the key reasons why many cultural values of the residents of Thai Dương Hạ fishing village have changed. Located only 12 km from the centre of Hue city, Thuận An town has seen increasingly strong seaside tourism. Thanks to that advantage, a series of resort areas have sprung up, blocking views, narrowing and deforming the relics and spaces of belief life of the residents.
The study also cites data on festival funding: according to material provided by Mr P.B.M., 82 years old, a resident of Thai Dương Hạ, the total amount contributed by organisations and individuals at home and abroad to prepare for the festival reached nearly 600 million dong. This figure shows that the scale of the cau ngu festival is growing larger thanks to the support and contributions of a large number of villagers.
Asked about the deity worshipped in the Thai Dương phu nhan shrine, a 22-year-old resident of Hải Tiến residential group answered: "I don't know exactly who is worshipped, I only heard my grandparents say that this shrine worships the Lady".
Nguyễn Thăng Long (2020) observes that if viewed in terms of development, the forms of belief and festival values in Thai Dương Hạ have by no means lost faith, but have only transformed and changed in behaviour. Even so, faced with new challenges, the question is how to keep traditional folk beliefs and festivals from being deformed.
Why does the site use the word 'tam linh' cautiously?
As presented, "tam linh" in Vietnamese today is a new word, and its current meaning differs sharply from 20th-century dictionary definitions. When the site uses this word, it is necessary to distinguish two planes clearly: one is the belief and folk faith of practitioners; the other is the tourism product bearing the name "tam linh" created by the market. Đinh Hồng Hải (2021) shows that "tam linh" and "du lich tam linh" emerged within the market economy and the tourism boom after Doi Moi, and are analysed through theories of religious commodification.
There is not yet complete statistical data on the number of spiritual tourism visitors in Vietnam. Existing studies are mainly qualitative, case-specific, with no nationwide survey. This is a gap that needs to be filled in the future.
What do the studies compared in the table show?
| Study | Subject | Method | Main result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Đinh Hồng Hải (2021) | Etymology and new meanings of "tam linh", "du lich tam linh" | Etymological analysis, Marx's commodification theory and Mises's praxeology | Recent coinages, meanings differ from 20th-century dictionaries; emerged in the market economy and post-Doi Moi tourism boom |
| Salemink (2007) | Huế Festival, reconstruction of the Nam Giao ceremony | Case study | Court ritual reconstructed as a heritage product serving tourism |
| Hồ Thị Đào and Nguyễn Quốc Bình (2021) | Worship of Bà Chúa Xứ at Núi Sam, An Giang | Case study | Belief exploited as a tourism product; downside is the risk of superstition and over-exploitation |
| Nguyễn Thăng Long (2020) | Thai Dương Hạ fishing village, Thừa Thiên Huế | Case study | Cau ngu festival changed in time and scale; economy and tourism affect belief life |
Conclusion
This article explains a word the site uses daily, helping readers separate belief from the tourism product bearing its name. According to Đinh Hồng Hải (2021), "tam linh" and "du lich tam linh" are new words whose current meanings differ sharply from 20th-century dictionary definitions. Studies of the Huế Festival, the Bà Chúa Xứ shrine at Núi Sam and the Thai Dương Hạ fishing village show that beliefs can be reconstructed and exploited as tourism products, but that does not mean judging whether a belief is efficacious. Where evidence is still lacking is data on spiritual tourism visitor numbers, for which no complete statistics exist yet.
