Saint Mother Liễu Hạnh: The Only Female Saint in the Four Immortals and the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Realms

Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh: The Only Female Saint in the Tứ Bất Tử and the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces

Who is Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh? The Only Female Saint in the Tứ Bất Tử and the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces

Why does Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh hold a special place in the Vietnamese mind?

In the treasury of Vietnamese folk belief, "Tứ Bất Tử" (the Four Immortals) is a phrase referring to four immortal saints, symbolising the aspiration for eternity and the noble values of the nation. Those four are: Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, Phù Đổng Thiên Vương, Chử Đồng Tử and Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh. What makes Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh different and special is precisely that she is the only woman among the Tứ Bất Tử. Not only that, she is also exalted as the supreme Holy Mother in the Heritage of the Practice of the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people. The familiar saying "Tháng Tám giỗ Cha, tháng Ba giỗ Mẹ" (the eighth month honours the Father, the third month honours the Mother) has sunk deep into the collective consciousness, expressing the special reverence reserved for her, the Mother of all people, alongside Đức Thánh Trần.

It should be made clear from the outset: the story of Liễu Hạnh's descent to earth and the title Tứ Bất Tử belong to the category of legend, that is, oral folk material recorded later. This is material for understanding religious life, not biographical material about a real person. Therefore, all the details below should be read as myth and legend, not as the history of a person.

What is the origin and myth of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh?

Unlike other saints, who usually have a clear history, the myth of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh is dense with fantastical elements, recorded in many ancient texts, spirit records, family genealogies and jade genealogies of clans in the Phủ Dầy area, Nam Định. According to legend, Mẫu Liễu Hạnh was originally Princess Quỳnh Hoa, the second daughter of the Jade Emperor. Because of a fault (breaking a jade cup) she was exiled to the mortal world to cultivate her heart and nature.

The myth recounts that she descended to earth as a human three times, each time linked to different places and identities:

• The first time: She was born into the Phạm family in Quảng Nạp, Vị Nhuế, Ý Yên, Nam Định, and was named Phạm Tiên Nga. After 40 years of life in the mortal world, she transformed and returned to heaven.
• The second time: She was born into the Lê family in An Thái, Vụ Bản, Nam Định, bearing the name Lê Thị Thắng, with the title Giáng Tiên. This time is linked to a more concrete historical marker, as she transformed at the hour of the Tiger on the 3rd day of the 3rd month in 1577 (under the Mạc dynasty), when she was only 21 years old. This descent is tied to the Phủ Dầy relic complex of today.
• The third time: She was born in Nga Sơn, Thanh Hóa and completed her term and returned to the immortals when she was only 18 years old.

In all three descents, Mẫu Liễu Hạnh manifested as a beautiful woman, complete in talent and virtue, constantly wandering the world, saving people and helping life. For this reason, legend says that she was granted titles many times by feudal dynasties from the Later Lê to the Nguyễn, with noble honorifics such as "Mẫu nghi thiên hạ" (Mother of all people), "Chế Thắng Bảo Hòa Diệu Đại Vương". Finally, according to legend, she took refuge in the Buddha's door in a semi-monastic manner and attained the way with the title Mã hoàng Bồ tát. This combination of folk belief, Taoism and Buddhism shows the distinctive cultural harmony and acculturation of the Vietnamese.

Is Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh a folk belief or a religion?

This is an academic question on which there is no consensus. Most previous studies classify the worship of Mẫu Liễu Hạnh as a phenomenon of culture and folk belief. However, in the article "Mẫu Liễu Hạnh through the lens of religious studies" published in the Journal of Religious Studies in 2004, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn proposes a different view: the author does not use the adjective "folk" to describe the worship of Mẫu Liễu, but regards it as a new indigenous religion, formed in a context of blending many elements that seem impossible to blend. For Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, this is a type of religion of no pure origin, which has borrowed "techniques" and methods from other religions in order to construct itself.

It should be noted that this is the view of one author in a debate about academic classification, not a conclusion on which researchers agree. Readers should see it as a worthwhile way of framing the question, alongside the familiar designation of folk belief.

Also in this article, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn analyses the name of the Mother as a blend of Taoism and Buddhism, even with traces of Confucianism, though not pronounced. In the figure of the Mother, according to the author's assessment, a Tiên (immortal) and an incarnate Bodhisattva (mostly Quán Thế Âm) converge at once, thereby embracing both the aspiration for liberation and salvation. Through the red colour of Mẫu Liễu's garments, the author also points out the similarity between her and the Celestial Mother in the Tam Tòa, while linking her to the Taoist "Tam Quan" system comprising Thiên Quan, Địa Quan and Thủy Quan.. These are the analytical observations of an academic article, offered for reference rather than as independently verified facts.

How do Buddhism and Mother Goddess worship receive each other through the case of Liễu Hạnh?

Another line of analysis comes from Nguyễn Hữu Thụ in the article "Some remarks on the contact between Buddhism and Mother Goddess worship through the legends of Phật Mẫu Man Nương and Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh" (Journal of Religious Studies, 2009). The author places the two legends side by side to show how Buddhism and Mother Goddess worship receive each other. According to Nguyễn Hữu Thụ, Man Nương in the legend of Cổ Châu Phật bản hạnh shows Buddhism intersecting with the Vietnamese worship of female deities at the time of Buddhism's early introduction; while in the 16th century, Mẫu Liễu Hạnh is also seen as a point where Buddhism intersects with the Vietnamese Mother Goddess worship. The author also mentions four mother figures representing four geographical spaces, among which Mẫu Liễu Hạnh governs the human realm, that is, the world of human beings.

A methodological point to emphasise: this is an analysis of legendary texts, not historical evidence about a person. In other words, the authors are reading legend as material about religious life, not asserting that the legend describes a real human being.

What is the role of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh in the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces?

Mother Goddess worship is a distinctive indigenous belief of the Vietnamese, worshipping female deities who govern the regions of the sky, the water and the forests and mountains. Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh holds an extremely important position in this system of deities. She is not only a saint worshipped separately but is also regarded as the incarnation of the First Holy Mother Thượng Thiên, the deity who governs the sky.

In the Tam tòa Thánh Mẫu (comprising Mẫu Thượng Thiên, Mẫu Thượng Ngàn and Mẫu Thoải), Mẫu Liễu Hạnh is worshipped in the central position, represented by the colour red. Red symbolises supreme power, good fortune and ardour. In her role as the incarnation of Mẫu Thượng Thiên, she has the power to govern the sky, to master supernatural forces such as clouds, rain, wind, storms and thunder. This explains why she is regarded as the supreme Holy Mother, standing at the head of the pantheon, and is the main, most important object of worship in the temples and palaces belonging to the Mother Goddess system.

What role does Phủ Dầy play in the worship and festival of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh?

The Historical and Cultural Relic Complex of Phủ Dầy in Kim Thái commune, Vụ Bản district (before 7/2025), Ninh Bình province (before 7/2025 it was Nam Định province) is regarded as the place tied to the second descent and transformation into an immortal of Mẫu Liễu Hạnh. This is the largest and most important worship centre of Mother Goddess belief in Vietnam.

The name Phủ Dầy (or Phủ Giầy) is also linked to several interesting legends. One legend recounts that, because she missed her family in the mortal world so much, before returning to heaven the Mother left a shoe on earth, and so the place is named Kẻ Giầy. When the Mother was exalted as "Mẫu nghi thiên hạ", Kẻ Giầy was renamed Phủ Giầy. Another legend tells of the king passing by, being given a pair of shoes by the Mother, and so the people established a place of worship called Phủ Giầy. There is also a hypothesis that the name Phủ Dầy originates from the famous delicious bánh dầy (sticky rice cake) of this land.

Every year, the Phủ Dầy Festival is held in the third lunar month, exactly at the time of the Mother's death anniversary, lasting many days with many distinctive rituals. The festival is not only an occasion to honour the merits of the Holy Mother but also a place where the distinctive cultural and religious values of the Vietnamese converge and spread. Activities such as the torch procession, the procession to invite the scriptures, and the flower staff festival take place in a solemn, reverent atmosphere, attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims from far and wide. With its outstanding historical, cultural and artistic architectural values, the Phủ Dầy relic complex has been ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic.

What is the meaning of the chầu văn and hầu đồng rituals in Mother Goddess worship?

The most prominent element in the Phủ Dầy Festival, and also the main, central ritual of the Practice of the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces, is the chầu văn - hầu đồng ritual. This is a form of folk performance expressing faith in the descent/possession of the deities in the pantheon. Practitioners (thanh đồng) believe that through this form they can communicate with the divine beings, becoming intermediaries to convey wishes and aspirations for a peaceful life.

A hầu đồng session is a harmonious combination of văn singing, costume and sacred dance. Amid clouds of incense, the plaintive sound of văn singing, the sound of drums and clappers, the moon lute, flute and two-string fiddle now leisurely, now urgent, the thanh đồng changes into splendid garments through each giá đồng, embodying the saints with symbolic, stylised dance movements. Each giá đồng has its own colours, costumes and gestures, from the mandarins, the chầu ladies, the princes and princesses to the cô and cậu, creating a diverse and captivating artistic world.

From a cultural perspective, hầu đồng is an intangible cultural heritage synthesising many values of folk cultural forms such as oral belief, performance, music, literature, dance, mime and fine art. It is also a form of shamanism (trance performance) quite common in many countries around the world such as Korea, Mongolia, Brazil and Russia, showing similarities in the spiritual life of humanity.

From national heritage to humanity's heritage, how did it happen?

The enormous cultural values of Mother Goddess worship in general and the role of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh in particular have been recognised. The chầu văn ritual of the Vietnamese people was included by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Then in 2016, an important milestone was marked when UNESCO officially inscribed "The Practice of the Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This inscription is not only international recognition of the enormous cultural value of this belief but also a responsibility of the whole community to preserve and promote it. The Phủ Dầy Festival together with the relic complex has become one of the country's typical festivals, a spiritual tourism destination attracting domestic and international visitors.

Conclusion

Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh is not only a legendary figure but also a profound cultural symbol. From the story of Princess Quỳnh Hoa exiled to the mortal world, through three descents with many vicissitudes, she became the only female saint in the Tứ Bất Tử, the Mẫu nghi thiên hạ, a symbol of the strength, compassion and benevolence of Vietnamese women. The worship of her and the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces not only reflects a rich spiritual life but also expresses the moral principle of "uống nước nhớ nguồn" (when drinking water, remember the source), honouring the role of women in Vietnamese culture, a priceless heritage that must be preserved for future generations.

Summary table of the three descents of Thánh Mẫu Liễu Hạnh according to myth.