What Does Vietnamese Folk Belief Encompass?

Vietnamese folk belief is a long-standing system of sacred beliefs, comprising many branches such as ancestor worship, worship of natural deities, worship of Thành Hoàng (village guardian spirits), Đạo Mẫu (the Mother Goddess religion), agricultural beliefs, and the rituals of many ethnic groups. This is traditional knowledge of a referential nature, not yet verified by science, and should not be regarded as a promise of fortune, health or marriage.

What is folk belief and how does it differ from religion?

Folk belief is belief in supernatural forces, deities and souls, formed naturally in community life over many generations. It usually has no founder, no doctrine and no tight organisation like a complete religion. Unlike religions with a system of scriptures and a church, folk belief is tied to customs, rituals, and the village and family life of the community. Many folk beliefs coexist and interweave with Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, creating the diverse spiritual life of the Vietnamese people.

A summary table of the branches of Vietnamese folk belief and their corresponding objects of worship.

What role does ancestor worship play in life?

Ancestor worship is the most widespread and long-standing belief of the Vietnamese people. Each family usually has an ancestor altar, and observes death anniversaries, Tết and other important occasions. This belief expresses the moral principle of remembering the source when drinking water, and binds the generations within the family and clan. In addition, many ethnic minorities also have their own ways of worshipping ancestors, or worship mountain and forest deities in place of ancestors, reflecting a worldview tied to their living environment.

What branches does the worship of deities and village Thành Hoàng include?

The worship of deities in folk belief is quite diverse. The village Thành Hoàng is the deity who protects a village, usually worshipped at the communal house, and may be a historical figure who rendered service to the country or a legendary figure. There is also the worship of Thổ Công, Thổ Địa (deities of the land), Táo Quân (the kitchen deity), Thần Tài and Ông Địa (deities of wealth and fortune, usually worshipped together). Some other branches include the worship of Quan Công by the Hoa community, the worship of Ông Tà in the South, and the worship of Cá Ông by coastal fishermen. Each branch has its own origins and rituals, reflecting the cultural interweaving between communities.

What are the features of Đạo Mẫu and Mother Goddess worship?

Đạo Mẫu is an indigenous belief of the Vietnamese people, honouring the goddesses and Holy Mothers who govern the regions of the universe such as Heaven, Earth and Water (the Three Palaces) or with the addition of Mountains (the Four Palaces). The central ritual of Đạo Mẫu is hầu đồng (mediumship), in which mediums perform the "giá hầu" (spirit possession rites) to connect with the deities. This belief directs people toward life in the present, praying for luck and peace. Đạo Mẫu expresses the role of women in spiritual life and has been recognised as an intangible cultural heritage.

What is the meaning of agricultural belief and rain-praying festivals?

Agricultural belief is tied to the wet-rice civilisation, and includes rites to pray for rain, for the harvest, and for a bountiful crop. Many ethnic groups such as the Thái, Khơ Mú, Ê Đê, Cơ Ho, Chăm, Sán Chay and Lô Lô have their own rain-praying festivals, usually held at the start of the dry season or before the sowing season. These rituals express reverence for the deities and a desire for harmony with nature. Fertility belief is also an important branch, praying for the proliferation of humans and plants, expressed through festivals such as Nàng Hai of the Tày people.

What distinctive features do the beliefs of ethnic minorities have?

The ethnic minorities of Vietnam have a rich spiritual life, usually tied to nature and the community. The Rục and Bru-Vân Kiều peoples follow animism, believing that all things have souls. The Pu Péo people worship sacred forests, regarding the forest as the dwelling place of deities. The Red Dao have the custom of fire-jumping in the maturity ceremony. The Mường have Mo Mường and the epic "Đẻ đất đẻ nước" (Birth of Land, Birth of Water). Rituals such as rain-praying, village-washing, maturity ceremonies and misfortune-averting rites express the cultural identity and worldview of each ethnic group.

What do life-cycle and peace-praying rituals include?

Besides the branches above, folk belief also includes life-cycle rituals such as the house-entry rite when moving into a new home, offerings to wandering souls on the full moon of the seventh month, star-offering rites to avert misfortune at the start of the year, and offerings to Thần Tài on the tenth day of the first lunar month. These rituals are usually tied to prayers for peace and to seeking permission from deities and ancestors. Each ritual has its own way of preparing offerings and its own sequence, reflecting concepts of yin and yang, the universe, and filial piety in Vietnamese culture.

How should one learn about folk belief properly?

Folk belief is part of cultural heritage, and should be studied with an attitude of respect and objectivity. Readers can learn through detailed articles on each branch, from ancestor worship, Thành Hoàng worship and Đạo Mẫu to the festivals of ethnic minorities. It is necessary to distinguish between spiritual and cultural value and unfounded rumours. This is referential traditional knowledge, and does not replace medical or legal advice or personal decisions. The practice of belief should be based on understanding, and one should not expect specific outcomes regarding fortune, health or marriage.

Articles in the topic of Folk Belief

• Offerings to wandering souls on the full moon of the seventh month: the meaning of the rite of pardon for the dead in folk tradition
• Worshipping the God of Wealth on the 10th Day of the First Lunar Month: Origins and How to Prepare the Offering Tray
• Star-offering rites to avert misfortune at the start of the year: origins, cultural meaning and a view from Buddhism
• The legend of the sacred forest in the beliefs of the Pu Péo people
• What Is Hầu Đồng? The Central Ritual of Đạo Mẫu
• Cau Mua Ceremony - Agricultural Ritual of the Sán Chay People in Ba Chẽ
• The rain-praying rite and village-washing rite in the cultural festival of the Lô Lô people
• The Rain-Praying Ceremony of the E De People in Buôn Ma Thuột
• Unique Rain-Praying Ceremony (Tra Hat) of the Khmer Mu People
• Rain Praying Ceremony of the Cơ Ho Cil People by Lang Biang Mountain
• Traditional Rain Praying Festival of Northern Delta Residents in Hưng Yên
• Nàng Hai Festival (Moon Mother) - Fertility Belief of the Tay People in Cao Bằng
• Quán Thế Âm Festival at Ngũ Hành Sơn - Da Nang's largest Buddhist festival
• Huong Pagoda Festival and the Legend of Goddess of Mercy at Huong Pagoda
• The rain-praying festival of the Thái people: agricultural belief and cultural identity
• Rain-Praying Festival at the Beginning of the Year of the Cham People in Bình Thuận
• The house-entry rite for a new home: preparing offerings and the sequence of rituals
• The shrine of Quan Công: the mark of the beliefs of the Hoa community in Vietnam
• Mo Mường and the Epic 'Đẻ đất đẻ nước' - A Folk Encyclopedia
• The Origins of the Worship of Thần Tài - Ông Địa in Vietnamese Culture
• Worship of Thổ Công and Thổ Địa: Household Land-Guardian Deities
• Ancestor Worship of Vietnamese People: Origins, Norms, and What Has Changed
• Fertility belief in Vietnamese culture
• The belief in worshipping Cá Ông (the Whale) of Vietnamese fishermen
• The Mother Goddess Worship of Tam Phu and the Hau Dong Ritual in Vietnamese Spiritual Life
• The belief in worshipping the village Thành Hoàng of the Vietnamese people
• The Four Dharma Deities (Cloud, Rain, Thunder, Lightning) Worship at Dau Pagoda: Origins and Identity
• The Mountain and Forest Spirit Worship of the Ruc People (Chut Ethnic Group)
• The belief in worshipping Ông Tà in the folk culture of the South
• The fire-jumping custom of the Red Dao in Yên Bái
• The custom of worshipping Táo Quân in the kitchen: the everyday role of the kitchen deity
• Ông Địa and Thần Tài: The Earth God and God of Wealth in Household Worship
• The Animistic Spiritual Life of the Bru-Van Kieu People