TL;DR: Worship customs in Vietnam differ across regions and ethnic groups mainly because of different living environments and livelihoods, different histories of migration and cultural contact, and the spiritual needs of each community. The differences show in which deities are worshipped, in rituals, offerings, and organization, not in which place is more standard. These are parallel traditions, all worthy of recognition as cultural heritage.
Why do people in different places worship different deities even though all are Vietnamese?
Villages across Vietnam all worship a Thành hoàng (village guardian deity), yet a communal house in the Red River Delta is usually tied to one specific deity of that village, while a communal house in the Mekong Delta worships several layers of deities together. This difference is not about which place keeps the correct practice, but the result of different historical currents and living conditions. According to Phan Kế Bính in Việt Nam phong tục (published as a book in 1915), the custom of worshipping Thành hoàng in our country originated from contact with China during the Northern Domination; by the Đinh and Lê dynasties, worship of spirits and deities had become widespread[1]. At first the court established shrines to mountain and river deities to guard a region, then later conferred titles on loyal officials and people who served the country, and gradually the people imitated one another, so every village needed its own presiding deity.
Notably, each village chose a different deity, depending on who had served that village or on local legend. As a result, Vietnam's spiritual map is dense with deities of the same name but different origins, or the same origin but different worship rites.
How do living environment and livelihood shape which deities are worshipped?
One of the clearest causes is natural conditions and occupation. Coastal residents have deities that delta residents do not, and vice versa. In a study published in the Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Huế in 2020, Nguyễn Thăng Long surveyed Thai Dương Hạ village and found that alongside the common beliefs of the nation, residents of the coastal and lagoon areas also preserved beliefs with their own character, including worship of Thành hoàng, worship of âm linh (wandering souls), worship of the whale (cá Ông), worship of Thai Dương phu nhân, and the cầu ngư (fishing prayer) festival[2]. These beliefs are tied directly to fishing and life at sea.
In Đồ Sơn, Hải Phòng, Mother Goddess worship is tied to the legend of Cô Chín and Suối Rồng stream. According to an article in báo Văn hóa, the Cô Chín temple worships Cô Chín along with the system of deities in Tam Phủ, Tứ Phủ (Three Palaces, Four Palaces) worship, and goddess worship in the Đồ Sơn sea area has a long history, reflecting the cultural identity of coastal residents[3]. Legend says Cô Chín was a young woman who died in a sea storm, her garments caught on the cliff, and from the rock crevice flowed fresh water. This story shows how coastal residents tie deities to landforms and water sources, the elements they depend on for survival.
In the Mekong Delta, where rivers and canals are the main transport axes, deities also take a different shape. Đỗ Thị Hà Thơ, in a study on deity worship at communal houses in Đồng Tháp (Tạp chí Khoa học Trường Đại học Cần Thơ, 2018), observed that deity worship there was formed and inherited from the intellectual achievements of the Vietnamese on the southward march; the Mekong Delta communal house is open, integrative, and pluralistic, worshipping several layers of deities together[4]. The author also notes that when the communal house followed migrants south, it no longer held the leading role in village life as in the North, and its worship function overshadowed its secular function.
What traces do migration history and cultural exchange leave in rituals?
Differences between regions also come from migration history and cultural contact. When Vietnamese from the North and Central regions migrated south, they brought old beliefs but had to adjust them to the new environment. Trần Diễm Thùy, in a study published in the Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Đồng Tháp in 2019 on tống ôn tống gió (expelling epidemic and wind) rituals in the Mekong Delta, observed that when Central Vietnamese brought the âm binh (spirit soldiers) offering south, they transformed this ritual to fit the new context: in the Mekong Delta it was no longer performed at âm linh shrines as in the Central region, but became part of communal house or miễu (shrine) worship, usually at the end of the kỳ yên festival, with small paper boats floated on rivers and canals[5]. The author also notes that in Long An and Sóc Trăng, during tống ôn tống gió there was also a waterborne rite to welcome the dead performed by Buddhist monks, showing the interweaving of folk belief and Buddhism in the new land.
This interweaving was not one-way. In the Mekong Delta, Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa, and Cham communities lived together on the same land, and their beliefs had the chance to meet and influence one another. That is why communal houses here often worship several deities of different origins together, from the Vietnamese Thành hoàng to deities of other communities.
What are the specific differences between regions?
To see the differences clearly, some specific aspects can be compared between regions:
| Aspect | Red River Delta | Central coast | Mekong Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main deities | Village Thành hoàng, mountain and river deities, loyal officials | Thành hoàng, whale (cá Ông), Thai Dương phu nhân, sea deities | Thành hoàng worshipped with several layers, migrant guardian deities |
| Ritual character | Sóc vọng ceremonies, Confucian-style offerings | Cầu ngư festival, âm binh offerings at âm linh shrines | Kỳ yên festival, tống ôn tống gió integrated into communal house worship |
| Ritual items | Oản (rice cakes), bananas, betel and wine | Long chu (paper dragon boat), votive paper, paper effigies | Paper boats, rice, salt, candles |
| Role of the communal house | Center of village life, secular and worship functions side by side | Tied to fishing and the cầu ngư festival | Worship function overshadows secular function |
The table shows differences not only in deities but also in how rituals are organized, what offerings are made, and the role of the place of worship in community life. These differences reflect living conditions, the history of community formation, and the degree of cultural exchange in each region.
How do different ethnic groups worship differently?
Differences exist not only between regions of the Vietnamese but also between ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its own system of deities, tied to its cosmology and economic life. It should be noted that Vietnam recognizes 54 ethnic groups under the Danh mục các thành phần dân tộc attached to Quyết định số 121-TCTK/PPCĐ dated 02/3/1979, and local groups such as Mông Hoa, Mông Trắng, and Mông Đen are branches of the Mông ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
Differences in worship between ethnic groups show in many aspects: the system of deities (nature deities, ancestor deities, occupational deities), rituals (cầu mùa (prayer for a good harvest), cúng cơm mới (new rice offering), life-cycle ceremonies), and community organization (who presides, who participates). These differences do not make any ethnic group more standard, but only reflect how each community adapts to its living environment and organizes its spiritual life.
When does difference become a problem worth discussing?
Difference only becomes a problem when someone imposes one understanding as the norm and measures other places against it. Đỗ Thị Hà Thơ (2018) also notes that young people who want to learn local rituals sometimes face difficulty because they must look through books without the chance to be guided by those actually practicing, and the strict attitude of some elders can interrupt transmission[4]. This is a challenge in heritage preservation, but it does not mean any region or ethnic group is doing wrong.
Another point to note is that rituals can change over time and circumstances. Trần Thị Lan Hương and Hoàng Thị Mỹ Nhị, in a study on changes in perception and practice of belief and religion during the Covid-19 pandemic (Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Tôn giáo, 2024), recorded that belief and religious organizations made adjustments to adapt to the pandemic while still maintaining traditional cultural values[6]. This shows that even within one community, rituals can change over time, not remain fixed forever.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: how should this difference be read?
When learning about worship customs in different places and ethnic groups, it is best to start by acknowledging the difference as it is, rather than hastily comparing better and worse. Each worship tradition is the result of a specific historical process, tied to the living conditions and spiritual needs of that community. When reading or hearing about an unfamiliar custom, one can ask: what livelihood does this community live by, when did they arrive here, which cultures have they come into contact with. These questions often help understand more deeply than merely noting the surface of the ritual.
For those working in preservation or transmission, recording and disseminating local rituals is necessary, but should be done with the participation of those actually practicing, to avoid losing important details or imposing an outside understanding.
