Practitioners describe căn đồng as a spirit root that forces the trình đồng rite, while anthropologists read it as rebuilding self and social position.
Under Vietnam's 2019 UNESCO dossier, Then is a Tày, Nùng and Thái ritual led by Then masters, with cầu an and giải hạn rites, songs and the đàn tính lute.
Anthropology finds modernisation does not erase spirit belief in Vietnam. Temples and festivals grew busier after Đổi Mới for several overlapping reasons.