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Practices related to the Việt beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms marks_1
  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00000010
    Country Vietnam
    ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Performing Arts Social practices, rituals, festive events Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe
    Address
    The Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms are practiced in a number of provinces and cities in Viet Nam. The supreme spirit at the top of the pantheon is the Mother Goddess Liễu Hạnh and Nam Định province is one of the localities where there are notable centers dedicated to the Goddess. Today, there are total about 400 temples and palaces dedicated to Mother Goddesses in this province. Liễu Hạnh is also worshipped at other temples and palaces. These include West Lake Palace (Ha Noi city), Sòng temple (Thanh Hoá province), Bắc Lệ temple (Lạng Sơn province). The beliefs have spread widely across different provinces including the provinces of Hà Nam, Hưng Yên, Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Thái Bình, Quảng Ninh, Vĩnh Phúc, Phú Thọ, Yên Bái, Tuyên Quang, Hòa Bình, Bắc Ninh, Bắc Giang, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Thừa Thiên Huế and Hồ Chí Minh City.
Description Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses focus on the worship of mother spirits of three realms, which are heavenly realm, realm of water and realm of mountains and forests. Since the 16th century, Beliefs in the Goddesses have developed into a spiritual and cultural activity that has had a profound influence on social life and consciousness of the people. Followers worship Mother Goddess Liễu Hạnh as well as other spirits who are historical or legendary heroes. According to legends, Liễu Hạnh was a nymph who descended to earth, lived as a human being and became a Buddhist nun. She is worshiped as “The Mother of the World” and as one of the four immortals of the Việt. At temples, daily worship is organized by temple guardians. Main practices of the Beliefs include spirit possession rituals and traditional festivals among which the most notable is Phủ Dầy festival in Kim Thái commune, Nam Định province. The festival lasts from the third day to the tenth day of the third lunar month and includes rituals, folk performances, a procession of the Buddhist scripture and a “word arrangement”. Through folk cultural expressions including costumes, chầu văn songs, and dance in spirit possession rituals and folk performance in festivals, the Việt express their views on history, cultural heritage, gender roles and ethnic cultural identities. The power and meaning of the Beliefs resides in their ability to meet spiritual demands and everyday desires and to help them achieve good fortune in health, work and business.
Social and cultural significance The festival and spirit possession rituals, which artfully combine traditional costumes, music and dance, can be understood as a “living museum” that maintains the history, cultural heritage and identity of the Việt people. The Mother Goddesses and historical figures such as the heroic general Trần Hưng Đạo, as well as the mythical mandarins and princesses who descended to earth and lived as talented and virtuous people, gained merit by fighting against foreign invaders and protecting the nation and the people. After they died, these historical and mythical figures were deified as spirits and beliefs connected to these spirits express ideas about the origin of the nation and educate the younger generation about patriotism. With strong beliefs in the compassion and the grace of the Mother Goddesses, the aim of participation in the spirit possession rituals and festival activities is to pray for health, good luck, and happiness. This expresses people’s everyday desires and encourages a humane and compassionate basis for human relations. The worship of the Mother Goddesses, who are symbols of the supreme powerful mother, makes a contribution to valuing women and their role in family life and society. The festival activities and spirit possession rituals are collective cultural and spiritual activities. Everyone can share their sympathetic feelings toward the spirits and benefit from shared cultural and spiritual values, which contributes to a sense of ‘communitas’ and connects community members, spirit mediums and singers.
Transmission method The knowledge and skills of ritual practices are orally transmitted to novices by the temple guardians, ritual priests, spirit mediums and mediums' assistants. The priests must have knowledge of Sino-Vietnamese script and ritual procedures. They must be good at performing ceremonial petitions, acts and orations. They usually transfer their ritual knowledge to one of their sons or disciples. The master spirit mediums perform initiation rituals for the novice mediums and instruct them how to perform ritual acts, such as the kowtowing, dancing and communicating with participants in a way that is appropriate to the spirit incarnated. The music and songs performed during rituals is known as chầu văn and the songs for each spirit incarnation recount the spirit’s life, character and merits. The musical system outlines precise melodies, lyrics and rhythms to be used during spirit possession rituals. The musicians must know a repertory of melodies and know how to play folk instruments such as the two-stringed moon lute, bamboo flute, the percussion instruments like the small ‘praise' drum, small cymbal, bamboo clappers and small gongs. Expert singers teach novices orally and through their performances at rituals. Traditional festivals dedicated to Mother Goddesses, such as the famous Phủ Dầy festival, are organized by elders and the festival organizing board. The festival includes the participation of villagers in processions, the “word arrangement” performance, and other folk performances such as wrestling, and dragon and lion dances. The festival activities and performances are transmitted to the younger generation by elders through oral instruction.
Community The owners of Beliefs of the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms are the Việt people in the northern, central parts of Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh City, among which Nam Định province in the northern part is the Center of the Beliefs. The practitioners are comprised of temple guardians, ritual priests, spirit mediums, mediums’ assistants, musicians who perform the songs for the spirits, disciples and lay adherents who share the same beliefs in the spiritual power, supernatural strength and protection of the Mother Goddess spirit pantheon. All of these practitioners form groups who worship together, take part in traditional festivals and perform spirit possession rituals at ‘temples’ (đền) and ‘palaces’ (phủ) dedicated to Mother Goddesses.
Type of UNESCO List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Incribed year in UNESCO List 2016

Information source
Vietnam National Institute Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS)
http://vicas.org.vn

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