Music and possession in Vietnam
b y
Barley Norton
Thesis Subm itted for th e Degree of Doctor of Philosophy U niversity o f London
School o f O riental a n d A frican Studies D ep artm en t o f Music
2000
ProQuest Number: 10672724
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ABSTRACT
The thesis is a stu d y o f m usical a n d ritu al practice in Vietnam . At its h e a rt is an in v estig ation in to th e relatio ns betw een m usic a n d possession d u rin g m ed iu m sh ip ritu als, len dong.
In q u iry in to th e in te ra ctio n betw een m usic an d ritu a l co n tex t is cru cial for u n d e rsta n d in g possession a n d the m usic p erfo rm ed a t m ed iu m sh ip rituals, chUu van. W hen possessed by spirits, V ietnam ese m edium s experience 'aw are possession1 ra th e r th a n a form of 'tra n ce '. Chau van songs in v ite th e spirits to 'd escen d ' to th e h u m a n w orld a n d en su re the m ain ten ance o f aw are possession. M usicians create song sequences, 'songscapes', fo r each possession, w hich m usically c o n stru ct th e p resen ce o f the spirits.
In a d d itio n to m usic's role in ritual, th e thesis explores the creative process involved in th e realisatio n of th e vocal m elodies of chau van songs, a n d th e g rad u al processes of m usical change th a t have affected th e chau van re p e rto ire a n d p e rfo rm an ce practice.
The trav ersing o f g en d er d u rin g len dong rituals, by b o th fem ale a n d m ale m edium s, has im p o rta n t ram ifications for the gender id en tities o f m edium s. Ritual practice enables m edium s to behave in ways outside p re scrib ed g en d ered roles a n d affords th em scope fo r challenging a n d d estab ilising esta b lish e d g en d er categories.
Len dong has b een a site of co n testatio n durin g the second h a lf o f this cen tu ry . D espite being prim e targ ets of an an ti-su p erstitio n cam paign, len dong a n d chau van have u n d erg o n e a strong revival in th e last decade.
C o n cu rre n t w ith th is revival, folk-culture research ers a n d ritu a l p artic ip a n ts have a tte m p te d to rid len dong of its association w ith 'su p e rstitio n ' by developing a legitim ating discourse w hich refram es m ed iu m sh ip in n atio n alist term s. Chau van has also been im plicated in d eb ates co ncerning th e ideological refo rm o f tra d itio n a l m usics a n d n a tio n a l id e n tity .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I w ould like to th a n k all th e people who assisted my fieldw ork. M any m edium s a n d m usicians generously gave up th eir tim e an d o ffered me hospitality. I can only m en tio n som e of th em here: Le Ba Gao, Cao Mon, Le Tu1 Cu’o'ng, Tran Viet Dtfc, Di/dng Van Nguyen, Nguyln Thi Lai, Nguyln Thi Van, N guyln Thi Xuan, Le Thj Hoa, Nguyln Thj Bfnh, Van Thi Thanh a n d Vu DCfc Quyet. Special th an k s are du e to th e m usicians Pham Van Ty a n d Dang Cong Hung fo r teaching me chau van.
I owe a g reat d e b t to m y d e ar frien d Nguyln Manh Tiln for all his help, a n d I w ould also like to th a n k Trinh Thi Nhan for h e r kindness a n d fo r risking all by rid in g on th e back o f m y Minsk m otorbike.
My fieldw ork b en efited from th e assistance of Dang Hoanh Loan a t the V ietnam M usicology Insitute, Tran Thu Ha a t the Hanoi N ational
C onservatoire, Ngo Dire Thinh a t the Institute of Folk C ulture a n d Phan C u O e a t the Hanoi N ational U niversity. Thanks also to those a t V ietnam Television who p ro d u c e d the d o c u m en tary 'A W esterner loves o u r m usic', especially Kim Huong a n d Huyen An.
My re sea rc h was m ade possible th ro u g h th e financial s u p p o rt o f a th re e -y e ar P o stg rad u ate R esearch S tud en tsh ip aw arded by th e H um anities R esearch Board o f th e British A cadem y an d a One-Year Language
Scholarship aw ard ed by th e School o f O riental a n d A frican Studies (SOAS).
A dditional fieldw ork g ran ts were p ro v id ed by the C entral R esearch F u n d of th e U niversity of L ondon a n d SOAS (A dditional Award for Fieldw ork). The assitan ce o f th ese in stitu tio n s is gratefully acknow ledged.
I am g ratefu l to my su p erv iso r David W. Hughes for his stim u latin g advice a n d m eticulous read in g o f my w ritten work. I w ould also like to th a n k Kevin L atham fo r a d d itio n a l supervision. W hatever sh o rtco m in g s are p re se n t in this thesis are o f course m y own.
T hanks are due to N guyln Thuyet Phong, w ho has done so m uch fo r en co u rag in g re sea rc h in to V ietnam ese m usic, for his c o n tin u e d lo n g d istan ce su p p o rt, a n d to Shaun M alarney for his insightful com m ents o n C hapter 7.
M any th an k s to Alpay Irfan Beler a n d Simon Sainsbury w ho g enerously gave th e ir tim e a n d expertise to create the CD-ROM, a n d to Jim
C opperthw aite for m aking it possible to m ake a CD (and for being su ch a g re a t frien d ).
I wish to th a n k m y p aren ts, M argaret a n d Peter N orton, a n d m y sister, C herry N orton, w ho have p ro v id ed so m u ch love an d su p p o rt over th e years. Friends in H anoi d id m u ch to en h an ce th e fieldw ork experience.
T hanks p a rtic u la rly to Frances House fo r h e r frien d sh ip a n d fo r p ro v id in g a base in Hanoi, a n d Mila R osenthal a n d Jo n a th a n Birchall w ho su p p lie d m u c h su ste n a n c e (e m o tio n a l/in te lle c tu a l/g a stro n o m ic ).
Finally a n d m ost p rofo u n d ly , I th a n k K aren Bayne fo r h e r love, su b tle m in d a n d en d u ran ce.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
LIST OF TABLES v i
CD TRACK LIST v ii
CD-ROM ix
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE x
PHOTOGRAPHS x iii
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1
RITUAL SETTING AND INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 7
CHAPTER 2
MEDIUMSHIP AND POSSESSION 33
CHAPTER 3
'EFFEMINATE' MEN AND 'HOT-TEMPERED' WOMEN: NEGOTIATING GENDER
IDENTITY 63
CHAPTER 4
SONGSCAPES FOR THE SPIRITS 81
CHAPTER 5
THE MUSICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE SPIRITS 110
CHAPTER 6
FINDING THE 'WAY' 138
CHAPTER 7
THE POLITICS OF LEN DONG AND CHAU VAN 158
CHAPTER 8
MUSICAL CHANGE 177
CONCLUSION 197
APPENDIX I
THE PANTHEON OF SPIRITS
APPENDIX II
'COMING OUT' AS A MEDIUM
APPENDIX III
GLOSSARY 217
APPENDIX IV
TRANSCRIPTIONS 220
BIBLIOGRAPHY 221
207
210
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Chau van re p e rto ire 23 1.2 Luc bat poetic form 25
2.1 V ietnam ese possession term s a n d English equivalents 54 4.1 Songscapes fo r the T h ird M andarin 86
4.2 Songscapes for the Second Holy Lady 87 4.3 Songscapes fo r th e T en th Prince 88 4.4 Songscapes for th e T hird Lady 89 5.1 Spirit dances a n d p ercu ssio n rh y th m s 117
5.2 Classification of chau van songs according to the gender, place a n d e th n ic ity o f sp irits 129
5.3 Musical tra its of 'm ale' a n d 'fem ale' songs 134 6.1 Pitch c o n to u r of syllables 148
6.2 Relative p itc h level of successive syllables 152
COMPACT DISC TRACK LIST
All recordings were m ade by the a u th o r in 1997 o r 1998 unless otherw ise stated.
1 Verse o f Doc, sung by Pham Van Ty, reco rd ed by Nimbus Records, April 1998 (Ex. 1)
2 T hree Doc in stru m e n ta l sections, m oon lute played by Pham Van Ty, reco rd ed by Nimbus Records, April 1998 (Ex. 2)
3 Extract o f Ho Hue, sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 3)
4 Extract of Ho Mai Nhi, from "Viet Nam m usiques de Hue", In ed it W 260073 (Ex. 3)
5 T hree verses of Phu Binh, sung by Pham Van Ty (Ex. 4)
6 Phu Binh 'backbone', sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 4)
7 T hree verses of Phu Binh, sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 4)
8 One verse of Phu Binh, sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 4)
9 Four verses of Phu Noi, sung by Pham Van Ty (Ex. 5)
10 Phu Noi 'backbone', sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 5)
11 Two verses of Phu Noi, sung by Dang Cong Hung (Ex. 5)
12 Extract o f W elcoming V ietnam 's G reat Victory, sung by Kim Lien w ith th e Nam Ha Cheo Troupe, reco rd ed by the Voice o f Vietnam ,
June 1975
13 Nam Dinh, My Home Town, sung by Hong Van of the Nam Ha Cheo T roupe
14 Extract o f Presenting Lotus Flowers To Uncle Ho, sung by Kim Lien w ith th e Nam Ha Cheo Troupe, reco rd ed by the Voice of V ietnam , February 1972
15 Extract o f Presenting Lotus Flowers To Uncle Ho, sung by Kim Lien w ith th e Nam Ha Cheo T roupe, reco rd ed by th e Voice o f V ietnam , February 1972
16 Verse o f Suoi Oi, sung by Pham Van Ty (Ex. 7)
17 Verse o f Mua Dang, sung by Pham Van Kiem, recording d etails unk n o w n (Ex. 8)
18 Verse of Cac Ban Tien, sung by Pham Van Ty (Ex. 9)
19 Two verses o f Don, sung by Dang Cong HUng (Ex. 10)
20 Verse of Doan Dtfc Dan's Don, sung by Dang Cong Hiing (Ex. 10)
21 Verse o f Xa Lung, sung by Doan Dttc Dan, recording details unk n o w n (Ex. 11)
22 Verse o f Xa Cao Mon sung by Cao Mon (Ex. 11)
23 Verse o f Xa Tay Nguyen, sung by Pham Van Ty, reco rd ed by Nimbus Records, April 1998 (Ex. 12)
24 Extract of Ty Ba Hanh perfo rm ed by the Ca Tru Thai Ha Group, reco rd ed by Nimbus Records, April 1998 (Ex. 13)
25 Extract o f Phu T^ Ba, sung by Ld Ba Cao (Ex. 13)
26 Ly Qua Cau a n d Ly My HUng, sung by Cao Mon (Ex. 14)
CD-ROM
The CD-ROM consists o f an ab rid g ed version of C hapter 4 of th e thesis a n d includes video extracts from two len dong rituals. To access th e CD-ROM o p en th e file nam ed: Ind ex _In tro .h tm (which initially comes u p o n th e screen as Index_Intro). The CD-ROM works on bo th M acintosh a n d IBM com p u ters. The re q u ire d softw are is In te rn e t Explorer or N etscape w ith Q uicktim e o r M edia Player.
One o f the m ain advantages o f th e CD-ROM form at is th a t it enables n o n lin e a r com p arison of video extracts from two d ifferen t rituals. The
’N avigation’ o f th e CD-ROM outlines the m ain sections: Introd u ction ; Notes on layout; Songscapes for th e T h ird M andarin; Songscapes for th e Second Holy Lady; Songscapes for the T en th Prince; Songscapes for the T h ird Lady;
a n d Conclusion. Access to each section is gained th ro u g h clicking o n th e icons for th e m ain sections. The section of the CD-ROM titled 'Notes on layout' provides fu rth e r d escrip tio n of the CD-ROM layout a n d how to activate th e video extracts.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
The V ietnam ese in th is thesis uses the sta n d a rd quoc ngu1 ('n a tio n al scrip t') w riting system . This R om anised script, initially devised by F rench a n d P ortuguese m issionaries in th e sev en teen th cen tu ry , becam e th e
p re d o m in a n t scrip t from th e beginning of the tw en tieth cen tu ry , a n d in 1945 it becam e th e officially recognised w riting system.
Prior to th e th irte e n th c en tu ry the V ietnam ese h a d no way o f
tra n scrib in g th e ir language on to paper: w riting by V ietnam ese a u th o rs was do n e using classical Chinese. This scrip t is re fe rre d to by V ietnam ese as chu1 nho ('C onfucian scrip t') o r chu1 Han ('Han script'). Essentially, chi? nho consists of classical Chinese ch aracters - th e Chinese o f th e C onfucian classics - w hich w ere re a d w ith V ietnam ese p ro n u n ciatio n . From th e th irte e n th c en tu ry onw ards th e V ietnam ese devised th e ir ow n sc rip t know n as chu1 nom ('so u th e rn script'), w hich was m odelled on C hinese c h a ra c te rs .1 As chQ nom was su p ersed ed by quoc ngu1 a t the b eginning o f the tw en tieth c en tu ry a n d is now only know n to specialists, chu1 nom c h arac te rs have n o t b een in clu d ed in the thesis glossary.
QUOC NGU PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
V o w e ls
a = a in fath er e = e in em pty e = a in fate i = i in it o = o in boy o = o in so o = e in the u = u in b u tc h e r u1 = oo in good
1 For a brief introduction to chu’ nom and its evolution from the thirteenth to the early twentieth century see Nguyln Ngoc Bich (1 98 4).
C on son an ts
d, gi, r = z in zoo c, k, q = c in cook
ch = ch in chop (b u t softer) d = d in day
g, gh = g in good h = h in h a t kh = ch in loch I - 1 in lam p m = m in m o th er n = n in new
ng, ngh = ng in thing ph = p h in photocopy s = sh in she
t = t in tea (b u t h ard er) th = th in T hailand tr = tr in track v = v in van ity
Speech tones
V ietnam ese has six speech tones: high-rising (sac), m id-level (khong dau), h ig h -b ro k e n (nga), low -rising (h oi), low -broken (h u y en ), low -falling (nang).
Speech tones are m ark ed w ith diacritics above or, in th e case o f th e low- falling, below th e m ain vowel o f th e syllable, except for th e m id-level tone w hich h as no m ark. The diacritics are:
/ h ig h -risin g to n e (no m ark) m id-level to n e
h ig h -b ro k e n to n e
? low -rising to n e lo w -bro k en tone low -falling to n e
The sp eech tones m ay be graphically re p re se n te d as follows:
<* ’ S '
I «!/•* r i s,i/\
...
PHOTOGRAPHS
1 A m edium , possessed by the Fifth M andarin, prepares to d rin k rice wine
2 Tem ple altar; statues at rear are of the First, Second a n d T hird M other s p irits
3 A m edium , possessed by the T hird Prince, distributes m oney to a disciple
4 A m edium, possessed by the Little Holy Lady, dances w ith lit ropes
5 M ale m e d iu m p o s s e s s e d b y th e
S e c o n d L ady Cam Dubng
6 Tem ple b an d a t the M ulberry tem ple in Hanoi; Pham Van Ty is playing the m oon lute (dan nguyet)
7 Healing session: a male m edium consults an ill child
8 Chau van lesson a t the home of my teach er Dang Cong Hi/ng; Hifng plays the m oon lute (dan nguyet) while I play the clappers (phach), small cym bal (canh) an d d ru m (trong)
INTRODUCTION
Chau van is a V ietnam ese m usic genre th a t evokes the sp irit w orld. It
provides th e so u n d en v iro n m en t fo r sp irit possession. Chau van songs invite th e sp irits to d escen d to the h u m a n world. They tell of the sp irits' g re a t deeds, a n d vividly describe th e ir b eau ty a n d elegance. D uring th e ritu als a t w hich chau van is perform ed, know n as len dong, a m edium is possessed by a succession o f spirits in fro n t of a tem ple altar. Once possessed, th e m edium d resses in th e sp irit's clothes a n d carries o u t the ritu al actions o f th e spirit.
The m ed iu m 's disciples, in v ited to p articip ate in the ritual, w atch on a n d in te ra c t w ith th e possessee. They receive the spirits' gifts a n d m oney, a n d ask fo r th e sp irits' advice a n d p rotection.
This thesis is an e th n o g rap h ic study of m usic an d possession in V ietnam . At its h e a rt is an investigation into the p h en o m en o n o f sp irit possession a n d th e role m usic plays in th e possession experience. In co m p lem en t w ith this m ain them e, th e thesis fram es m usical a n d ritu al practice fro m a n u m b e r o f d ifferen t perspectives. It provides a gen d er analysis o f
m edium ship, it explores th e m usical processes involved in singing chau van, a n d it situ ates len dong a n d chau van historically an d politically.
Above all, chau van is music o f an d for ritual, an d as it is sh ap ed by its 'co n tex t' an im p o rta n t co n cern of this thesis is how th e p e rfo rm an ce
context of possession ritu als affects m usical form a n d expression. C h ap ter 4,
"Songscapes for th e spirits", exam ines how chau van b an d s c o n stru c t
sequences o f songs to create an au ral en v iro n m en t - a songscape - fo r each sp irit possession. It discusses how th e songs th a t bands p e rfo rm d e p e n d on th e in te ra c tio n betw een m edium s a n d m usicians, a n d how song choices are m ade a n d c arrie d o u t by bands. Having established how songscapes are created, C hapter 5, "The m usical co n stru ction of the spirits", goes o n to investigate the role o f m usic d u rin g len dong rituals. It focuses o n how m usic pro v id es a context for possession a n d ritu al a ctio n ,1 a n d argues th a t chau van songs c o n trib u te to th e presence of th e spirits by m usically
c o n stru ctin g sp irits' gen d er, place a n d ethnicity.
Inq u iry in to th e im p o rtan ce o f chau van for possession re q u ire s fam iliarity w ith th e practices of m edium s an d an u n d e rstan d in g of sp irit
1 This is inform ed by Waterman's suggestion that understanding the "influence o f m usic and m usicality on hum an social life" requires a consideration o f "music as a context for hum an perception and action", rather than relegating context to the 'background' (1 990:214).
possession. C hapter 2, "M edium ship a n d possession", exam ines why, a n d how, p eople becom e m edium s an d th e ritu al practices involved in
m edium ship. It also proposes a way of thinking ab o u t possession - b ased on m ed iu m s’ d escrip tio n s - in term s of bodily lived experience. The n o tio n of 'tra n c e ' is n o t applicable to len dong as V ietnam ese m edium s experience 'aw are possession'.
D uring len dong, m edium s are possessed by b o th m ale a n d fem ale spirits.
How c ertain chau van songs c o n trib u te to constructing th e g e n d er o f sp irits is discussed in C hapter 5. The ability of m edium s to 'trav erse' g enders while possessed has im p o rta n t ram ifications for th eir gender id en tity . C h ap ter 3,
"'E ffem inate' m en a n d 'h o t-te m p e red ' women: negotiating g e n d er id en tity ", explores how th e g en d er id en tity of m ale an d female m edium s is affected by ritu al practices. It argues th a t m edium ship affords m edium s scope for challenging th e stereo ty p ical g en d er identities ascribed to m en a n d w om en.
C h ap ter 6, "Finding the 'way'", is concerned w ith the creativ e processes involved in singing chau van. M usicians often refer to chau van songs as 'ways', a n d th e vocal c o n to u r o f each re n d itio n of a 'way' is d ifferen t. The c h a p te r exam ines w h at co n stitu tes a 'way' - i.e. w h at is co n sisten t in ren d itio n s of th e sam e song - by com paring several verses o f two songs as p e rfo rm ed by two d ifferen t m usicians. It also analyses how th e speech tones of song texts affect the vocal c o n to u r of songs.
C hapters 7 an d 8 exam ine chau van an d len dong from a diach ron ic
perspective. C h ap ter 7, "The politics of l§n dong an d chau van", considers the effects of V ietnam ese C om m unist Party policy regarding len dong a n d chau van. It focuses on how m edium ship has been affected by a n a n ti
su p erstitio n cam paign, a n d th e resurgence of len dong in th e last decade. It includes discussion o f a new form of 'rev olu tio n ary chau van* w hich strip p e d chau van o f its ’su p erstitio u s’ elem ents so th a t it could be p e rfo rm ed on the stage. Party policy has, however, h a d little affect on chau van as it is
p e rfo rm ed d u rin g len dong. C hapter 8, "Musical change", exam ines re c e n t changes a n d inn o v atio n s to chau van as it is perform ed d u rin g len dong. It also o u tlin es changes in style a n d perform ance practice, a n d co n sid ers the processes o f m usical change affecting chau van.
In th e "Conclusion", the them es o f th e thesis are draw n to g e th e r an d th e the relatio n s betw een m usic a n d possession are considered. A d o cu m en tary m ade by V ietnam ese Television (VTV) ab o u t my research is also discussed in o rd e r to reflect on the n a tu re of fieldw ork an d th e position o f len dong an d chau van in c o n tem p o rary Vietnam .
This thesis is th e first w ork w ritten in a E uropean language th a t exam ines chau van in any d etail.2 Some research has been carried o u t by W estern scholars on V ietnam ese m edium ship b o th in V ietnam (D urand 1959) a n d in the d iasp o ric V ietnam ese com m unities in France (Simon a n d Sim on-Barouh 1973) an d America (Fjelstad 1995), b u t none of these studies m akes m ore th a n a few passing com m ents a b o u t chau van.3
A lthough th e re are nu m ero u s studies by n ative scholars co n cernin g indigenous religions a n d the m yths o f spirits, research o n len dong a n d chau van has n o t b een p e rm itte d du e to th e Vietnam ese Com m unist P arty's
co n d em n atio n of m edium ship as 'su p erstitio n '. Since the late 1980s, how ever, Party policy on m edium ship has been less vigorously
im plem en ted a n d some V ietnam ese scholars have p u b lish ed w ork o n len dong a n d chau van. R esearchers a t th e Folk Culture In stitute (Vien Van Hoa Dan Gian), u n d e r the d irectio n of Ngo Oifc Thinh, have sp earh ead ed this work.
T h rough a conference h eld in June 19924 an d the publicatio n o f books on chau van a n d (en dong (Ngo Otic Thinh 1992; 1996a; 1996b), research ers a t the Folk C ulture In stitu te have arg u ed th a t len dong a n d chau van are 'p h en o m e n a of th e collective folk c u ltu re 1 a n d 'relig io u s-cu ltu ral activities o f th e
com m unity' w hich a re a legitim ate topic for folklore research . The w ork done a t th e Folk C ulture In stitu te has been com plem ented by two o th e r books on chau van: one th a t is concerned solely w ith analysing chau van songs (Thanh Ha 1995), a n d a second w hich makes p a rtic u la r reference to ten dong an d ch'§u van in Nam Ha province (Bui Dlnh Thao an d Nguyln Quang Hai 1996).
C arrying o u t fieldw ork in V ietnam poses m any challenges; th is is
especially tru e w h en research in g politically sensitive practices, su ch as len dong a n d chau van. Due to the fact th a t my initial attem pts to o b tain a
research visa to stu d y chau van an d len dong were m et w ith the suggestion
2 Surveys o f V ietnam ese m usic briefly m ention chau van (see Tran Van Khe 1967:142-44;
Nguyln Thuyet Phong 19 98:505-6).
3 For instance, Durand's stu d y includes a discussion o f song texts, but on ly briefly m entions music. At the ou tset he states that "a special music and chant accom panies each p ossession, and after hearing the m elody it is possible to know the personality o f the spirit" (1959:7). Later on he m entions that chau van bands usually includ e two or three p eop le ("a guitarist, a player o f the bamboo clappers and a drummer") a n d states that "the rhythm o f the musical accom panim ent varies according to the m anifestations o f the spirit" (ibid.:34).
4 The papers given at the conference titled "Budc dau tim hieu th^n thoai va truyen thuyet Mau Lilu" (Initial research on fairy tales and on the legend o f Goddess Lieu) are published in Tap Chf Van Hoc (The L iterature Journal) 257 (1992 ):5 -67 .
th a t I change m y research topic, I d ecid ed to take the o p tio n of enrolling as a language s tu d e n t at the C entre fo r Research o f In tern atio n al C ulture o f the V ietnam N ational U niversity fo u n d ed by Professor Phan Cu1 0 e . D uring my first p erio d of fieldw ork from A ugust 1996 to July 1997, I rem ain ed in V ietnam o n a stu d y visa from the V ietnam N ational U niversity. This gave me the o p p o rtu n ity to fu rth e r my language skills while rem ain in g free to p u rsu e m y own re search in terests. My second p erio d of re sea rc h in May a n d Ju n e 1998 was carrie d o u t u n d e r the auspices of the V ietnam
M usicology In stitu te (Vien Nghien Cun Am Nhac Viet Nam) a n d th e Hanoi C onservatory o f Music (Nhac Vien Ha Noi).
A lthough I h a d good contacts w ith ed u catio n al in stitu tio n s, m y e n try in to th e w orld o f len dong ritu als was achieved by b eco m in g 'in v o lv ed in local m usic-m aking a n d ritu als ra th e r th a n th ro u g h official ro u tes. On two previous re sea rc h trips to V ietnam in 1994 a n d 1995, w hen I was stu d yin g the c h am b er m usic genre ca trCi, I estab lish ed links w ith m usicians,
m usicologists a n d o th e r people in te re sted in music. These frien d s a n d acq u ain tan ces assisted my doctoral research by introducing m e to chau van m usicians, who, in tu rn , in tro d u ce d me to m edium s an d th e ir disciples.
This inform al way o f getting to know ritu al p articip an ts seem ed the b est a p p ro a ch for a n u m b e r of reasons. First, unlike o th e r types o f m usic, such as th e cheo th e atre a n d th e w ater p u p p e try rep erto ries, chau van b an d s are n o t s u p p o rte d as p a rt o f th e governm ent-funded n atio n al m usic
tro u p es, so th e re was no p a rtic u la r organisation th a t I could c o n tac t in o rd e r to m eet p ractisin g chau van m usicians. Similarly th e re are no
m edium s' o rg an isatio n s th ro u g h w hich I could h e ar a b o u t len dong ritu als o r m eet m edium s. Second, I was con cern ed that, because o f official criticism of len dong, it m ight be difficult to gain perm ission to a tte n d ritu als a n d carry o u t interview s w ith m edium s a n d disciples. Third, I th o u g h t th a t developing acq u ain tan ces w ith people involved in len dong, w ith o u t th e m ed iatio n of rep re se n ta tiv e s of official organisations, w ould m ake ritu a l p a rtic ip a n ts feel less co n strain e d in how they p o rtra y e d th e ir activities.
On th e w hole m edium s were willing to let me a tte n d th e ir len dong a n d w ere o p en a b o u t discussing m edium ship. There were, how ever, a few occasions w hen m edium s refu sed to let me go to th eir ien dong o r d id n o t wish to talk a b o u t th e ir ritu a l practices. The reaso n for th e ir reticen ce was n o t always obvious, b u t a com m on concern was th a t my p resen ce w ould provoke unw elcom e in te re st from th e auth o rities. This con firm ed th a t I sh o u ld en d eav o u r to be as u n o b tru siv e a n d inform al as possible, especially w hen m eeting m edium s for th e first time.
M edium s who d id p erm it me to a tte n d th eir rituals w ere usually
agreeable to m e videoing, taking p h o to g rap h s a n d m aking au d io record ing s of th e ir ritu als. In fact, in some cases my video cam era becam e a n incentive for m edium s to invite me to th e ir rituals: as a 'cam era m an' I co u ld m ake a c o n trib u tio n by prov id in g a 'so u v en ir' (ky niem) of the event. Providing m edium s w ith video copies of th e ir ritu als was also beneficial in th a t it en ab led m e to m ain tain co n tact w ith m edium s a n d th eir disciples, a n d p ro v id e d a useful focus for fu rth e r discussion of rituals.
Interview s w ith m edium s, all o f w hich were co n d u cted in V ietnam ese, w ere u sually d o n e w ith o u t an assistant, alth o u g h my V ietnam ese language teach er Trjnh Thi Nhan d id accom pany me fo r some interview s. As a m a rrie d w om an in h e r early sixties, Nhan was an ideal p erso n for assisting
interview s, n o t so m u ch because of the questions she asked, b u t because of h e r ability to facilitate frank, relaxed exchanges, especially w ith fem ale m edium s.
T h ro u g h o u t my research I was keen to extend my co n tact w ith m edium s a n d disciples b ey o n d th e fairly sh o rt tim e-span of ritu als them selves, a n d d id so by arran g in g m eetings a n d interview s. However, living fo r su sta in e d perio d s o f tim e to c arry o u t research in the V ietnam ese co u n try sid e is extrem ely d ifficu lt for foreigners to arran g e. So I lived in Hanoi w hile m axim ising th e tim e I sp e n t w ith m edium s by regularly visiting a few m edium s a n d m aking trips to the countryside - for stretches of u p to a week - to a tte n d festivals an d tem ple sites in N orth Vietnam. Regular visits to one fem ale m edium , Thanh, who lives in Ha Tay province a b o u t 40 kilom etres so u th of Hanoi, becam e p a rtic u la rly im p o rta n t for u n d e rsta n d in g how m ed iu m sh ip figures in village life a n d fo r gaining insights in to th e activities of m edium s in ad d itio n to len dong. As well as carry in g o u t sem i
stru c tu re d interview s a n d going to Thanh's len dong, I sp en t m u ch tim e in h e r tem ple a n d hom e, getting to know h e r fam ily a n d disciples, a n d o th e r m edium s in th e village, who came to visit her.
D uring fieldw ork, I stu d ied th e chau van song re p e rto ire a n d th e m oon lute (dan nguyet), w hich is u sed to accom pany the voice. A fter a b rie f p e rio d of stu d y w ith 06 06, a tu to r a t the Hanoi Music Conservatory, I stu d ied w ith Pham Van Ty, a well-known chau van m usician an d the lead er o f a b a n d based a t the M ulberry Tem ple (Den Dau) on Fan Street (Hang Quat) in Hanoi. For the last six m o n th s of my first p erio d of fieldw ork an d d u rin g my second p eriod of fieldw ork I also stu d ie d chau van w ith Dang Cong Hung, an in stru m e n ta list of th e V ietnam Cheo T heatre (Nha Hat Cheo Viet Nam). As well as playing cheo, Hung - w hose fath er, Dang C6ng Uhg, is a chau van m usician - has m astered the
chau van re p e rto ire an d regularly perform s a t len dong in Hanoi a n d th e su rro u n d in g area. A part from lessons w ith Ty a n d Hung, I also h a d some tu itio n an d m uch discussion w ith a large n u m b er o f o th e r chau van m u sician s.
CHAPTER 1
RITUAL SETTING AND INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
RITUAL SETTING
On a hum id April morning in 1997 I waited outside the Mulberry temple in the old quarter o f Hanoi. The street was bustling with life: motorbikes zipped past noisily beeping their horns; street traders - with their wares slung over their backs - shuffled past; shopkeepers were opening their shops for the day's business; occasionally tourists glided past in the back o f a cyclo gazing at the scene before them. My chau van teacher, Pham Van Ty, arrived on the back o f a friend's motorbike and ushered me through a narrow alley that led to the temple. Inside, preparations for the ritual had begun. The medium, NguySn Thi Lai, and her two assistants knelt either side o f her, were arranging votive objects - fruit, betel nut, cigarettes, canned drinks, the spirits' clothes - and placing burning incense on the central altar dedicated to the mother spirits. Lai had invited about 30 disciples to participate in the ritual; m ost o f them had already arrived and were sitting on the floor facing the altar.
After greeting and introducing me to some o f the ritual participants, Ty joined the other members o f the chau van band already gathered to the side
o f the main altar, and I began to assemble m y video and audio recording equipment. Within a few minutes the ritual began: the assistants placed a red scarf over the head o f the medium in preparation for possession. The band responded with loud pulsating rhythms played on the clappers, drums and cymbals; the bamboo flute, sixteen-stringed zither and moon lute came in with fast phrases.
Lai sat cross legged with her arms outstretched on her knees; suddenly, her body began circling clockwise. After a few seconds she raised her right arm in a gesture indicating that the First Mother was descending; Ty's voice soared above the instruments inviting the spirit. The assistants then
handed the medium some lit sticks o f incense, which Lai used to pay homage to the altar. A t this point the musicians began to incant prayers to the spirits to a steady pulse played on the 'wooden fish’ slit drum. Then Lai, still holding the incense, raised both hands above her head indicating that the First Mother had left her body. The spirit's departure was marked by a phrase sung by the musicians: "The spirit's vehicle returns to the palace."
Possession by the Second and Third Mother followed the same pattern as the First Mother: the red scarf remained draped over Lai's head throughout.
When possessed by the next spirit, the First Mandarin, Lai threw o ff the scarf and the assistants dressed her in the First Mandarin's red tunic. She
then stood and paid homage to the altar by walking toward the altar three times and bowing. Next, the assistants handed Lai a large bundle o f lit
incense and tied a sash around her waist. Holding the incense, Lai gave out a manly shout and began to wave the incense so that clouds o f incense smoke drifted in all directions. While Lai waved the incense, a disciple approached her - respectfully saying "kow-tow to the mandarin" - with a large tray piled up with prayers to the spirits written in Chinese characters. After
blessing the offering with incense, Lai sat down once more in front o f the altar to drink cups o f rice wine and smoke a cigarette. The band performed different songs for these ritual acts. Just before the spirit left her body, Lai uttered the following words: "Observe the hearts o f the head o f the temple,
the ritual specialists and the disciples." She then let out an ebullient cry, clapped her hands and the assistants threw the red scarf over her head, signalling the return o f the spirit to the spirit world. The musicians once again sang the phrase "The spirit's vehicle returns to the palace" to mark
the departure o f the spirit.
Possession by other mandarin spirits - the Second, Third and Fifth Mandarins - followed. Each o f these mandarin spirits carried out war dances with objects such as swords and spears. During some incarnations, disciples approached Lai to ask for gifts, m oney and the advice o f the spirit.
In the course o f the ritual, which lasted over three hours, Lai was
possessed in turn by a total o f 21 spirits from the main groups o f spirits: the mother, mandarin, holy lady, prince, lady and young prince spirits.1
V ietnam ese possession rituals, len dong ('m o u n t the m ed iu m '),2 are h e ld in sacred spaces th a t are d ed icated to th e w orship o f spirits. The m ain places for s p irit w orship a re public tem ples (den) an d p riv ate tem ples in
individuals' hom es (d ien ).3 Temples th ro u g h o u t V ietnam are d ed ica te d to a wide v ariety of spirits th a t are n o t ju st confined to the spirits usually in clu d ed in th e fo u r palace p an th eo n: statues of Boddhissatvas, regional spirits a n d local heroes w orshipped as spirits m ay also be fo u n d in some tem p les.4 M any tem ples are ded icated to a specific sp irit or group o f spirits.
For exam ple, tem ples th a t are p rim arily d ed icated to m o th e r a n d m a n d arin spirits are know n as 'm o th e r tem ples' (den mau) a n d 'm a n d a rin tem ples' (den quan) respectively; a fam ous exam ple of a tem ple d ed icated to a
p a rtic u la r sp irit is th e Little Holy Lady Tem ple (Den Chau Be), w hich is p a rt of the Bac Le tem ple com plex in N ortheast Vietnam. Public tem ples are usually p re sid ed over by a m edium know n as a 'tem ple m edium ' (dong den);
w hen m edium s wish to hold a ritu al in a public tem ple they m u st arra n g e to do so w ith th e tem ple m edium .
M edium s them selves choose w hen to carry ou t len dong. M ost m edium s h o ld ritu als a t least twice a y ear a n d often m ore frequently. U sually it is the m edium holding the ritu al who invites people to 'p articip ate' (dif) in len dong, alth o u g h a t ritu als h eld as p a rt o f large festivals an y b o d y a t the festival m ay a tte n d a n d no inv itation is necessary. Usually a b o u t 30 o r 40
1 See Chapter 4 for detailed discussion o f Lai's possession by four o f th ese spirits: the Third Mandarin, the Second Holy Lady, the Tenth Prince and the Third Lady.
2 Apart from len dong, the m ost com m on term used to refer to p ossession rituals is hau bong ('serving the shadows [i.e. spirits]'). Another less frequently used term is dong bong ('m edium and shadows [i.e. spirits]').
3 A m inority o f public tem ples are referred to as phu or mieu rather than den.
4 V ietnam ese tem ples (den) are usually contrasted with Buddhist pagodas (chua).
However, pagoda com plexes usually have spirit altars (thd thanh) where p ossession rituals m ay be held and som e tem ples have statues o f Boddhissatvas. See Ngo Oftc Thjnh (1 9 9 6 a :9 9 -3 1 1) for a survey and description o f tem ples in North, Central and South Vietnam.
people a tte n d rituals, b u t on im p o rtan t occasions at large tem ples m any m ore people will (typically) be presen t. Except for th e m edium 's assistants a n d th e chau van band, th e people who a tte n d len dong are usually re fe rre d to as the m edium 's 'disciples' (con nhang de tft). Some m edium s, especially those who tell fo rtu n es a n d heal, b u ild up a following of disciples w ho co n su lt th em w hen th ey are sick or in n eed of advice. Temple m edium s also a ttra c t disciples who w ish to m ake offerings to th e spirits in th e ir tem ples.
However, th e people in v ited to m any ritu als also include frien d s a n d fam ily (who m ay also be m edium s them selves) of th e m edium holding th e ritu al who are n o t strictly speaking disciples, an d of course a t festivals anyone m ay a tte n d . N evertheless, the term disciples is used generally to re fe r to those in v ited to rituals.
M edium s them selves m eet th e expenses of rituals, so the n u m b e r of ritu als m edium s ho ld each y ear is d ep en d e n t on th eir resources. The expenses of holding a len dong include: providing a m eal for ritu a l
particip an ts; b a n d paym ent; and, w hen a ritu al is h eld a t a tem ple p resid ed over by a n o th e r m edium , a fee for the tem ple m edium . M ediums also
provide m ost of th e gifts a n d m oney w hich they d istrib u te to disciples d u rin g ritu als. However, disciples usually c o n trib u te by b rin g in g offerings (m oney, fru it, cig arettes etc.). Disciples place these offerings in fro n t of th e a lta r p rio r to a ritu al or p re se n t them to the m edium d u ring the ritual.
In the la tte r case, disciples ap p ro ach the m edium w ith sm all plates of m oney or o th e r gifts such as cigarettes, w hich they su pply them selves.
Upon receiving th e offering, th e m edium rem oves p a rt o f it a n d rep laces it w ith a gift of a sim ilar value (e.g. a th o u san d d ong5 note m ay be rep laced w ith a couple o f cigarettes), a n d th e n the offering is re tu rn e d to th e disciple.
The am o u n t of m oney sp en t on ritu als varies considerably. This was especially a p p a re n t w hen com paring the extrav ag an t ritu als h e ld by w ealthy H anoi-based m edium s w ith the m ore frugal rituals h e ld by
m edium s o f m ore lim ited m eans, especially those living in ru ra l areas. The cost o f ritu als th erefo re varies from as little as US$30 to several h u n d re d US dollars fo r th e m ost ex trav ag an t rituals. As m edium s do n o t p ro fit
m o netarily w hen they h old a len dong, m ost have reg ular jobs (selling goods at m arkets, w orking in shops, working fo r state com panies etc.). However, th ere are o p p o rtu n ities for a m in o rity of m edium s to e a rn a living from
5 The V ietnam ese currency dong has the same spelling as the word for medium . During my fieldwork the exchange rate was between 10-12,000 dong to the US dollar.
telling fo rtu n es a n d healing. In ru ra l areas disciples usually p a id m edium s ab o u t one o r two dollars fo r a fo rtu n e telling or healing session. The only o th e r 'pro fessio n al' m edium s are tem ple m edium s. T hrough d o n atio n s from disciples a n d th e fees th a t tem ple m edium s usually charge fo r allowing o th e r m edium s to ho ld len dong in th eir tem ples, tem ple m edium s have
sufficient resou rces for the upkeep o f th eir tem ple a n d to su sta in th e ir own role as tem ple guardians. As will be discussed in C hapter 3, som e m ale
tem ple-m edium s w ere w ealthy th o u g h they were n o t fo rth co m in g a b o u t the source o f th e ir incom e.
T here are m any days a n d periods o f th e y e ar w hich are auspicious for hold in g len dbng. These include: the beginning a n d e n d o f th e y e ar in the tw elfth a n d first lu n a r m o n th respectively; the sta rt a n d e n d of su m m er in the fo u rth a n d sev en th lu n a r m o n th respectively; an d th e 'd e a th
a n n iv ersa rie s' (ngay gib) of spirits. Some of the best know n d e ath
an n iv ersaries of sp irits are: th e te n th day of the te n th lu n a r m o n th (T enth Prince), th e elev en th d ay o f the elev en th lu n a r m o n th (Second M andarin);
th e tw elfth day of th e sixth lu n a r m o n th (T hird Lady); th e sev e n te en th day o f th e sev en th lu n a r m o n th (Seventh Prince); th e tw en tieth o f th e eig h th lu n a r m o n th (Tran Hung Dao) a n d the th ird day o f the th ird lu n a r m o n th (First M other). A lthough th e d e a th an n iv ersaries of sp irits fall o n specific days, m edium s also arran g e rituals on o th er days close to these
an n iv ersaries. This 'stretc h in g ' o f the tim es th a t are auspicious fo r len dong is ev id en t in th e adage: 'th e th ird lu n a r m o n th is the d e a th an n iv ersary of m o th e r spirits, th e eig h th lu n a r m o n th is the d e ath a n n iv ersa ry of fa th e r sp irits' (thang tarn gib cha, thang ba gib m e). Based on the d e a th an n iv ersaries of the 'fa th e r' spirit, Tran Hung Dao, a n d the First M other, th e e n tire th ird an d eig h th lu n a r m o n th s are p o p u la r tim es for holding len dbng.
M ediumship or shamanism?
In acco rd an ce w ith p rev io u s scholars w riting in French a n d English, th e V ietnam ese te rm for those possessed by spirits, dong, is re n d e re d in this thesis as 'm ed iu m '.6 However, th e im plications o f the term m ed iu m re q u ire c la rific a tio n .
6 The word dbng is usually preceded by a personal pronoun indicating the sex and age o f mediums. Ba dong and co dbng are used for old and young female medium s
respectively, and ong dbng and c$u dbng are used for old and young m ale m edium s resp ectively.
D u ran d traces th e roots o f dbng to the Chinese tong, w hich was u sed for boys u n d e r 15 years of age who, because o f th eir p u rity a n d innocence, were em ployed as m edium s (1959:7). He suggests that, in th e past,
V ietnam ese m edium s w ere young, virginal boys an d girls, a n d th e n adu lts, who u sed to p resid e over rituals, took th e ir place. In his ev alu atio n o f th e term inology u sed in 'V ietnam ese sp irit m edium ship', Nguy§n Khac Kham concludes th a t the w ord dbng is m ore closely related to a "Mon hom ophone"
m eaning “to d an ce (as if) u n d e r daem onic possession” th a n to th e Chinese tong (1983:26).7 N guyln Khac Kham's conclusion th a t "ecstatic dance, ra th e r th a n th e ir you n g age, is th e m ain criterio n fo r V ietnam ese m edium s"
(ibid.:28) re so n ate s w ith H am ayon’s research on Siberian sham anism , w hich argues th a t a p a rtic u la r type of physical beh av io ur is c e n tra l to sham anism (H am ayon 1995a). Indeed, the Tungus ro o t of sh am an - sam, sam a - "prim arily m eans 'm oving legs, stirring' an d applies to sham anic dancing as well as singing in ritu al context" (ibid.:4).8
Etymological deb ates aside, why have dong been considered as m edium s ra th e r th a n sham ans? D u ran d refers to dbng as m edium s, y e t h e also m ain tain s th a t they "re p re se n t a w atered-dow n survival of a p rim itiv e sh am an ism ” (1959:11). Simon a n d Simon-Barouh, who consider D u ra n d ’s references to sham anism to be m isplaced, are m ore em phatic in th e ir assertio n th a t dbng are m edium s. They state th a t because dbng are always possessed a n d do n o t go on a 'voyage' in the sp irit world, they sh ould be co n sid ered as m edium s a n d n o t sham ans (Simon a n d Sim on-Barouh
1973:32). This arg u m en t is based on Eliade’s opposition betw een sp irit possession a n d sham anic 'm agical flight' in w hich th e sh am an "is believed to leave his body a n d ascend to the sky or descend to th e underw orld"
(Eliade 1989 [1951]:5).
However, Eliade's distin ctio n s have been challenged, p a rtic u la rly by Lewis (1989 [1971]).9 R eturning to one of th e m ain sources o n w hich Eliade's w ork is b ased - th e studies o f th e Tungus m ade by Shirokogoroff - Lewis concludes th a t Tungus sham ans are possessed by sp irits e ith e r
7 Nguyen Khac Kham and Durand also consider the term cot which is occasionally used as an alternative to dbng. They conclude that it is related to the Chinese ku. Nguyen Khac Kham gives several different m eanings o f leu: "1) bone; 2) frame appearance; 3) strength, energy; 4) said o f the dead" (1 9 8 3 :2 5 ).
8 Despite the fact that the Mon hom ophone to which Nguyin Khac Kham refers and the Tungus root o f shaman both refer to physical movement, I do not mean to im ply that there is an etym ological link betw een them.
9 New translations into English o f older Soviet studies and a num ber o f contem porary ethnographies have also led to a critical reading o f Soviet scholars’ underlying
ideological biases on which Eliade’s work is based (e.g. Balzer 1990 and Hoppal 1984).
in v o lu n ta rily o r volu n tarily : if the possession is in v o lu n tary th e n it is seen as an illness o r a sham anic calling, a n d w hen the spirits are ‘c o n tro lle d ’ th e sham anic v o catio n can be exercised (ibid.:48). Lewis m ain tain s th a t even d u rin g th e co n tro lled phase, th e sham an is possessed as well as
actively possessing th e spirits: “according to th e social context, th e sh am an in carn ates spirits in b o th a la te n t a n d an active form, b u t always in a co n tro lled fashion. His body is a vehicle for sp irits” (ibid.). For Lewis, then, th e issue of co n tro l as o p p o sed to 'm agical flight' is crucial fo r defining sham anism . A ccording to Lewis' definition, all sham ans are m edium s, b u t n o t all m edium s are sham ans: a m edium m ust be a 'm aster of sp irits' in o rd e r to be co n sid ered a sham an.
The issue o f m a ste ry /c o n tro l is n o t straig h tfo rw ard in th e V ietnam ese case (or in o th e r ritu a l contexts). A part from ra re cases of out-o f-co n tro l in v o lu n ta ry possession usually p rio r to initiatio n (see C h ap ter 2), dong d ictate th e o n set a n d reso lu tio n of possession an d a p p ear to have co n tro l over th e ir actions while possessed. This w ould seem to suggest th a t they have ‘c o n tro l’ over th e spirit. Yet, a t the same time, V ietnam ese m edium s said th a t d u rin g th e possession they w ere 'following th e o rd e rs' a n d 'obeying' th e spirits. In th e light of such a description, can dong be co n sid ered as 'm asters of spirits'? Lewis' definition of a sh am an is m ore pro b lem atic th a n it seems.
M edium istic possession im plies th a t th e prim ary role o f th e possessee is as a m ed iato r betw een the spirits an d an 'audience'. Firth, for instance, states th a t "com m unication is em phasised" du rin g sp irit m edium ship, w hereas o th e r types o f sp irit possession do n o t necessarily involve th e transm issio n of m essages from th e spirits (Firth 1969:xi, cited in Rouget 1985 [1980]:133). This view of m edium ship has led Rouget to state that, in c o n tra st to o th e r types o f sp irit possession, "the sp irit resp o n sib le fo r m edium istic possession has som ething to say to an audience" (1985
[1980]:133). W hen possessed, dong 'tra n sm it the words of the spirits', b u t this can vary fro m proclaim ing a few stereo ty pical p h rases to m u ch m o re extensive v e rb a l exchanges w ith disciples (see C hapter 2). N on-verbal m eans o f feeling a sp irit's presence a n d benevolence - for exam ple,
th ro u g h music, th e physicality of ritu a l action, an d th e giving o f gifts a n d m oney - sh o u ld n o t be excluded as im p o rtan t factors in the
‘co m m u n icatio n ’ betw een spirits a n d disciples during len dong.10
10 Hamayon's research into spirit possession and sham anism em phasises the im portance o f the "physical expression o f relations with spirits" (1995b: 19). This leads her to dism iss the term m edium ship because "it both conceals physical
The use of overarching term s such as m edium or sh am an has obvious ad v an tag es fo r cro ss-cu ltural com parison, b u t is inevitably a com prom ise as religious specialists a ro u n d th e w orld are involved in differing
p ra c tic e s .11 However, as a m ore accessible altern ativ e to using the
V ietnam ese term , I can see no com pelling reaso n to deviate fro m previous scholars' tra n slatio n o f dbng as m edium . In this study I use th e te rm m edium to m ean som ebody who, w hen v o lu n tarily possessed by spirits, facilitates a physical a n d v e rb a l exchange betw een th e spirits a n d o th e r ritu a l
p a rtic ip a n ts who are n o t possessed. As the m ajority of V ietnam ese m edium s are fem ale, I will use fem ale p erso n al p ro n o u n s w hen re fe rrin g to
m edium s in general.
Religion or 'cu lt1?
The section addresses th e im plications o f th e term s religion a n d 'cu lt' in relatio n to V ietnam ese m edium ship. There is, of course, a vast lite ra tu re sp an n in g sev eral d iscip lines co n cern in g th e d e fin itio n o f relig io n , w hich 1 will n o t a tte m p t to sketch here. Instead, I will briefly o u tlin e V ietnam ese d eb ates a b o u t the religious status of m edium ship w ith referen ce to som e o f the uses a n d con n o tatio n s of the term s religion a n d 'cult' in th e West.
Crucial to the ongoing debates ab o u t m edium ship am ong ritu a l p articip an ts, scholars a n d g o v ern m en t au th o rities is the use o f V ietnam ese term inology.
M alarney has succinctly o u tlin ed two o f th e V ietnam ese term s th a t re fer to re lig io n :
... the V ietnam ese w ord norm ally tra n slated as religion is ton giao, a term d eriv ed from Chinese th a t im plies an in stitu tio n ally a n d d o ctrin ally com plex religion, such as C hristianity, Islam, o r
B uddhism . People use t6n gfao in conversations ab o u t relig io n in th e a b stract, b u t w hen speaking of th e ir own religious practices, th ey em ploy th e term tin ngifbng. Sem antically this w ord is com plex as it involves ideas o f faith, belief, o r doctrine, com bined w ith th e actu al practices th a t invoke those ideas. (M alarney n.d.:245)
expression and stresses language as a m ode o f communication" (ibid.:20). While I agree with Hamayon's em phasis on physical expression during possession, I w ould suggest that the term m edium ship does n ot necessarily deny the im portance o f physical behaviour. For this reason I have expanded the notion o f m edium istic 'comm unication' betw een spirits and disciples (as outlined by Firth and Rouget) to include physical behaviour as well as language.
11 W hether or n ot the notion o f 'sham anism1 may be considered a unitary category has been a particularly debated issue, n o t least because it is has been so w idely (and variously) em ployed in different ethnographic contexts (see Howard 1993).
Ton gfao, then, is m ost often used to refer to institutio n alised religions, w hereas tin ngifcfng is a b ro a d e r category. I will usually tra n slate tin nghdng as 'religious beliefs', b u t in som e contexts it is also u sed to re fer to 'religion' in general, n o t ju s t n o n -in stitu tio n alise d religious p h e n o m e n a .12 We shall see in C hapter 7 th a t tin ngifdng is th e term u sed in Party docum ents to refer to 'legitim ate' religious practices as opposed to the those d e rid e d as
'su p erstitio u s'. It will be arg u ed th a t th e term tin nguang has b een a d o p ted by m edium s as a strateg y for legitim ating th e ir activities a n d aligning
them selves w ith religious practices th a t are condoned by the Party.
A part from tin ngifdng, th ere are m ore specific term s for th e ’system of religious beliefs1 (he thong tin ngifcfng) o f V ietnam ese m edium ship: Dao Mlu a n d Dao Tu1 P h il The prefix dao is p re sen t in b o th of these term s. In some contexts dao m eans 'way' or 'd o ctrin e', b u t w hen it is u sed as a prefix it refers to 'religion'. This is ev id en t in the V ietnam ese w ords for th e so-called 'w orld religions', w hich use th e prefix dao: Dao Thien Chua (C hristianity), Dao Hbi (Islam), Dao Phat (Buddhism) etc.. In re c en t articles by V ietnam ese scholars, w hich have b een tra n slated into English, the term Dao Miu is re n d e re d as "the cu lt of Holy M others".13 'Cult' is not an accurate
tran slatio n o f dao: clearly its use in relatio n to V ietnam ese m ed iu m sh ip is governed by o th e r considerations. In an article by Doan Lam it is a rg u ed th a t "the cu lt of th e Holy M others lacks a com plete do ctrin e o r system atized dogm as on n a tu re a n d man" so it can n o t be considered to be a "universal religion" (1999:18). This distin ctio n is in accordance w ith surveys o f V ietnam ese religious beliefs w hich im ply th a t the 'religions' in V ietnam only inclu d e th e 'th re e religions' (tam gfao) - Buddhism, Taoism a n d
C onfucianism - C hristianity a n d 'new religions' such as Cao Dai a n d Hda Hao (e.g. Hue-Tam Ho Tai 1987 a n d Thanh Huyen 1996). In c o n trast to these
'relig io n s', o th e r ind ig en o us p h en o m en a - including m ed iu m sh ip , a n d w orsh ip p in g an cesto rs a n d village g u a rd ia n spirits - are usually d escrib ed as 'c u lts'.14
The term 'possession cult' has o ften b een used in anthro p o lo g ical
lite ra tu re to re fe r to m arginalised religious groups th a t exist o n th e fringes
12 For instance, tin nguong is used in Vietnam ese law when referring to the p olicy o f 'the right to freedom o f religion' (quyen tudo tin nguQng).
13 Articles by Vietnam ese scholars on "the cult o f Holy Mothers" appear in a special issue o f the journal V ietnam ese stu d ie s 131 (1999):5-96. (Unfortunately, the
translations o f the original research are poor.)
14 See the special issue o f the journal V ietnam ese Stu dies 121 (1 99 6) for essays on V ietnam ese 'cults'.
