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Literate Shamanism: the Priests Called Then Among the Tày in Guangxi and Northern Vietnam

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Literate Shamanism: the Priests Called Then Among the Tày in Guangxi and Northern Vietnam religions Article Literate Shamanism: The Priests Called Then among the Tày in Guangxi and Northern Vietnam David Holm Department of Ethnology, National Chengchi University, 64 Zhinan Road Section 2, Wenshan District, Taipei 11605, Taiwan; [email protected] Received: 30 November 2018; Accepted: 9 January 2019; Published: 18 January 2019 Abstract: Then is the designation in Vietnamese and Tày given to shamanic practitioners of the Tày ethnicity, who reside mainly in the northern provinces of Vietnam. Scholars are long aware that the predominantly female spirit mediums among the Zhuang in Guangxi, variously called mehmoed or mehgimq, had a ritual repertoire which included shamanic journeys up to the sky as their essential element. The ritual songs of the mehmoed are orally transmitted, unlike the rituals of male religious practitioners in Guangxi such as Taoist priests, Ritual Masters, and mogong, all of which are text-based. One was led rather easily to posit a dichotomy in which male performers had texts, and female performers had repertoires which were orally transmitted. This division also seemed to hold true for certain seasonal song genres, at least in Guangxi. For that matter, shamanic traditions cross-culturally are seen as predominantly or exclusively oral traditions. Recent research among the Tày-speaking communities in northern Vietnam has confounded this tidy picture. Religious practitioners among the Tày include the Put, who in many cases have texts which incorporate segments of shamanic sky journeys and may be either male or female; and the Then, also both male and female, who have extensive repertoires of shamanic rituals which are performed and transmitted textually. The Then have a performance style that is recognisably based on shamanic journeying, but elaborated as a form of art song, complete with instrumental accompaniment (two- or three-stringed lutes), ritual dances, and flamboyant costumes. Apart from individual performances, there are large-scale rituals conducted by as many as a dozen priests. The present paper gives an overview of the practices and rituals of the Then, based on recent fieldwork in Vietnam and Guangxi, and discusses the implications these have for our conventional understandings of shamanism, literacy, gender, and the cultural geography of the border regions. Keywords: shamanism; literacy; gender; Tày; performative orality; Vietnam; Guangxi; centre and periphery 1. A Personal Odyssey The immediate context of my interest in the practitioners called Then was a project to document the vernacular character scripts of the Tai-speaking peoples of northern Vietnam.1 My interest in the languages and folk religions of the Tày and Nùng in northern Vietnam began much earlier, in the early 1990s. At that time, I had already begun to collect relevant materials, including reports on the Then in Vietnamese. Then, in 2004, my long-time research associate Ling Shudong 凌9q visited a number of different localities in Cao Bằng province, across the border from his native county 1 Funded by the National Science Council, Ministry of Science and Technology, from 2011 to 2017. Project title: “Vernacular Character Writing Systems among the Tai-speaking Peoples of Southwest China and Northern Vietnam”. Then is pronounced like English “ten”. Religions 2019, 10, 64; doi:10.3390/rel10010064 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2019, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 21 靖西, and collected texts from mogong 麽公 in a number of different districts.2 These were later Religions 2019, 10, 64 2 of 22 included in the Mapping the Old Zhuang Script survey volume. Ling’s explorations re-confirmed to me that there was a cultural and linguistic continuum on both sides of the China–Vietnam border, and Jingxi V西, and collected texts from mogong ½lthatin aan number understanding of different of the districts. cultural2 These geography were later of northern Vietnam could be of vital importance included in the Mapping the Old Zhuang Script surveyfor improving volume. Ling’sour understanding explorations re-confirmedof Zhuang society to me and culture. that there was a cultural and linguistic continuum onWith both shamanism, sides of the my China–Vietnam research interest border, goes back and further. I conducted ten years of fieldwork on that an understanding of the cultural geographyprocessional of northern Vietnamdances and could theatre be of in vital North importance Shaanxi, forbeginning in 1981, and came across healing rituals improving our understanding of Zhuang societyperformed and culture. by the shenhan 神漢, one of which I recorded in the Chenghuangmiao 城隍廟 in Yulin 榆 With shamanism, my research interest goes林.3 back Early further. in the 1990s, I conducted I collaborated ten years with of Gu fieldwork Jianguo 顧建國, Director of the Guangxi Arts Research on processional dances and theatre in North Shaanxi,Institute beginning廣西藝術研究所 in 1981,, to and conduct came a across survey healing of ritual theatre among the Zhuang and other ethnic rituals performed by the shenhan ^", one ofgroups which Iin recorded Guangxi, in covering the Chenghuangmiao Laibin 來賓, GuigangÎ隍廟in 貴港, Hengxian 橫縣, Shanglin 上林, Binyang Yulin 榆林.3 Early in the 1990s, I collaborated with賓陽 Gu, Qinzhou Jianguo g欽州ú國, Hechi, Director 河池, of the and Guangxi Jingxi 靖西 Arts.4 It was a deliberate decision on my part to Research Institute ã西藝S研v@, to conductinclude a survey the ofmehmoed ritual theatreand other among ritual the specialists Zhuang of and Jingxi in this project, partly to address the gender other ethnic groups in Guangxi, covering Laibinimbalance來賓, Guigang (all of´ the/, Hengxianshigong 師公k# , andShanglin daogong上林 , 道公 were male). Everywhere, though, we Binyang 賓}, Qinzhou =州, Hechi ³`, and JingxidiscoveredV西.4 Itand was documented a deliberate the decision key role on my played part toby female spirit mediums or shamans (called include the mehmoedReligionsand 2019 other, 10, x FOR ritual PEER specialists REVIEW mehgimq of Jingxi and in this yahgimq project, in partlymost places) toReligions address in 2019organising the, 10 gender, x FOR rituals PEER REVIEW for 6the of 21 local community. As part of this 3 of 21 imbalance (all of the shigong +l and daogong Sproject,l were I conducted male). Everywhere, fieldwork though,in Jingxi wein 1997 discovered, and, together with Ling Shudong, recorded a mehmoed In this paper, we follow this example and look at the ritual practices2. The Tàyof the Then on both sides of and documented the key role played by female spiritinitiation mediums ritual or (Lau shamans3 thei1 (calledlang4, Ceremonymehgimq and of yahgimqTying the Sash). the border. in most places) in organising rituals for the local community.In northern Vietnam, As part of I conducted this project, Thefieldwork I conductedethnic in group three I provinces discuss here on ais number the Tày. of In different Vietnam, religious the Tày are the minority nationality with fieldwork in Jingxi in 1997, and, together withpractitioners. Ling Shudong, The recorded list includes a mehmoed mogongthe largestinitiation and daogongpopulation, ritual, as well numberin as shamanicg some practitioners 1,626,392 people like Pinụ t 2009.and 7 The Tày are now concentrated 5. The Then: Performance Style and Repertoire (Lau3 thei1 lang4, Ceremony of Tying the Sash).Then. In early 2015, I conducted mainlyfieldwork in thein Caonorthern Bằng, provinces and spent of severalCao Bằ ng,days L ạattendingng Sơn, B ắritualsc Kạn, Thái Nguyên, Quảng Ninh, Bắc In northern Vietnam,Among I conductedthe Tày in fieldworkVietnam,conducted there in three are provinces manyby a female differen on aP numbertụ kindst who oflived ofNinh, religious different in and the practitioners.B religiousoutskirtsắc Giang, of where Cao The B kindstheyằng city.have I livedattended for several a Chúc millenia. Thọ 祝壽8 In Vietnam, the Tày are classified practitioners. Thethat listare includestransmittedmogong by mastersand daogong who(Celebration rece, asived well ofan as Longevity) ordination shamanic practitionersritualcertificate inseparately a arevillage like the fromPjustụt, andtoThen the the , Nùng, Mowest, and of who CaoTạo . areBằng, also a houseTai-spea blessiking,ng butritual are in descendants of relatively recent Then. In earlyOf 2015, these, I conducted the Mo correspond fieldwork to in theHà Cao mogongQu Bằảng,ng of河廣 and Guangxi spentdistrict, severaland and Guizhou, also daysmigrants a attendingclinic while 門診 from the rituals Theld China.ạo are by quite Inthe Guangxi, P similarụt for neighbourhood however, the Nùng people (bouxnungz with sick in Zhuang) are lumped together conducted by ato female the daogongP t who. The lived Tạo, in and the in outskirts somefamily places members of Cao the B ằMo inng suburbanas city. well, I attended are Cao thewith B onesằ ang. Chthe Inúwho cZhuang, late Th conductọ summer]壽 while funerals, of the the Tày same and populati year, Ion returned refer to and themse conductedlves as Bu-Dai 布傣, a transliteration of (Celebration ofare Longevity) responsible ritual for in conducting a village just thefollow-up to thesoul west of researchthe of Caodeceas Bwithằedng, to athe housethe same other blessingthe P ụ world.nativet and ritual herterm.As infamily; If Hother oneà Iconfines areasalso didto theones fieldwork reading on to daogong Chinese-language in Chợ Đôn accounts, though, this designation Quảng ³ã district,north andof the also border, a clinic the門 T:ạo heldmake bydistrict use the ofP intextst thefor primarily neighbourhoodfar southwest in Chinese, of people
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