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The Cult of Village Guardian Deities in Contemporary Vietnam: the Re- Invention of a Tradition

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The Cult of Village Guardian Deities in Contemporary Vietnam: the Re- Invention of a Tradition University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2016 The cult of village guardian deities in contemporary Vietnam: the re- invention of a tradition Nguyễn Gia Hùng University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. A court may impose penalties and award damages in relation to offences and infringements relating to copyright material. Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. Recommended Citation Hùng, Nguyễn Gia, The cult of village guardian deities in contemporary Vietnam: the re-invention of a tradition, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong, 2016. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4762 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts The Cult of Village Guardian Deities in Contemporary Vietnam: The Re-invention of a Tradition Nguyễn Gia Hùng This thesis is presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Wollongong 2016 ii Certification I, Hung Gia Nguyen, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, at University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referred or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. iii iv ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the cult of village guardian deities in the lives of the villagers in the Red River delta in contemporary Vietnam. The veneration of guardian deities once worked as a vehicle for the feudal dynasties, who legitimized the cult in order to exercise control at village level, both sacredly and secularly, as the cult, to a great extent, helped construct social morality in accordance with Confucian ideology. In recent years, especially since the launch of the Renovation in 1986, Vietnam has experienced a revitalization of popular religion in general and of the village rituals and festivals in particular. By examining the ritual process, organization, and festival activities, the thesis asks what social, cultural, and political bases there are that permit the cult to exist and evolve and what values the cult provides to meet the villagers’ spiritual and recreational needs within the context of village transformation in contemporary Vietnam. As a work of cultural history, with an oral history and ethnographic component, the thesis argues that the cult of village guardian deities has revived as a form of popular religion since it serves the interests of both the Party-State and local communities in consolidating national identity and local autonomy respectively. Moreover, the revitalization of the cult has also benefited from the reform of the cultural and religious policies of the Party-State of Vietnam in building Vietnamese culture and upholding cultural heritage. The thesis seeks to make a contribution to the current scholarship of the resurgence of popular religion by providing new insights into the culturally dynamic, socially sophisticated, and contested sphere of a particular form of folk beliefs in contemporary Vietnam. In addition, the thesis works as a vehicle for international scholars and readers to pursue a deeper understanding of Vietnamese tradition and culture through the lens of the cult of village guardian deities. v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to acknowledge my gratitude and indebtedness to many individuals and institutions without whose help and support, I would have not been able to complete my dissertation. I owe my gratitude to the Vietnam International Education Development (VIED) of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET) who granted me a scholarship during my doctoral candidature in Australia. I would like to extend my thanks to the VIED staff who guided me through the intricacies of the Program 322 for financial support to study abroad. I would particularly like to thank the case officers, Ms. Quách Ngọc Minh and Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Liên, for their constant support and patience during my study. I am grateful to the University of Wollongong which offered me the International Postgraduate Tuition Award (IPTA). I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisors, Professor Sarah Ferber, Professor Matthew Allen, and Dr. Jason Lim, for their expertise and their constant support, encouragement, and patience during my candidature. Matt and Sarah shared the role of principal supervisor for two years, prior to Matt’s departure from UOW. Dr. Jason Lim served as co-supervisor after that. Professor Matthew Allen provided me excellent expertise and the very first suggestions in theoretical approach in the process to the proposal review in the first year of my candidature. Professor Sarah Ferber gave me not only academic supervision, but also constant encouragement and support which made me feel confident and comfortable in making progress in thesis writing. Sarah played a role of both an academic supervisor and a colleague, a friend during my four-year-candidature in Australia. Dr. Jason Lim relieved Sarah as a co-supervisor and shared the role of principal supervisor once when Sarah was on study leave. At this point, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the head of Quan Nhân quarter, head of the Committee of Historical-Cultural Sites of Quan Nhân, Mr Ngô Văn vii Thân, who volunteered as one of my important sources. I particularly want to thank the custodian of the communal house of Quan Nhân, Mr Hồng, who warmly received and shared with me his memories about the communal house. I would also like to extend my thanks to the People’s Committee of the ward of Nhân Chính for their documents and recommendations to the quarter of Quan Nhân. My special thanks go to the chief of the village of Đại Vi, Mr Nguyễn Đình Quang, and to the custodian of the communal house, Mr Nguyễn Gia Trang, who provided me with the local documents and allowed me to have photocopies of the dynastic texts kept at the sanctuary of the communal house. Mr. Trang and Mr. Quang also shared with me their experience in organizing the previous village festivals and communal house rituals. Their stories provided invaluable information for my dissertation. I also wish to thank the People’s Committee of the commune of Đại Đồng which gave me permission to work with the Committee of Rituals of the village of Đại Vi. I also owe numerous other debts of gratitude to those who helped me through my candidature at the University of Wollongong and my stay in Australia. I would like to express my special thanks to the administrative staff of the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA) for their constant support and patience. I would like to extend my special thanks to the Research Team, particularly to Robert Beretov, who warmly received me on my enrollment day and gave me constant assistance during my candidature. My deepest thanks go to my family, colleagues and friends for their understanding, support, and encouragement through my intellectual journey. The dissertation completed and I am looking forward to the reunion. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ...................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Situating the Cult of Village Guardian Deities ................................................. 1 1.2 Literature Review .............................................................................................. 6 1.3 Chapter Outline…………………………………………………………… ... 25 Chapter 2: Methodology ...........................................................................................
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