Đạo Mẫu (, ) is the worship of mother goddesses which was established in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in the 16th century. While scholars like Ngô Đức Thịnh propose that it represents a systematic worship of mother goddesses, Đạo Mẫu draws together fairly disparate beliefs and practices. These include the worship of goddesses such as Thiên Y A Na, Bà Chúa Xứ "Lady of the Realm", Bà Chúa Kho "Lady of the Storehouse", and Princess Liễu Hạnh, legendary figures like Âu Cơ, the Trưng Sisters (Hai Bà Trưng), and

Lady Triệu Lady Triệu ( vi, Bà Triệu, , Chữ Nôm: 226 - 248) or Triệu Ẩu (, Chữ Hán: ); was a warrior in 3rd century Vietnam who managed, for a time, to resist the rule of the Chinese Eastern Wu dynasty. She is also called , although her ac ...

(Bà Triệu), as well as the branch

Four Palaces Four Palaces ( Tiếng Việt: ; Chữ Hán: ) is a major denomination of the Mother Goddess religion, an indigenous polytheistic religion in Vietnam. This branch is popular in the North of Vietnam and has a profound association with the worship ...

Practices

Serving the reflections (hầu bóng)

The most prominent ritual of Đạo Mẫu is the ceremony of ''hầu bóng'' (), in which a priest or priestess mimics the deities by dressing and acting like them. Many people mistake that ''hầu bóng'' is a form of mediumship ritual — known in Vietnam as ''

lên đồng Lên đồng (, votive dance, "to mount the medium", or "going into trance") is a ritual practiced in Vietnamese folk religion, in which followers become spirit mediums for various kinds of spirits. There is a common confusion between "lên ...

'' — much as practiced in other parts of Asia, such as South China, among the

Mon people The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး‌, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and se ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and some communities in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

; however, that is not correct. Although some of the priests and priestesses of Đạo Mẫu are believed to have the ability of spirit mediumship, this is a different practice entirely. The priest is in full control of their body during ''hầu bóng''. A successful ceremony is one in which the priest feels the deities' essences but it does not mean the deities' spirits enter the priest's mortal body. As a religious leader authorised to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities, the ''thanh đồng'' in Đạo Mẫu is more of the equivalent of a priest rather than a medium or a shaman. The worshiping of the Mother Goddesses contributes to the appreciation of women in society. Recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, this Vietnamese ritual was inscribed on Representative List in December 2016. Although the

Vietnamese government The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appoi ...

had initially proscribed the practice of such rituals, deeming them to be superstitions, they relented in 1987, once again permitting their practice.

Denominations

Four Palaces (Tứ Phủ)

The most prominent form of Đạo Mẫu is

(Tứ Phủ), which worships a hierarchical pantheon of Vietnamese indigenous deities with a strong influence from historical figures, Taoism and Buddhism. Four Palaces is the most common in the North. Other forms in different areas have also developed an interference with other local beliefs. The name literally means "Four Palaces", which includes the four realms Heaven, Mountains, Water and Earth.

Holy Mothers (Thánh Mẫu)

Holy Courtiers (Thánh Chầu)

Holy Mistresses (Thánh Cô)

References

External links

Đạo Mẫu Việt Nam

Đạo Mẫu Đông A Phủ
Religion in Vietnam Vietnamese folk religion {{vietnam-stub