Soul prayer ritual of the Thai The Thai in Vietnam’s northwestern region pray for the souls of sick people, new born babies, people traveling far from home, and new daughters-in-law to wish them good health, safety, and happiness. The prayer inspires these persons to overcome challenges in their lives. Thai people are the object of at least two soul rituals in their lives. A soul ritual calls the soul of a sick person to cling to their body and return home with them and their family. Then the soul will not wander among forests, mountains, abd streams, and attract dangerous animals. Prayers for newly-wed girl wish good things for her before she goes to her in-laws house. Parents hold a soul ritual to inform their house’s ghosts about their new-born baby. At the New Year celebration, grandparents prepare a couple of chickens and pray for their children’s good health and safe travel through mountains and forests. When an old person is close to death, a soul ritual helps guide his soul to his ancestors. A shaman, a person believed to have the superpower to contact the spiritual world, hosts the soul ritual. He has a bag which contains clothing of the prayed-for person, a boiled egg, and a grilled fish, and holds a fish net and a cluster of arm-length laths. He sits at the bottom of the stairs and reads a prayer to call the person’s soul. Quang Van Oai of Phang hamlet, Dien Bien province, said, “Our ancestors… [Read full story]
Hanoi (VNA) – Around twenty people from Kho Mu community in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien conducted a ritual to pray for rain on the outskirts of Hanoi on November 16. The traditional ceremony of the Kho Mu ethnic people was re-enacted at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Son Tay town, as part of the cultural activities held during the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Week 2015, which opened on November 15. The Kho Mu people hold rituals to pray for rain before the crop season begins with seeds being sown in the fields. They…... [read more]
Viet Nam News Hầu đồng (also known as lên đồng) is a popular ritual in Vietnamese spiritual culture. It is one of the main rituals of đạo Mẫu, the worship of mother goddesses recently identified by UNESCO as an intangible world cultural heritage. The rituals involve mediums going into a trance so that their bodies can receive the spirits of various deities. Reporter Trần Thành talks to researcher Bùi Trọng Hiền about the art. Could you talk about the original art and its role in Vietnamese people's spiritual life in the past? According to what elders told me, the costumes…... [read more]
An old Thai woman in the central province of Nghe An has made important contributions to preserving the Thai ethnic group's ancient art of folk singing. From an old wooden stilt house in Xang village, a woman’s voice can be heard singing an ancient folk song in the Thai language. Many Thai ethnics in the mountainous district of Quy Chau in Nghe An may not know world famous divas like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. But they all know about the 61-year old woman singer, Sam Thi Tuyen, who is very popular with the fans in the Thai community. Tuyen…... [read more]
>> Nha Trang kicks off street carnival >> Colours of the Nha Trang Sea Festival A crowd of almost 700 fishermen in traditional costumes praying for a good fishing harvest on June 14 aroused the curiosity of visitors to a sea festival in Nha Trang Coastal Park, Khanh Hoa province. The event originated when a dead whale drifted onshore near a coastal village. The prayer used to taking place at the temple built for the giant fish in an expectation that it would bring a bountiful fish harvest. The event strictly followed the original rituals, which began with a two-phase…... [read more]
Originating from the conception that everything has holy characters, worshipping water god is an early custom popular in water areas in the Red River. An insight of the legend on the gods worshipping in the temples, pagodas in the delta, the festival of water procession, the custom of worshipping these gods can reveal that the vestiges of water worshipping custom is quite strong. A panorama by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism web portal. - Custom of worshipping tutelary god: Legend and original… Originating from the ancient Chinese time, after integrating into Vietnam, it quickly grasped into the soul…... [read more]
