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Buddhist factors in the cult of Tianhou in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam

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Abstract

The cult of Tianhou (Vietnamese: Thiên Hậu) originated in Putian, Fujian Province in Southern China, was officially entitled Furen, Tainfei and Tianhou by Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, finally become the popular sea goddess in Southeast China coastlines. At around the late seventeenth century, Southern Chinese immigrated to Southern Vietnam, including the Mekong River Delta, hence the cult was introduced into the region. The whole region has got a total of 74 Tianhou temples (of which the Chinese built 57, the Vietnamese built 17 and around 100 temples of gods in which Tianhou is co-worshipped. After over three hundred years of cultural integration and social development, Tianhou has changed from the main functions of a sea protector to powerful multi-functional Mother Goddess of both ethnic Chinese (also called “ethnic Hoa”) and a great number of Vietnamese people. This paper is to explore the structure and connotation of the cult of Tianhou in the Mekong River Delta from the perspective of cultural studies, and applies Western theories of hierarchy of need, superscription and standardization in popular religion and rituals as well as concept of distinction between acculturation and assimilation to analyze the transformation and adaptation of a symbolic faith under the specific background of the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam. The research also aims to investigate the principles of reshaping and constructing contemporary cultural identity of the ethnic Chinese people in Vietnam as well as the activeness and flexibility of local Vietnamese in dealing with the external cultural practices. This case study plays an important role in shaping a systematic look of cultural exchanges and multicultural harmonization in Vietnam nowadays.

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Notes

  1. The word used by Thinh (2015), Going into a trance, a voyage of deities and condition, Vietnamese Faith Culture Research and Conservation Institute, the World Publishing House, p. 58.

  2. See Thinh (2015, p. 52).

  3. The Temple of Mariamman Goddess is located in 45 Truong Dinh, District 1, HCMC.

  4. See also Jordan (1972).

  5. In Vietnamese: Quan Công.

  6. According to a Member of Management Board (2014), Guanyin shrine was built in 1978 due to the demand of local devotees (field-work data 2014).

  7. Manjusri and Samantabhadra are two among twelve disciples of God in Taoist tradition.

  8. Including Tianhou temple in Ca Mau city; Tianhou temple in Phu Hung, Cai Nuoc district; Tianhou temple in Cai Keo, Dam Doi district; Tianhou temple in Song Doc town; Tianhou temple in Thoi Binh town, Ca Mau province; Phuc Duc temple in Lich Hoi Thuong, Tran De district; Ca Lac Tianhou temple in Lac Hoa ward, Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang province, etc.

  9. Some people said that this couple included mother–children meaning maternal love and fertility; however, as we observed this couple has feudal standardized meaning, formed by paternity-based Confucian values.

  10. All field-work executed from 9/2005 to 1/2006 and from 2/2008 to 9/2009 in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan.

  11. For example Linh Phu temple, DinhQuan, Dong Nai (field-work data 2015).

  12. Such as Linh Phu Buddhist Pagoda in Dinh Quan District (Dong Nai); Phung Song Tu in District 1, On Lang Temple and Ha Chuong Temple in District 5 (Ho Chi Minh City); Kal Bo Pruk Buddhist Temple in Oc Eo (Thoai Son, An Giang) etc.

  13. Quoted as Tran Hau Yen The (2015, p. 147).

  14. See also Wheeler (2015, p. 146).

  15. The quoted details and photos in this paper are field-work materials collected in South China in the years 2006, 2008; in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand in 2014, 2015, 2016 and all over the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam throughout the years 2013–2016.

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    Nguyen Ngoc Tho

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Tho, N.N. Buddhist factors in the cult of Tianhou in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Int. Commun. Chin. Cult 5, 229–246 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40636-018-0118-5

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