Religion is one of the prominent and diverse cultural features of ethnic groups dwelling in the Southwest region. Ethnic groups in the Vietnamese ethnic community in general and the Southwest area in particular embrace their own faith associated with their economic and spiritual life. Religions in the Southwest region, in addition to the mutuality and unity of Vietnamese culture and beliefs, also carry special features/specificities that differentiate them from other regions. The article describes the beliefs in the process of adapting to the new land, the religious forms and practices in people’s life in the Southwest region.
Keyword : religion, Southwest region, folklore, the Vietnamese (Kinh), the Khmer, the Chinese
Problem Statement
The Southwest region, so-called the Mekong River Delta, was established by generations of communities who reclaimed land from a desolate, treacherous area without human footprints a few hundred years ago. Residential communities, due to varied historical circumstances, were present in this land at different times, mainly the Khmer, Vietnamese, and Chinese ethnic groups, in which the Vietnamese played the crucial role in the region’s advancement. In the survival spaces of the new land, residents of the Southwest have chosen and developed appropriate livelihood methods, such as farming, fishing, handicrafts, as an adaptation to the context. The values of material culture, spiritual culture, and social culture of the Southwest inhabitants are also formed and developed upon that given foundation.
Religions are a crucial part of the culture of the Southwest region, reflecting the mental and spiritual life of ethnic communities in an area containing both advantages and challenges. As a part of the community culture and religions of the Southwest region, in addition to the mutuality and unity of Vietnamese culture and beliefs, it also possesses characteristics/specificities that differentiate them from other regions.
1. Regarding religions of Vietnamese people
1.1. Worship of Ancestor
The Vietnamese travelers in the early exploration of the Southwest region had to face tremendous obstacles and risks. Therefore, the first spiritual support grounds in the belief in the ancestors/grandparents who always follow, watch over, and bless their descendants to overcome tribulations and successfully settle in a new land. The ancestral beliefs of the Vietnamese people in the Southwest region are maintained in order to present the commemoration, filial piety, and principle of «When eating a fruit, think of the man who planted tree» space for worshiping ancestor is an altar, an altering hall/room, depending on each household's economic condition. The altar is placed in the middle of the house, facing the main door. In the middle of the altar, there place incense bowls or incense burners, on both sides are two lampstands, the left side holds a flower vase/single vase for flower arrangement, whilst the right side occupies a plate for worshiping the five-fruit tray by the principle «East vase, West fruit». A small and lower table behind the altar hangs the photos or tablets of ancestors/grandparents. On the wall, behind the altar, people often hang landscape paintings or letter pictures like «Happiness, Wealth, Longevity». Moreover, there witnesses a panel decked on the upper side of the altar; whereas, a couplet is hanged on the two sides which denote contents reminding and praising the merits and virtues of ancestors or the gratitude of descendants. Many Vietnamese families in the Southwest region arrange their altars in the style of Ancestor-before-Buddha or Ancestor-before-God. Accordingly, the ancestral altar is placed in a central position, on high or next to it; the owner places another altar to worship Guanyin and worship Guan Yu — Guan Cong (according to common sense).
Figure 1. Ancestor alter in Ancient House in Binh Thuy (Can Tho city)
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/tin-tuc/tuc-tho-ong-ba-vung-chau-tho-phuong-nam-20141001155147995.htm
Annual ancestor worshipping is a crucial task. In the family, the death anniversary is usually held for 4 generations: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents. From the 5 th generation onwards, the death anniversary becomes a festive event, a joint occasion for the whole family to pay tribute and commemorate the ancestors. Many ethnic groups in the Southwest region, like Tien Giang and Dong Thap, when worshipping ancestors, also organize «side offerings» to identify ancestors and family clusters. Through the implicit offerings of each cluster, those sharing the same paternity can recognize each other, simultaneously understand the deprivations and hardships in the early days of the reclamation. This is reflected in the popular offerings and rituals of their death anniversary, including fish porridge and grilled snakehead fish on the offering tray; The offerings are presented on lotus leaves, banana leaves, banana peels along with small branches or reed/sedge/banana stalks or pieces of prickly Pandanaceae leaves. All are placed on mats, spread on the ground in front of the house. The ritual finishes by releasing banana rafts with offerings into rivers and canals, which means bringing ascendants back to their original homeland, thereby also imprinting in the hearts of children and grandchildren about their ancestors' merits of overcoming tons of hardship to reach the South and establish a life for their following generations.
1.2. Worship of Thanh Hoang (Patron God)
The Vietnamese villages and hamlets in the Southwest are established on the reclaimed land, with most of the Vietnamese people of Thuan — Quang origin. The patron god of the village community in all aspects of agricultural life — God Thanh Hoang has been «reimagined» in Vietnamese villages on the basis of developing the tradition of worshipping Thanh Hoang from the original countryside of Central Vietnam/ Quang areas. Holding similarities with communal houses in Central Vietnam, the Patron God in Vietnamese villages is not a specific god with a throne and a clear identity. However, only the word «God» as a symbol of worship with the name Thanh Hoang Bon Canh or Thanh Hoang Bon Xu (Patron God of the territory), who plays the role as a protector of the village's space and boundaries, also shares the function and authority as the Earth God. In addition to the main god of Thanh Hoang Bon Canh/Xu, the communal houses also worship many other gods, most of which originate from the Ngu Quang and Southern Central regions who pertains to the occupants in the history of the new land's advancement. Each communal house may worship distinct gods through the arrangement of the incense table next to the Thanh Hoang altar. Nevertheless, but the common point is that every communal house has an incense table to worship Tien Hien (the former meritorious — land reclaimers) and Hau Hien (the later meritorious — opportunity givers) in order to affirm the faith, reverence, and gratitude of the Vietnamese community in the Southwest region for the ancestors who established the village and opened up a fortune in the new land for the following generations.
Being annually held in the «spring period» in the communal houses of the Southwest region, Ky Yen Festival signifies the villagers' faith in Thanh Hoang and other gods. This is a ceremony to pray for peace for the whole year, and the biggest festival of the year aiming at praying to Thanh Hoang to offer favourable natural conditions, good crops, national peace and prosperity. [5, p.74].
1.3. Worship of Mother Goddess
The religion of Mother Goddess is widespread across the whole Southwest territory, in which the worship of the Vietnamese community is the most advanced, with the familiar address as Her Goddess. They worship various Mothers, the prime power of whom is Ba Chua Xu/Ba Chua Xu So — Goddess of the Southwest region with a savour of Mother Goddess worship rooted in the original homeland. In addition to the main worship centre of Sam mountain, Chau Doc, An Giang, almost all Vietnamese villages in the Southwest embrace a shrine to worship Ba Chua Xu. The Via Ba ceremony, the top important and largest-scale community cultural and religious activity, takes place annually at Sam mountain, from 23rd to 27th lunar April. At the same time, Ba Chua Xu shrines in rural villages also held a ceremony to pray for peace and prosperity for the agricultural community.
If Ba Chua Xu holds the power of Mother Earth — the Holy Mother protects humans on the earth. The other Mothers are representations of the Goddesses patronizing the spatial regions associated with human occupations such as farming, marine occupations, forestry, handicrafts. Accordingly, the most popular Goddess are presented as follows: Chua Tien, Chua Ngoc, Ba Dai Can, La Sat, Cuu Thien Huyen Nu, Thien Hau, Ngu Hanh, Thuy Long Than Nu, 7 Holy Ladies (That Thanh Nuong Nuong), Chua Dong, Co Hy, Linh Son Thanh Mau. Despite distinct origins of Vietnamese, Cham, Chinese, those Goddesses are worshipped by the Vietnamese with a hope to receive their patron for a peaceful and prosperous life.
1.4. Worship of Whale
In localities containing sea areas like Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Kien Giang, the tradition of marine occupations was brought by the Vietnamese from the original homeland (mainly from the Quang area) and bloom in association with the belief in whale worship — the Nam Hai God patronizes the marine careers.
Worshipping whales of fishermen in the Southwest region witnesses little difference from one of original homeland, from the addressing name, the god name to the process of sanctification, the worshipping space and the sacrifice ritual. However, due to the impact of the new environmental context, there go still distinct nuances in whale worship of Vietnamese residents in this area. Nam Hai God is still worshipped in the Tomb, but in some places, the name is associated with Ba Chua Xu or the human god Nguyen Trung Truc and other gods such as Than Nong, Ba Dai Can. Annually, Nghinh Ong festival is held around lunar March at the Tomb of Sire and lasts three days, including the following ceremonies:
— Nghinh Ong Nam Hai (this ceremony takes place with the ritual of a group consisting of 3 elders acting the trio of Guan Cong, Chau Xuong, and Guan Ping, they welcome the Sire in Duyen Hai and Tra Vinh) [2];
— Worship of Predecessor;
— Worship of Shen Nong and the late soldiers;
— Chanh Te and Tong Quai (the ritual of sending the ship out, similar to the Tong On ceremony in Quang coastal villages), followed by entertainment activities such as Boi singing, sailboat racing, rowing boat racing, racing on stilts, net mending,... Cai luong or Don ca tai tu performance.
1.5. Worship of modern history figures
In the second half of the 19th century, Southern Vietnam was where resistance movements against the French invasion happened, in which many loyal anti-French leaders led the people to rise for independence, were saved in history books, and were honored anti-French heroes. The place where the feats or sacrifices of these leaders were marked and then sanctified and worshipped by the people as the gods/Thanh Hoang of the land, such as Truong Dinh (Tien Giang), Nguyen Huu Huan (Tien Giang), Nguyen Trung Trực (From Long An to Rach Gia), Vo Duy Duong Dong Thap), Tran Van Thanh (An Giang), Tu Kiet — «Bon Ong Cai Lay» (Tien Giang)...
The death anniversary of late anti-French heroes has become a memorial event for the people for the heroic merits. A typical memorial activity is the death anniversary of Nguyen Trung Truc at the temple of Nguyen Trung Truc in Rach Gia (Kien Giang). The festival is organized annually and prolongs in 3 days: from 27th to 29th of lunar August, in which the main day of the festival is 28th. The ceremony part comprises of rituals in the manner of worshiping the god, and the festival part contains cultural and religious activities, including: recreating outstanding feats of Nguyen Trung Truc, martial arts performances, folk games, talent contests, skill competitions (cooking contest, flower making contest, lion dance contest)... performances of Don ca tai tu and Unicorn — Lion — Dragon... The festival presents itself as an opportunity for people to «contribute to the death anniversary» so that the event can be decent and solemn, which facilitates visitors from all over the world to worship and «enjoy fortunes from God Nguyen Trung Truc».
2. Regarding religions of Khmer people
Khmer people's main livelihood is rice cultivation. Their beliefs and cultural practices are closely linked to the way of survival and are deeply influenced by Theravada Buddhism — the sect popular throughout the Khmer community in the Southwest region [4].
2.1. Worship of Patron God
Like other agricultural communities, the Khmer people demand to be protected by supernatural powers for their family and community. They hold a strong faith that obstacles in life or misfortunes in productive labor can be defeated if blessed by the gods. Distinct gods with primitive origin (Brahminism) are worshipped by Khmer people, such as Tevoda — heavenly fairies, who take turns annually to descend to earth to protect people's lives; Rea hu — ferocious god, swallowing the moon causing crop failures, but protecting women during childbirth; Neak-ta-the god who protects the community in all aspects (like the Vietnamese Thanh Hoang); Arak — god of lifesaving for the family.
Currently, gods such as Tevoda, Reahu, and Arak are less believed in the Phum Soc community due to the better living conditions of the Khmer. Particularly, Neak-ta still maintains significant faith in the spiritual life of the Khmer community. The Khmer believe that Neak Ta protects all living spaces as well as the peaceful and prosperous life of Phum Soc. All Phum Soc encompasses a shrine to worship the god with a popular symbol as sandstones in all sizes covered with a cashew cloth (there rarely goes a Phum having a statue of Neak-ta god similar to Longevity God in the Happiness — Wealth — Longevity trilogy). At the shrine, on the first days of solar May every year, the Phum Soc community organizes the Neak-ta worshipping ceremony to pray for rain, peace and prosperity in upcoming seasons [1; 13].
2.2. Moon God and Worship of Moon
The belief of the Moon God plays an important role in the agricultural life of the Khmer. The Khmer considers the Moon as the god who governs, protects and controls the crops during the year. The Moon worshipping ceremony commemorates and expresses gratitude to the god for bringing wealthy crops to the community, annually held on 15th lunar October. The Moon worshipping ceremony is viewed as a major event of the Khmer people, also known as the Ok Om Boo ceremony. In addition to agricultural products, items offered to the gods must necessarily be made of flat rice flakes (so it is also called the ceremony of «putting flat rice flakes»). Worshipping ceremony are held at each house and then to the Phum and Soc to pray for peace and prosperity. Unlike the ritual taking place in the community, worshipping the Moon at home having a unique feature is that after the owner finishes the offering, he immediately puts flat rice flake in each child's mouth and asks them what they wish for in the year. The answer is considered a «prophecy» for the homeowner to believe in good and bad omens in the following year about business and family affairs. On this occasion, Khmer people organize Ngo boat race on the river to train their health, endurance and flexibility for water adaption in production.
2.3. Worship of ancestors and grandparents (Sen Dolta)
Ancestors of Khmer people are not worshiped at home, but their faith is intense and widespread throughout the community. Accordingly, the Khmer encompasses a separate ceremony to worship predecessors (Sen Dolta ceremony in Khmer language), which lasts 3 days, from 29th to 31st lunar August, but in compliance with the uniform procedure of death anniversary and sendoff/reception ritual, turns into a mutual custom for the whole community. The Sen Dolta ceremony takes place in 3 days: The first day is the ceremony to welcome ascendants home and listen to the monks' blessing; on the next day, grandparents are invited to enjoy time with their posterity; and the last day witnesses a ceremony to see grandparents off to Nirvana. The ritual of delivering grandparents back to their original homeland is done by releasing small boats made of banana/areca/coconut vagina into rivers, streams, or canals around the house for grandparents to reach their destination. The death anniversary has the nature of a «festive event», which the Khmer people consider as an occasion for the whole community to commemorate their ancestors with respect and gratitude. Typical Khmer performances such as Chphay Cham and Drum dance also are performed on this occasion.
3. Regarding religions of the Chinese
The Chinese dwelling in the Southwest region mainly live on commerce. In their life, they maintain a sincere faith in gods in family and community. Their two ubiquitous forms of traditional beliefs are worshiping gods in the family/cluster and worshiping gods in the community.
3.1. Worship of ancestor and patron deities at home
In the Chinese family, ancestor worship is of prime importance. An ancestral altar is found in all households and placed in the most solemn position with tablets, portraits of the deceased. The ritual of worshiping ancestors and grandparents of the Chinese is similar to that of the Vietnamese. In addition to the annual death anniversary, essential family events such as Tet, weddings, funerals, rituals are held to announce predecessors. Along with home ancestor worship, the Chinese also have a strong belief in the worship of the patron gods. They deify the Heaven God (Ngoc Hoang Thuong De), Earth God (Ong Dia), and Fortune God (Than Tai) — two deities governing the house and bringing fortune to the family in business; Kitchen Gods (3 Tao Quan) — in charge of the kitchen, the land, and other household chores
3.2. Other worshiped gods in community
They are the gods blessing the Chinese community in all life aspects, including Ba Thien Hau, the Mother Goddess of the Chinese people who helps the Chinese to cross the sea to a safe new land and pray Her to bless their business and fortunes as well as protect the women in the family. The worship place is the so-called Thien Hau Temple, in Chinese letter is Thien Hau Palace.
— Quan Thanh De Quan, also known as Quan Cong, an ancient Chinese historical figure, is Guan Yu, entitled Guan Van Truong. Quan Cong is the embodiment of the virtues shown in macho personality, so He is respected and canonized by the Chinese as a Saint and worshiped everywhere with a Chinese community, called Quan Thanh Temple or Ong Pagoda. The Chinese also believe that Quan Thanh De Quan is the guardian deity of the man in the family [7, 293–294). — Ong Bon: Ong Bon, for the Chinese community residing in the Southwest region, is a patron god who determines the fortune and prosperity for the community, like the Vietnamese Thanh Hoang and Neak-ta of the Ong Bon is worshiped at the Temple, Ong Temple, or Ong Bon Pagoda. Most Chinese people in the South have the concept of Ong Bon as «Phuoc Duc Chanh Than». However, the Chinese in the Southwest believe that Ong Bon is the reincarnation of Trinh Tu Hoa, Chau Dat Quan — two Chinese ambassadors of the Ming dynasty who made great contribution to establishing the Chinese immigrant community in holding a sustainable and long-lasting life in another land. Worshiping Ong Bon shows the morality of eating a fruit, think of the man who planted the tree”, and simultaneously exhibits a sign of the origin and cohesion between the Chinese community in the South and Southwest area.
The cultural and religious activities of the Chinese community are held at the above religious institutions, including Lunar New Year, Nguyen Tieu, Thanh Minh, Doan Ngo, Trung Nguyen (Vu Lan), Mid-Fall Festival, in which there are two most significant and most typical festivals of the Chinese people: Nguyen Tieu festival (Full moon of January) and Vu Lan festival (Full moon of July). On Nguyen Tieu day, Chinese people gather in large numbers at god worship facilities such as Ong Bon temple, Ong Bao temple, Quan Thanh temple, Thien Hau temple to pray to the gods for better fortunes previous year. At the temples, the wishes for the new year are delivered by the Chinese through the offering of large and small incense rings to pray for divine blessings. The Chinese people's cultural and artistic activities, including Ho Quang singing, Tieu singing, unicorn — lion — dragon dance performances, are performed in the Nguyen Tieu festival. In Tra Vinh, the Nguyen Tieu festival is also attended by many Khmer, Kinh, and Chinese from various other regions.
On the full moon day of July, the Chinese organize the Vu Lan festival, also known as the amnesty for the dead and requiem for the ascendants and relatives who have died involuntarily to reach the Western Paradise. The Vu Lan festival of the Chinese people in Tra Vinh is called Vu Lan Thang Hoi, held for four days, from 25th to 29th of lunar July, at Ong Bon pagoda, with the main rituals related to Buddhism, such as Scripture Fetching, welcoming of forsaken spirits, soul requiem, Giuong phan ceremony, Ngo boat worshiping, Hoan Kinh (sutra-returning) ceremony, Phong Dang (lanter-launching) ceremony, animal-releasing, food offering (a main and vital ritual of Vu Lan festival), the ceremony to pray for national peace and prosperity... with the participation of the Kinh people, the Khmer and the Chinese from other provinces in the West, the Southeast, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Conclusion and discussion
Religions in the Southwest area are a significant element of inhabitants' life, which hold value as a cultural source for communities to build and develop their economic, cultural and social life in the region throughout history and present. From a cultural perspective, beliefs in the Southwest region are typical cultural products of residential communities in the process of adapting to the new settlement. Religious forms and practices first meet the spiritual needs and unite the community to overcome challenges and uncertainties; then, religions make themselves an environment to preserve and promote cultural traditions and beliefs in the context of the new environment of the Southwest territory. It is this environmental context that makes up the features when comparing the religions of the cultural space of the Southwest region with that of other areas in Vietnam. Despite originating from certain homelands, the religions and their practices of the Vietnamese, Khmer, and Chinese people have different features, reveals several differences, proved by the fact in the Southwest area.
Religions in the Southwest are diverse, prosperous, and unique, positing a process of cultural interference between ethnic groups living in an area. The practice of worshiping Thanh Hoang and worshiping Ky Yen of Vietnamese people and Neak-ta beliefs of Khmer people bear similarities in mind; Mother Goddess worship beliefs of all ethnic groups Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa, Cham are crystallized in the iconic symbol of Ba Chua Xu Chau Doc; whilst all groups conduct the practice of worshipping ancestors.
In history and these days, ethnic communities in the Southwest live in harmony and tolerance, in which the Vietnamese play a vital role in the development of the land in all aspects. The Vietnamese people's practice of worshiping human gods (such as Tien Hien, Hau Hien, and even leaders of the French Resistance war) aims to pay tribute to the merits of the Forebears during the process of reclaiming and developing the entire region, and also contributes to the cohesion of the ethnic groups co-residing in the same land, evidenced by the fact this type of belief and festival of the Vietnamese has been attended by Khmer, Chinese, and Cham ethnic communities dwelling in the shared regions with these religious institutions. This demonstrates the cultural and religious interference of ethnic communities in the Southwest region./.
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