Home> Archive> 2015> Volume 5 Number 1 (Jan. 2015)
IJSSH 2015 Vol.5(1): 63-68 ISSN: 2010-3646
DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2015.V5.423

The Worship of Guardian Deities of Village Quan Nhân: The Reinvention of a Tradition

Hung Gia Nguyen

Abstract—This paper investigates the worship of village guardian deities in the lives of the villagers of Village Quan Nhân which is located in an urban area in contemporary Vietnam. In recent years, especially since the launch of the Đổi mới, Renovation, in 1986, Vietnam has experienced a revitalisation of popular religion in general and village rituals and festivals in particular after a period of suspension due to different reasons. The worship has also benefited from the reform of the cultural and religious policies of the Party-State of Vietnam in building Vietnamese culture. The paper also attempts to argue that the worship of village guardian deities of Village Quan Nhân has revived as the continuing of a tradition. The potent symbol of the guardian deities, to a certain extent, meets villagers’ spiritual and recreational needs in once promising favourable weather for ample crops and now dealing with social insecurity and market uncertainty. The revival of the worship reflects how modernity accommodates tradition in contemporary Vietnam as festivals strengthen community spirit and morality.

Index Terms—Festival, ritual, tradition, village.

Hung Gia Nguyen is with the University of Wollongong, Australia (e-mail: ghn546@uowmail.edu.au).

[PDF]

Cite: Hung Gia Nguyen, " The Worship of Guardian Deities of Village Quan Nhân: The Reinvention of a Tradition," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 63-68, 2015.

PREVIOUS PAPER
NEXT PAPER

Copyright © 2008-2024. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity. All rights reserved.

E-mail: ijssh.editorial.office@gmail.com