p. 127

"Votive offerings (hang ma) are generally paper representations of useful things that are promised by vow and/or dedicated to the deceased, gods, or saints."

p. 128

"The offerings ... and their use have ... religious ... meanings in contemporary Vietnam. ... The reciprocal relationship between the adherents (givers) and the spirits (receivers) that develops through the offerings and the spirits’ returns of "favors" contains religious ... meanings."

p. 129

For "votive offerings ..., under the T>ang dynasty, (618-907), Chinese people began using fake money instead of real gold and silver ingots, and they burned the money as a way of conveying it to the spirits. Later on, votive clothes and other objects were added to the monetary offerings." [But (according to p. 177, fn. 81,) votive paper clothing is older (at least in Xin-jian) than is votive paper money.]

p. 131

gold and silver ingots."

The burning of the offerings sends these gifts to the spiritual realm."

131, n. 11

"Offerings of food and drink are transformed {transsubstantiated} and handed back to those who make them after the spirits have "received and tasted." The people making the offerings are then free to consume the food and drink. ... By eating the transformed spirit food, they are then assured of receiving the favor of the spirits regarding their good health, luck, and prosperity."

"She suffered from insanity before the spirits called her to mediumship. After initiation, she was healed of her affliction. Eventually she built a shrine to the Mother goddess religion and was endowed with abilities to open gates to spirit possession on behalf of her clients and to perform spiritual healings and divinations."

p. 132

"At an initiation ritual, ... there could be a tray of petition sheets to spirits (so) on which religious masters write in Sino-Vietnamese ideographs the name, address, and requests of the initiate. Four notebooks, a writing brush, an ink slab, and a pen symbolize the knowledge with which the spirits will endow the initiate."

p. 140

"Traditionally, a ceremony master must know the ancient writing system of Sino-Vietnamese manuscripts, which allows him to write petitions to spirits and to perform the chants in this archaic language."

p. 140

Among votive replicas, " "an elephant with nine tusks and a cock with nine spurs," ... are seen as the most precious gifts".

p. 140, fn. 24

The Genie of the Mountains arrived first to the palace with the required presents, and he won the princess."

"An elderly spirit priest (thay cung) is reading prayers from a book written in Sino-Vietnamese characters while one of the male chau van musicians is beating a drum to add emphasis. [A female] medium ... is sitting cross-legged in the middle of a low platform in front of the altar, her head bowed in prayer. In preparation for her len dong (spirit possession) ritual, the thay cung invites the spirits to "witness the offerings" (chung le) that have been decoratively arranged on ... trays and placed on the altar. The ritual assistants (hau dang) are busy with preparing the spirits’ robes and accessories according to the order in which the spirits are going to descend during the ritual."

p. 143

"Mediums, regular devotees of the Four Palace religion, chau van musicians, and ritual assistants gather in a public temple (den) or in a private shrine (dien) of a temple master in order to arrange, perform, or

p. 144

"In contrast to the situation of ordinary believers, who visit the temples associated with the Four Palace religion in order to present small sets of offerings and pray for

p. 145

"A destined person becomes a medium with the help of a master (dong thay). Master mediums either operate in their own private shrines (dien) or in public

p. 146

"The master-follower relationship is sealed with a ritual called doi bat nhang, which literally means "carrying an incense holder on one’s head." It involves a petition or "decree" (lenh) written in Sino-Vietnamese characters with the name and age of the initiate, votive money, areca nuts, fruits ... as offerings, and an

p. 147

Mediums usually feel that their lives ease noticeably after entering into mediumship."

p. 149

"novice are required to perform exclusively at the temple of their initiation during the first three years. During this time, the master teaches his novice followers the proper rules of ritual performance and monitors their progress during their len dong rituals. Most masters take their followers on pilgrimages to famous temples throughout the northern region. These temples are usually dedicated to a certain spirit of the Tu Phu pantheon, and the masters "present" their novice mediums to these spirits by conducting a short introduction ritual called trinh giau. After three years, mediums are considered to have had sufficient training and may perform at any temple of their choice."

p. 150

"A proficient master has to set an example for his followers ...; if a master likes telling dirty jokes, his students will do no as well." {Red-turban Taoists often tell scatological jokes, even while possessed b a spirit.}

p. 170

Similarly, in Korea, the ability to entertain is a core attribute of the shaman; dancing and feasting gods "play" (nolda), and their satisfaction gives the ritual an auspicious outcome."

p. 171

Royal god play is also evident in possession rituals in Laos and Cambodia."

p. 177

"the oldest known examples of votive paper coins were found in China’s Xinjiang province in a Tang dynasty tomb dated to 667 CE."

p. 177, fn. 81

"Votive paper clothing was also found was also found in a fifth-century grave in Xingjiang, and its use is documented from eighth-century China. Production flourished in twelfth-century China when votive paper was sold in specialized shops in the northern Sung capital of K>aifeng."