#

Cap.

PP.

0.

Encountering mediumship

1-20

1.

Mediumship, modernity, and identity

21-53

2.

Experiencing spirit-possession

54-78

3.

Songs for the spirits

79-107

4.

Musical construction of the spirits

108-30

5.

Musical creativity

131-54

6.

Engendering mediumship

155-89

7.

Ritual

190-216

8.

Thanking the spirits

217-24

p.

term

meaning

2

c^ua

pagoda

dinh

communal house

lan

mausoleum

13

hon

soul

70

duon

yan

yin

am

c^u nho (Chinese characters)

c^u nom (Vietnamese characters)

quoc nu (Latin characters)

English

Vietnamese

grapheme

high rising

sac

‘ (acute accent)

mid level

khon dau

(no diacritic)

high broken

na

~ circumflex accent)

low rising

hoi

>

low broken

nan

. (subscript dot)

low falling

huyen

` (grave accent)

p. 3

"forming words" (keo chu). In this last activity, hundreds of people arranged themselves to form the shapes of Sino-Vietnamese characters."

p. 4

"len dong is a popular and long-established way of "serving the spirits" (hau thanh), of enacting devotion through the embodied presence of spirits. Spirit possession relies on the miraculous response of the spirits and is ... described by devotees as "mysterious" or "mystical" (huyen bi)".

p. 24

"Accounts of mediumship in the first half of the twentieth century make a distinction between

male mediums (ong dong, thanh dong, or thay phap),

who belonged to the "cult" of General Tran Hung Dao, and

female mediums (ba dong, ba cot, or dong cot),

who worshipped the spirits of the Three Palaces (Tam Phu), with each "palace" headed by a mother spirit".

"The group of male mediums was known for its healing rituals involving expelling evil spirits and acts of self-immolation, such as cheek and tongue piercing and fire walking."

p. 25

"However, in contemporary Vietnam ... the exorcism rites associated with the incarnation of the general are no longer practiced."

p. 52

how the Third Holy Lady rowed in a boat for Le Loi in order for him to cross the river". [p. 231, n. 1:7 : "Le Loi expelled the Ming dynasty Chinese administrators ..., and he established the Le dynasty in 1428."]

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c^u ("spirits")

1^st

mau (mother)

2^nd

quan (mandarin)

3^rd

c^au (ladies)

4^th

on hoan (princes)

5^th

co (princesses)

6^th

cau (young princes)

p.

category

58

"mother spirits ... only "descend" (giang) for a few seconds while the scarf is placed over the medium’s head before "returning" (ve) to the other world.

... mandarins are the most prestigious male spirits and are the first to be fully incarnated during len dong. ...

59

... of the ladies ... many are thought also to belong to different "ethnic minority" groups, such as the"

group

__ Lady

Tay

10^th

Nun

6^th

Man

2^nd

Muon

3^rd

Dao

1^st

"When possessed by ethnic spirits, mediums wear colorful clothes ... from the traditional costumes of minority groups, who live mainly in the highland regions ... .

... the princes ... are younger, more irreverent, and less reserved ... .

The princesses are graceful unmarried maidens ... . ...

... the young princes, are playful and naughty children who tease and joke." {Likewise among the Manobo, a possessing-spirit "jokes", "laughs", "teases" (S&GF, p. 227 etc.).}

p.

divinity

60

"The term Four Palace Religion refers to the four "palaces" (phu) or domains ... in the "yin spirit world" (coi am). ... The palaces relate to the place of spirits in the "yang human world" (duong tran) as well as the celestial domain."

61

"Ho Chi Minh is already a figure of worship in village communal houses as a tutelary spirit, a "living god" (than song)".

63

"the Fifth Mandarin is renowned ... on the Do Tranh river in Hai Hung province ... . ...

The Third Mandarin is reputed to have been ... "the son of the water king at Dong Dinh lake" ... .

Tales about the Fifth Mandarin recount that he is the son of the legendary dragon king, Long Vuong. He is reputed to have seduced a mandarin’s daughter in Ninh Giang province and to have become

64

manifest as a snake. As a snake spirit he created a storm on the Do Tranh river".

65

as for the 3^rd Mother, Lieu Hanh : "the Jade Emperor permitted her to return to earth two years after her death. On her return, she made her immortal identity known and traveled widely performing miraculous deeds to help the people."

March is the mother’s death anniversary"".

p.

emergence

66

" "Coming out as a medium" ... is usually prompted by a crisis or affliction. ... and initiation is prescribed as a resolution or cure. Becoming a medium is understood as being part of a person’s fate, as an inevitable occurrence. ... Initiates are said to have the "destined aptitude"

67

The afflictions suffered by ... mediums [before each became a spirit-medium] were diverse. They ranged from ... "madness" (dien) ... to ... debilitating states including lethargy to long periods of severe immobility. [One such female spirit-medium] was tormented by the spirits to such an extent that she said she "died for three and a half hours"; [another such female spirit-medium] suffered tiredness, headaches, and illness of the "heart and mind" (tam

68

tinh), which could not be cured by medicine; [one male spirit-medium] was tired and weak and was then involuntarily possessed by evil spirits, which made him lose control of his body and thrash around ... . Dreams figured in ... descriptions of being "seized" by spirits. In one [female spirit-medium]’s dream she was bitten by mandarins, who appeared as snakes, and she found that she could not walk the next day. In [another female spirit-medium]’s dream she was visited by the spirits, who taught her how to perform ritual dances. [The female spirit-medium who was bitten by the snakes in her dream] also mentioned that "knotted hair" is another common manifestation of punishment by the spirits. {cf. the snakey hair of Medousa the Gorgon (bad-hair day)} [p. 231, n. 2:5 : "The problem of "knotted hair" can lead to a rite of "combing out the hair" (chai toc), which takes place prior to initiation."] All ... mediums said their afflictions were alleviated through initiation. ...

69

Madness is conceptualized in the discourse of mediums as an abnormal bodily state ..., and its cause is related to spirits ... . Madness is usually associated with crises that lead to initiation. ... "If you avoid [coming out as a medium], then you will suffer ‘madness’ and be punished by the spirits." Unusually, [one female spirit-medium] suffered a bout of "madness" for several months ... a few years after she was initiated. According to [her] she was involuntarily possessed by the Ninth Princess, and the princess made her go far from her family to visit the famous Bac Le temple in northeast Vietnam. Her ... neglect of her children subsided only when she established her own private temple next to her home and began to tell fortunes. [She] said she had a "destined aptitude for the Ninth Princess" (can co Chin) and that the princess had bestowed upon her fortune-telling powers."

p.

opening

69

"The initiation ritual is known as "opening the palaces" (mo phu), because it gives initiates access to the spirits of the Four Palaces. ... At the start of the ritual, the master {mistress, if female} is several spirits in succession while the initiate watches. She then invites the initiate to kneel in front of the altar to carry out an "asking rite" (le khat), which is also known as "placing bowls of incense on the head" (doi bat huong). ... A red cloth is draped over the initiate’s head, and a large tray, containing incense sticks and other votive objects and "spirit petitions" (so) written in Chinese or Sino-Vietnamese characters, is balanced on top of the red cloth. The experienced medium consults the spirits by throwing two old coins ... . If both coins land on heads or tails, then the spirits’ response is favorable and unfavorable, respectively. ... If both coins do not land on heads after three throws, the initiate is not accepted by the spirits and the coins have to

70

[be] thrown again on another occasion. ... On successful completion of the "asking yin and yang" procedure, the initiate comes before the altar to be possessed. ... The initiation process is concluded with a "thanking ritual" (le ta / ta phu), which is usually held one hundred days after "opening the palaces." The thanking ritual is held by the newly initiated medium, without the assistance of a master medium".

p.

rite at altar

70

The cat tien dyen ritual involves separating "yin" and "yang" offerings. The disciple kneels in front of the altar with a scarf draped over her head ... .

71

Votive offerings typically include spirit petitions, paper shoes, fans, rice, and salt. ... The yin offerings are burned for the spirit world, and the yang are retained in the human world. This separation makes a break with the difficulties in love in a previous life. ... The separation of votive objects enables the "yin people" (nguoi am) [i.e., the deceased] and people in this world to [associate with their own kind]. The yin with return to the yin and the yang will return to the yang; then the living will be able to love whom they wish and get married. After the cat tien duyen rite, the yin no longer haunts the living."

72

"if the illness is due to evil spirits, then it can be cured by an "invocation" (khan) to the spirits ... . ... Invocations muttered in front of the spirit altar ... to the healing sessions ... include the name and address of the client, the name of the temple, the date, the client’s complaint, and the names of the spirits who are implored for assistance. Petitions written to the spirits in Chinese or old Sino-Vietnamese characters seal the invocations as text. After the invocation, petitions are burned and the ashes are mixed with water".

Hearing the disciples’ pleas, the spirits "praise" (ban khen) and "pity" (thuong) their devotees and their lineages, they "witness the hearts" (chung tam) of mortals."

p. 73

"During len dong, possessees were adamant they were aware of everything going on around them : they were "alert" or "aware" (... tinh tao). This form of controlled "aware possession" contrasts with ... possession state characterized by loss of awareness and bodily control, which was described as being "me." This state is associated with involuntary possession prior to initiation".

p. 74

"Me possession involves being ... infatuated by spirits." [p. 232, n. 2:8 : "me refers to "infatuation"]

p.

experience

76

When possessed, [one female spirit-medium] had two "roles" (vai) in her head, her brain felt "limitless" (menh mang) and her mind "flew away" (phieu dieu). [Another female spirit-medium] said her mind was "elated" (sang khoai), as if her spirit was "flying and gliding" (bay bay luon luon)."

77

... the utterances of the spirits are transmitted through the heart."