THE SPIRITS 

A Pantheon of Mother Goddess Spirits

The Mother Goddess religion is a combination of Vietnamese beliefs and aspects of imported religions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. This religion fits elements of these religions into the context of Vietnamese culture. The Mother Goddess religion is constantly growing and changing. As a decentralized religion, it has more flexibility than a traditional institutional religion, easily encompassing what its members need. 

The number of spirits is not fixed. Currently, there are nine hierarchical ranks of spirits, including four imported Chinese spirits. These include the four mother goddesses, each of which governs a different realm, symbolized by four colors.  Heaven is represented by red, earth by yellow, water by white, and mountains and forests by blue and green. This reflects traditional Viet cosmology, and these colors play an important role in the costuming of mediums.

In addition to the four Mother Goddesses, there is one Holy Father with his three royal Damsels and a Young Boy, 10 Mandarins, 12 Dames, 10 Princes, 12 Damsels, 10 or 12 Boy-Attendants, and two animal spirits. The imported spirits include the Daoist Jade Emperor, two Star Spirits, and the Buddha.

New deities are adopted over time to reflect the ever-changing nature of this folk religion. These new deities are most commonly legendary heroes or historical figures. During communist rule in the mid-20th century, Mother Goddess worshippers added Tran Hung Dao, a historic Vietnamese general who fought against a Mongol invasion. His name is popularized throughout the religion as “Saint Tran.” More recently, Ho Chi Minh has joined Saint Tran in temples and pagodas throughout Vietnam. His statue appears beside the other spirits.