Female spirits of the male cult: tutelary goddesses in the South of modern Vietnam (based on the fieldwork in the city of Vung Tau)

Abstract

This article discusses the pantheon in the temple of female spirits (Miếu Ngũ Hnh) located in the city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam according to my fieldworks during 2018. The spirits are more various than spirits of pantheon in traditional forms of worship in the north of Vietnam. The inhabitants of Vung Tau worship some deities borrowed from neighbors: the Cham and Khmer goddesses, and female deities embodying the five elements of the Chinese religious system (wu xing). A feature of the temple is the female divine service, although usually women perform an auxiliary role in ceremonies in honor of tutelary spirits, and in traditional Vietnam they were not allowed to the altars at all. According to the community house territory plan (beginning of the 19th century) the participation of women in ceremonies was originally assumed and, what is important, allowed by the authorities.