DIALOGUE PERFORMANCE AND RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF "TRADITION" IN THE TÂ`M VU VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL IN LONG AN, VIETNAM

Abstract

After decades of market-based economic reforms, communal festivals in rural Vietnam have undergone profound changes, reflecting the vitality of the local community. The communal festival held in Tâ`m Vu (Long An, Vietnam) is such a case. This festival is celebrated to commemorate the local heroes and educate youth about the local traditions; to be able to represent a local region, this festival has gradually added more values through the organisation of ceremonies to pray for the wandering deceased without relatives, purification ceremonies or exorcism. After it was "transformed", the festival, called "the Vegetarian Festival", incorporated elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, Caodaism, hero worship and folk beliefs, and indeed became a significant event. In addition, under the thoughtful organisation of the temple executive board, the local people have been participating in an important "dialogue forum" in which individuals, religious groups, the entire community and local authorities are designated as dialogue partners. The local people, through the Vegetarian Festival, strive to re-establish and develop a local cultural identity, which directly contributes to strengthening their common voice in the dialogic forum. By inheriting the theoretical and practical results of past research, this study further investigates case studies and confirms that, once the common voice of the community is respected, the local people become proactive and responsible for maintaining and modifying the "tradition".