Ritual practices are central to governance. This is clearly visible in Vietnam, where state actors have long used rituals to calm storms, end droughts, deify heroes, pacify invaded lands, and incorporate foreign gods. This panel builds upon recent scholarship on the political, relational, and cognitive dimensions of ritual, offering new insights from a society that is both religiously diverse and highly ritualized. The four papers all examine how ritual actions have served to mediate relationships between people, the state, and powerful nonhuman actors, from the fourteenth century until today. Together, they show that rituals can be effective tools for governance, but they can also be employed to subvert or affect state power in ways that elude or bypass more confrontational modern techniques of advocacy. The insights that emerge from this analysis can inform broader discussions of how rituals mediate relationships between citizens, the state, and physical environments across Southeast Asia.
The Earth Magistrate of White Crane (Bạch Hạc Thổ Lệnh) is a deity of northern Vietnam whose cult began in the 650s CE, when the region was a Tang protectorate. Two accounts of its origin survive: one in a Daoist bronze bell inscription cast in 1321, and another in the 14th‑century narrative collection Compendium on Mystic Numina of the Việt Realm (Việt điện u linh tập). I compare these versions and show that the bell inscription is earlier, and that both preserve two contrasting narrative motifs. The evidence further indicates that Xu Zongdao, a Song Daoist refugee and author of the inscription, sought to embed court Daoism within 14th‑century Trần elite culture by anchoring its ritual efficacy in the sacred landscape of Đại Việt. His project aimed partly at securing state protection and military advantage during the Mongol invasions, and partly at providing post‑mortem salvation for Trần imperial clan members.
Hòa Hảo Buddism is a devotional movement based in the Mekong Delta, founded in 1939. The relationship between this group and the state has been mostly antagonistic, but Hòa Hảo leaders have recently made changes to improve this situation. One example is the implementation of the ritual Lễ Cầu Quốc Thái Dân An (Prayer Ceremony for National Peace and Prosperity) into Hòa Hảo practice. This ceremony is also an official ritual of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, which has performed it on the United Nations Day of Vesak since the early 2000s, together with senior politicians. After a long time of marginalization, Hòa Hảo is now seeking opportunities for revival. Based on participant observation and interviews with Hòa Hảo leaders, this paper examines the impact of these changes. It argues that the Prayer Ceremony has helped Hòa Hảo recruit new members, acquire political legitimacy, and gain recognition from other religious organizations.
Fishing communities in central and southern Vietnam venerate whales and dolphins as incarnations of Ông Nam Hải (Lord of the South Sea), also known as Cá Ông (Lord Fish). They enshrine the bones of stranded cetaceans at temples, give them ritual offerings, and hold annual festivals (lễ hội Cầu ngư) in their honour. In the early nineteenth century, the incorporation of this protective sea deity into the state pantheon was part of a strategy for justifying Nguyễn rule over southern Vietnam. During the colonial and revolutionary periods, whale temples and festivals lost state patronage, but they survived in many coastal villages and towns. This paper shows that in recent years, these practices have regained state patronage and acquired new ideological and economic significance under the "intangible cultural heritage" label. It will present ethnographic material from two port cities, Đà Nẵng and Phan Thiết, where this development is clearly visible.
In contemporary Vietnam, grassroots charity movements are rising to address humanitarian needs. Rapid development compounds these needs, as social services become privatized and urban migration strains city infrastructure. Volunteer groups respond by fundraising to subsidize medical treatments, distribute food, and construct bridges for their local communities. Many charities attract volunteers and promote their projects by appealing to Vietnam's most common religion, Buddhism, often incorporating Buddhist rituals into charity events. However, the styles of Buddhism invoked by these movements are not monolithic. Volunteers join charities for distinct and contradictory reasons. While some charities advocate for Buddhist volunteerism as fulfilling duties of socialist citizenship, other charities promote Buddhist volunteerism as a solution to the state's failed political promises of abundance and equality for all citizens. I analyze these two disparate political stances as converging to create a wave of ritualized "political spirituality" (Foucault 1978) that drives social change at a grassroots level.