The superstitious society in Vietnam

Gods and saints are venerated in Vietnam, where people believe they have the supernatural abilities to decide their fate as well as award them with safety, wealth, and career opportunities.

Vietnamese refuse to believe that superstition is born of ignorance. Such ignorance is easily observed during Tet, especially in the north and central regions of Vietnam, where thousands of traditional festivals and ceremonies are held.

During the holiday season, people crowd into pagodas to pray to be relieved of bad luck and for a brighter future.

Treating traditions, ceremonies, and festivals as more than simple connections with the past is harmful, according to PhD Luong Hong Quang, deputy head of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.

Signs of superstition

On February 13, tens of thousands of people rushed to the Temple of Tran Kings in Loc Vuong Ward of Nam Dinh Province to attend a parade of kings’ statues around local villages to the temple. This is an annual ceremony held on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar year during which lucky participants are given replicas of the kings’ royal seal.

It is believed that those who are given these replicas will have good luck in the future and be successful in their careers.

As a result, the parade last week turned the crowd of tens of thousands of participants into a sort of riot. They cried uproariously and fought to touch the chair used to usher the gods in. Others crumpled banknotes and threw them on the chair, hoping to be granted good luck.

On the same day, thousands of others flocked to Phuc Khanh Pagoda in Hanoi’s Dong Da District to kneel in 200m lines from the pagoda gate to Tay Son Street to pray for relief from their bad luck.

Worshippers threw banknotes at thousands of other temples, pagodas, and palaces of worship to be ‘repaid’ happiness and success from gods.

In short, it can be said that a large number of people now put their fate—their future wealth, safety, and career opportunities—in the hands of the gods rather than taking responsibility for their own lives. This could be a result of a lack of self-confidence and independence.

Pilgrims throw small notes in a well to seek good luck in Con Son Temple in northern Hai Duong Province. Temple guardians have to use a net to protect the well from the rubbish (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

‘Creation’ of tradition

The annual festival at Ba Chua Kho Temple in northern Bac Ninh Province is a wonderful example of the ‘creation’ of tradition, but strangely, the community accepts the creation and uses it to pray for wealth rather than to celebrate the customs of their ancestors.

‘Ba Chua Kho’ means ‘the Lady of the Storehouse’ and each ceremony at the temple attracts tens of thousands of people who come to make offerings to the lady in hopes of finding wealth.

‘Ba Chua Kho’ was a woman in charge of keeping a warehouse in the period from the 13th to the 15th century under the Tran dynasty. She has been endowed with the powers of keeping and granting money and so is believed by the Vietnamese to be ‘the god of the banking industry.’

Because of her association with money, ceremonies honoring Ba Chua Kho are hot events.

It is believed that people come to pray and make offerings worth billions of dong (VND1 billion=USD$48,100) at each ceremony held at the Ba Chua Kho Temple. But the fund is professionally managed; it has been used to invest in social projects for the benefits of the community.

PhD Luong Hong Quang of the culture institute explained that the donation of small notes and excessive offerings alike at places of worship is the result of a lack of knowledge and strong superstition.

It was never a rite at traditional ceremonies before, he concluded. But now, many people believe that the larger the offerings they pay to the gods, the greater blessings they will receive.

Does this stem from a lack of knowledge or a lack of responsibility to build one’s own life and career?

Nations around the world, including Vietnam, began to be interested in the preservation of tradition and culture in the 1970s, desiring a connection between the traditional past and the modern present, Quang noted.

But in doing so, people may lose their grip on reality and rely too much on the help of gods and saints instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, using money to gain the supposed attentions of higher beings. In doing so, the original intent of ancient traditions may be lost.