Cult, Culture, and Authority: Princess Lieu Hanh in Vietnamese History

Introduction

Introduction Consider now all things fulfill high heaven’s plan, Which sets humanity to thrive as best it can, yet foreordained. Some, doomed in dust to live, when dead as much have gained, And others gather dignities—those too attained by nod divine. —Nguye±n Du, Kim Vân Kie¼u Nineteen eighty-eight. My first trip to Vietnam. I discover the country I studied for five years at Leningrad State University. The pages read, the lessons learned, the conversations conducted, all these come alive. Back then, Vietnam and the Soviet Union were still brotherly countries . I was an interpreter for a Soviet delegation on a visit of friendship. During the day I dutifully translated negotiations to develop programs of cooperation. But some evenings I had for myself. And on these evenings I tried to imbibe and absorb as much of Vietnamese culture as I could. I was mesmerized by the temples and was eager to learn as much as possible about the deities worshiped there. At the university, our primary focus was on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. But in Vietnam I found so much I had not studied during my student years! I approached my Vietnamese friends with incessant queries about what I saw and heard about different deities. It turned out that I was just opening the first leaf of what would become a long journey in my attempt to understand the incredibly rich palette of Vietnamese religious and spiritual life. The worship of spirits—whether of ancestors; of heroic or supernaturally potent people from the past; of birds, animals, sea creatures, or forces of nature embedded in particular features of the inanimate world; or of divine beings—is a fundamental aspect of Vietnamese religious practice. As the prominent French missionary and scholar of Vietnam Léopold Cadière has testified, the Vietnamese worship legions of spirits.1 After my first trip, I visited Vietnam again with another official delegation. But alas! I had even fewer opportunities to investigate what had previously stirred my curiosity. Later there were emigration, different countries, and different jobs. But I always wanted to go back to the Vietnamese temples and to become familiar with all the spirits that inhabit them. Consequently, when I was accepted for advanced study at Cornell University, I took the opportunity to enter the realm of this legion by following the traces of one of the most prominent spirits, Lie±u Ha ˙ nh, usually respectfully called Princess Lie±u Ha ˙ nh (Bà Chúa Lie±u Ha ˙ nh) or Mother Lie±u (Ma±u Lie±u). Why her? To be a potent female deity in Vietnam is quite an achievement, and the princess definitely has gained this status. This strong-willed beauty, by all accounts, had a very complex life and counts among her worshipers people of both genders and of all walks of life. I was intrigued by the persistence of her cult under different regimes , whether supported by the government or not, and by the extent of the revival of her cult during the current renovation era. My interest grew when I heard about the séances associated with Lie±u Ha ˙ nh’s cult. She has proven to be a potent and responsive spirit in whom many people in many generations have been eager to find a protectress. But what sealed my decision to study Lie±u Ha ˙ nh was a famous saying that links two popular temple festivals: ‘‘In the third month [we] celebrate Mother’s death anniversary; in the eighth month [we] celebrate Father ’s death anniversary’’ (Tháng ba gio± me ˙ , tháng tám gio± cha). The Mother and Father referred to here are Lie±u Ha ˙ nh and Tra¼n H§ng Ða ˙ o, who are commonly thought to have died in the third and the eighth months, respectively . Not many historical personalities in Vietnam are equal in fame and stature to Tra¼n H§ng Ða ˙ o, the thirteenth-century prince who led the army in victory against the Mongol invasions. Much is known about Tra¼n H§ng Ða ˙ o as a historical personality as well as the object of a spirit cult. Lie±u Ha ˙ nh, however, cannot be verified as a historical figure in the same way as Tra¼n H§ng Ða ˙ o. In comparison with him, she is a mysterious and problematic personality. This curious contrast persuaded me to look into the history of Lie±u Ha ˙ nh, the woman who was worthy to...