Modernity and Re-enchantment: Religion in Post-revolutionary Vietnam

7. Empowerment and Innovation among Saint Trần’s Female Mediums

221 7 Empowerment and Innovation among Saint Trần’s Female Mediums Phạm Quỳnh Phương It is the beginning of a big thunderstorm in mid-summer 2003. The wind whistles through the window and the wooden shutters beat the frame of the casement window of Lan’s newly built four-storey house. We sit talking on the tiled floor on the top floor, in front of an altar where there are two incense bowls, one for her ancestors, the other for spirits. Lan turns to me, “You said you want to ask the spirits something, right?” “Can you invite Saint Trần?” “Okay, but it can’t be long today. I have to pick up my son from kindergarten. And it’s going to rain soon.” Closing her eyes, with her fists on knees, Lan sits still and seems to concentrate intensely for a few minutes. Perspiring slightly, she burps and hiccups. “I am Saint Trần here, what do you want to ask?” I do not know how to start. Lan urges me, “Just ask him any question, he is here.” “Pray to you, Lord [lạy ngài]” I say. “I have a bank note printed in the 1950s in Saigon with your picture on it. Nobody knows your image, since you lived so long ago, in the thirteenth century. Could you please look at this note and tell me if they drew you correctly?” 07฀Phuong฀p221-249.indd฀฀฀221 7/3/07฀฀฀10:38:36฀AM 222 Phạm Quỳnh Phương “Yes, Lord”, says Lan, looking at the banknote, talking to “Saint Trần”, “You possess magical power. You are supernaturally efficacious. Is this image right?” “This picture approximates my image, but my chin is squarer, my eyes brighter and my eyebrows are sharper,” Saint Trần replies. “Loosely speaking”, Saint Trần concludes, “this photo is ninety percent right. I am very busy, though, and can only appear for a minute.” “Yes, I pray to you, Lord. Can anyone be incarnated by you?” I ask. Lan stares at a point on the wall and says in the role of Saint Trần, “In my realm, there is no frequency like in Tứ Phủ (the Four Palaces). Only when there is a spiritual task [việc nhà thánh], and only people who have “duyên” (compatibility) and “căn” (destined aptitude) with nhà Trần (Trần family) can be incarnated as me.” “Many important officials pray to you in temples. Is this because they have a true heart [thật tâm] for you or some other reason?” I ask. “Yes, Lord”, Lan says, her voice catching a little. “He said that he turned out to be awe-inspiringly powerful; that they have no choice but to have confidence in him.” “The luck of this nation is that people have begun to be more enlightened. If they don’t believe in the world that you ordinary people call ‘the sacred and mysterious world’, which helps and supports this country, I don’t know what will happen to our nation,” Saint Trần proclaims. “Why do people cut their tongues, pierce their cheeks and strangle themselves when they are manifested by you, Lord?” I continue. “Yes, my Lord…” Lan keeps quiet for a minute, then says, “He said something very long that I can’t remember and can’t interpret. And his spirit also said that there are some secrets that can’t be revealed to ordinary people.” “Do you think confusion exists in the way people worship you now?” I ask. After a silence, Lan says, “Yes … yes, I pray to you, Mother [dạ, dạ, con lạy Mẫu]. Mother says that there is no rule for worship. It is difficult to determine what is standard as long as people believe in it.” Surprised that Lan has suddenly invoked the Mother Goddess, I say, ‘Pray to you, Mother. I did not know that you are also here. Mother, what is the essence of the cult of Saint Trần?’ This is followed by another, longer silence. “Yes, yes … They don’t answer. They laughed and asked why you, a knowledgeable Ph.D. student, 07฀Phuong฀p221-249.indd฀฀฀222 7/3/07฀฀฀10:38:36฀AM Empowerment and Innovation among Saint Trần’s Female Mediums 223 would ask such a question...