Paper short abstract:

The paper elaborates on possession rituals related to the worship of the spirits of the 'Four Palaces' within and across the borders of Vietnam and reflects on the increasing role of worshiping activities of Vietnamese in the German diaspora in establishing continuity between their past and present.

Paper long abstract:

Co-author: Andrea Lauser

The Vietnamese spirit-scape is bewilderingly vast and heterogeneous. It comprises of ancestral spirits, wandering souls, spirits of legendary Vietnamese warriors and heroines, celestial beings that had been sent from heaven to spend a lifetime among humans, and spirits of human origin who have suffered an unjust or untimely death. These are but a few categories within the world of spirits, saints and deities with whom devotees may ritually transact for good health, family happiness, economic success and other this-worldly benefits.

Whereas almost every Vietnamese household maintains an ancestral altar, other spirit beliefs and practices are less prevalent in mainstream Vietnamese society. As an example, this presentation will briefly elaborate on spirit possession rituals related to the worship of the Mother Goddesses and the spirits of the "four palaces" (Tu Phu). Although still a "marginal practice" in most stratums of society, spirit mediumship has been drawing an ever-growing number of devoted believers and initiates in the past decade.

With the Vietnamese exodus after 1954, and particularly after 1975, the spirits of the four palaces have also made the journey to the United States, to Canada, as well as to France. In Germany however - especially in the new federal states where the majority of Vietnamese migrants had been contract workers before the fall of the wall - the trend still seems to be in the making. In contrast to the tremendous resurgence of ritual activity in Vietnam during the past two decades, Vietnamese in the German diaspora have only just started to revitalize their religious and ritual practices. In order to articulate their identity in public space, Vietnamese communities in different parts of the country have embarked on building Buddhist temples. The paper will explore the increasing role of various worshiping activities in coping with grief and stress and in establishing continuity between their past and present. Furthermore, it will reflect on the likelihood that the spirits of the four palaces will sooner or later cross the border into Germany.