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Introduction By Paul Chesley
O
ver more than thirty years of traveling through Vietnam, I learned early on how
deeply religious ceremonies shape the daily lives of the Vietnamese people. But it wasn’t until a trip in 2018 that I encountered the Mother Goddess ceremony—an experience that opened a door into a world of astonishing beauty and spiritual intensity. I was photographing in Hanoi with a local guide, Miss Trang Nguyen, when we came upon a small temple near Ho Tay Lake. “What a shame,” she said, “we’ve just missed a beautiful, colorful ceremony—very special, and rarely seen by outsiders.” When I asked to learn more, she added almost casually, “My mother knows someone… an authority in that ceremony.” That was my first hint of a path I never could have found on my own. I asked if we might meet her. On my next trip, later that year, my guide and I were invited to sit down with this expert, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Mai, a professor at a nearby university, in a tiny coffee shop tucked into a Hanoi side street. After sharing stories of her life and work, she surprised us with an unexpected invitation: “As it happens, there is a ceremony tomorrow at my friend’s house. If you’d like, I will take you.” Of course, I said yes. Getting there was an adventure—far from the city center, down a maze of alleys, and up four narrow flights of stairs. At the top we discovered a private temple glowing with silk, candles, and color. They invited me to sit at the edge of the small stage, with a clear view of the performance. When the ceremony began, I was completely unprepared for its power. The music rose; and the main spirit-medium appeared in shimmering silk. She sang, danced, and spun as attendants handed her flaming incense. It was mesmerizing—otherworldly. I will never forget that moment. The ceremony unfolded for hours. Between each ritual, the medium changed into new, brilliantly colored garments while the drums pulsed softly and the flames flickered around her. At the end, she hosted a traditional Vietnamese lunch for all the participants. Only then did I learn—through my interpreter—that she was Madame Hoang Minh Do, one of the most respected Mother Goddess mediums in all of Vietnam.
Madame Hoang Minh Do performs the “Initiation of a Spirit Medium”ceremony to qualify a young man to work in the medium world at her private family temple in Hanoi. 7
Worshipers on their way to a Mother Goddess ceremony walk past Thien Mu Tower, next to the Perfume River at the citadel in Hue, Central Vietnam.
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Believers of the Mother Goddess religion wait patiently for the Grand Procession to begin in Nha Trang, Southern Vietnam.
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A flag dancer waits for ceremonies to begin at Ba Chua Kho Temple in Bac Ninh.
Papier-mâché horses and an elephant adorn the Bong Temple in Nam Dinh. After the ceremony they will be burned in effigy, in the hope that their spirits will bring benefits to the Mother Goddess. 29
Medium Madame Hoang Minh Do performs the Great Mandarin of the Forest and Land Realm Ceremony, at a private family temple in her house in Hanoi.
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A medium plays the role of a Young Goddess of the Water Realm at Co Bo Ben Bac Temple in Hanoi.
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A traditional Vietnamese garden inside Tien Huong, a private family temple in Hanoi. 86
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An ancient altar representing the Lord of the Forest Realm at the Kings Temple, in Van Cat Village in Nam Dinh.
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Ceremonial dancers await the beginning of the ceremony at Hanoi’s Nhan Hue Temple.
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As part of a lively procession at the Nhan Hue Temple in Hanoi, eight ritual assistants carry a ceremonial Bat Cong palanquin through the streets for worshipers to pay their respects and receive blessings. Inside is a sacred tablet representing local goddesses—in this case, a mother and daughter who fought brave ly alongside King Le Loi in the fifteenth century, and were later declared Supreme and Most Sacred Deities.
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Worshipers arrive at Gieng Village, which houses the “Temple of the Eternal Well” in Bac Ninh.
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Visitors arrive at Hon Chen, a traditional biannual festival featuring performances on floating temples on the Huong River in Hue, Central Vietnam.
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Medium Madame Hoang Minh Do performs a Mother Goddess fire ceremony at Thac Bo Temple in Hoa Binh Province.
Floating temples at the Hon Chen festival on the Huong River in Hue, Central Vietnam.
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