Performing the practice of “len dong” (going into a trance) at the festival on the Vietnamese Mother Goddess worship in Yen Bai (Photo: VNA) Yen Bai (VNA) – A two-day festival centring on theVietnamese Mother Goddess worship opened in the northern mountainous provinceof Yen Bai on May 20.
Honouring the Mother Goddess of Forest Worshipping Practice,the event took place at the local Dong Cuong temple, which has been known asthe birthplace of Mother Goddess Worship Practice.
It entailed several activities, including the practice of “lendong” (going into a trance), a carnival recreating the Mother Goddess, and anexhibition of photos and paintings depicting the practice.
The festival has attracted practitioners from 19 provincesand cities nationwide and tens of thousands of visitors to the province.
TheMother Goddess of Forest is among the Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms inthe Viet beliefs who look after heaven, water and mountains and forests
The Vietnamese Mother Goddess worship was officiallyrecognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in late2016.
The Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms has beenpracticed in numerous northern mountainous provinces across the nation sincethe 16th century.
The practitioners are comprised of temple guardians, ritualpriests, spirit mediums, mediums’ assistants, musicians who perform the songsfor the spirits, disciples and lay adherents who share the same beliefs in thespiritual power, supernatural strength and protection of the Mother Goddessspirit pantheon. All of these practitioners form groups who worship together,take part in traditional festivals and perform spirit possession rituals attemples and palaces dedicated to Mother Goddesses.-VNA
VNA
