Mediumship and the Mother Goddess Tradition

Vietnamese folk religion also includes Dao Mau, the Mother Goddess religion, a distinct tradition centered on veneration of mother goddesses associated with different natural realms, heaven, water, mountains and forests, practiced through elaborate ceremonies involving spirit mediumship, ritual costume and music, recognized by UNESCO as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage specifically because of the richness and specificity of this ceremonial tradition, which involves specialized ritual language and practice transmitted through trained mediums rather than openly published devotional text.

Because Dao Mau ceremony and the wider body of Vietnamese folk-religious prayer varies considerably by region, specific temple lineage and the particular deities or spirits addressed, and because much of this material is properly understood as belonging to specific religious specialists and communities, this entry limits itself to recording the general existence and character of Vietnamese folk religion's prayer tradition rather than presenting specific liturgical content from any of its constituent practices. Vietnamese folk religion continues as an actively practiced part of religious and cultural life in Vietnam and among the Vietnamese diaspora worldwide today, coexisting with Vietnam's other major religious traditions rather than functioning as a separate, clearly bounded institutional religion of its own.