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About Vietnam
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 | About Vietnam >> Religions & Beliefts :>> Religions & Beliefts - Beliefs in gods & Spirits The Vietnamese believed they inhabited a world alive with gods and spirits. Little distinction was made between the worlds of the living and the dead, between the human and nature. If fate smiled upon one, nature, too, would be kind; but if one was cursed by fate, then even the elements would be hostile. The stones, the mountains, the trees, the streams and the rivers, and even the very air were full of these deities, ghosts and spirits. Some were benevolent, some were malicious; all had to be conciliated through ritual offerings and appropriate behavior. To Vietnamese people, everything and everyone possessed a degree of power, so the words employed to represent them. To a Vietnamese, saying a word out loud was to conjure up the object represented by that word, so that its presence and power became almost tangible. The more awe and fear a certain object inspired, the less often it was talked about, lest its power be called up. Elephants, tigers, crocodiles, and all the animals that threatened the lives of Vietnamese peasants were referred to in whispers, and respectfully called "lords." The personal names of emperors were avoided by all. The incidence of homonyms is quite high in the Vietnamese language, as it is monosyllabic. So in order to avoid using the imperial names to talk about the ordinary things of life, the names of the latter were often slightly distorted. One thing that the ordinary people avoid is to name their children after their relatives, dead and alive. They believe that when a name was said out loud, all the people by that name were called up as well. It’s really not good when scolding one’s child, to be scolding Grandfather as well!
It’s not popular in Vietnam nowadays but in 1960s, it was still possible to see small boys dressed as girls, nails painted and ears pierced in the South of Vietnam. The Southerners were fearful of the devil who coveted the children who were most cherished by their parents. The disguisement is to fool the devil. To mislead the devil, parents also give their new born babies hideous names. Religion governed life before birth, and well beyond the grave. Pregnant women were hemmed in by all sorts of taboos designed to protect them and their unborn child, and to shield others from the power unleashed by this burgeoning life. Expectant mothers were told to eat certain kinds of food and to avoid others, to refrain from doing various things at night, or going to certain places. If, when pregnant, the mother ate crabmeat, it was believed that the fetus would lie crosswise in her womb at the time of delivery. Eating oysters or snails would cause her child to drool. If she took part in a wedding or had herself photographed, her child would be charmless and so on. Vietnamese people believe on the life after death. Death is to start a new life. If one had led a good life, one could pass the merit one had thus accumulated on to one’s descendents. If properly buried and worshipped, the dead would be happy to remain in their realm and act as benevolent spirits for their progeny. For those who died alone and neglected, and to whom no worship was given, disturbed the dead and preyed on the living. In order to appease these restless wandering souls, a grand feast was held on the full moon of the seventh month of the lunar year, the Feast of the Wandering Souls.
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