Some Chracteristics of the Cult of Mazu Goddess in the South Vietnam

Abstract

In the mind of the Vietnamese, each god or deity has his/her “duty” and function. The various gods and deities are related to different aspects of the human life, such as the Lady of the Realm (Bà Chúa Xứ) governs the land, the Mother Goddess of Water (Bà Thủy) governs the water, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva saves the unfortunate, the Mazu Goddess (Bà Thiên Hậu) takes care of the sea and blesses all people, etc.. Ethnics in Vietnam worship various gods and deities with the hope that their prayers are heard and responded. The Chinese cult of the Mazu Goddess was absorbed by the Vietnamese in the Southwest in the process of co-existence. Consequently, a part of the Vietnamese built shrines for Mazu Goddess and carried out cultic activities. This article generalizes some features of shrines for Mazu Goddess in the Southwest of Vietnam.