Week 4 - Kimberly Pariyavanh

The reading, "Possessed Spirits: Mediumship in Contemporary Vietnamese Communities" looks at the altering of the practice len dong as it was brought over to the Silicon Valley. The reading states that the spirit mediums faced various hardships in authentically practicing the len dong ritual. Despite not having the ideal materials or a place to perform the ritual, the spirit mediums found ways to recreate these necessities. This observation made think of how the same religion can vary based on location. For the Vietnamese spirit mediums that settled in the Silicon Valley, it was not their intention to replace certain materials of the ritual, but they needed to find alternatives as they could not find the exact materials in the U.S. or get them shipped from Vietnam. As they found these alternatives, I wondered how it changed the ritual. Were the spirits that they were connecting to notice or could they even contact them since the materials were different?

            Not only did they face these struggles in their new home of the U.S., but also their practices were also not welcomed in Vietnam as it was banned. After reading this portion, it made me think of how many religions or practices existed but were no longer practiced due to government banning or discrimination. For those spirits who connected to others through those practices, I also wonder what happens to them.

(This photo represents the open-ended communication between the spirt mediums and the spirits)

Is religion up to interpretation? Who decides what is the "right" way to practice a certain religion?