Anh Pham-Week 4

One of the articles from this week’s reading, “Possessed by the Spirits - We have Len Dong Too” discusses Animism, as well as Shamanism in Vietnamese culture, something I am very familiar with growing up.

The article mentioned Doi Moi, a period of political economy change after 1986. Doi moi made it possible for overseas Vietnamese who mostly fled away after the Vietnam War, to travel back to Vietnam. This meant they could visit relatives, travel to vietnam to purchase goods for their temple, and sponsor len dong rituals in Vietnam. In order to avoid any consequences, Vietnamese had to perform len dong at night in secret because Len Dong has been practiced by the vietnamese in the US, Vietnam, Italy, France, and Australia for a long time. But after Doi Moi, it has been prohibited by french colonial and Vietnamese communist leaders. Furthermore, Doi Moi has made Len Dong become a materialistic object, losing its spiritual validity. Changes in the demographic in medium genders and ages also occurred. In the present day, various Vietnamese people living in Vietnam have adopted new Animism practices such as praying in front of an ATM machine because they believe that it’d help them to become more wealthy and raise their salary. Vietnam started to illegally import Kuman Thongs from Thailand because They are also known for bringing in wealth and fortune for your family. Kuman Thong is created from a human fetus removed from the mother's womb before birth. In a ritual that includes roasting the feet dry at a cemetery, ceremonial chanting and sometimes even to soak it in oil extracted from the skin of a dead child or a person who died in violent circumstances or an unnatural death. They are allegedly able to see and hear for a distance of 20,000 kilometers, giving ample protection to any household and you’d have to feed the Kuman Thong like an actual baby and play with it to make it happy. If the soul of the Kuman Thong is angry, it will bring bad spirits into your home and ruin everything you have including your loved ones, and your materialistic objects.

Q: Why do Vietnamese people believe and adapt different animism practices so easily?