Spirits Without Borders: Vietnamese Spirit Mediums In A Transnational Age

CONTEMPOR ARY A NTHROPOLOGY OF R ELIGION A series published with the Society for the Anthropology of Religion Laurel Kendall, Series Editor Curator, Division of Anthropology, America Museum of Natural History Published by Palgrave Macmillan: Body / Meaning / Healing By Thomas J. Csordas The Weight of the Past: Living with History in Mahajanga, Madagascar By Michael Lambek After the Rescue: Jewish Identity and Community in Contemporary Denmark By Andrew Buckser Empowering the Past, Confronting the Future By Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart Islam Obscured: The Rhetoric of Anthropological Representation By Daniel Martin Varisco Islam, Memory, and Morality in Yemen: Ruling Families in Transition By Gabrielle Vom Bruck A Peaceful Jihad: Negotiating Identity and Modernity in Muslim Java By Ronald Lukens-Bull The Road to Clarity: Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar By Eva Keller Yoruba in Diaspora: An African Church in London By Hermione Harris Islamic Narrative and Authority in Southeast Asia: From the 16th to the 21st Century By Thomas Gibson Evangelicalism and Conflict in Northern Ireland By Gladys Ganiel Christianity in the Local Context: Southern Baptists in the Philippines By Brian M. Howell Missions and Conversions: Creating the Montagnard-Dega Refugee Community By Thomas Pearson Gender, Catholicism, and Morality in Brazil: Virtuous Husbands, Powerful Wives By Maya Mayblin Direct Sales and Direct Faith in Latin America By Peter S. Cahn Shamans, Spirituality, and Cultural Revitalization: Explorations in Siberia and Beyond By Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer Spirits without Borders: Vietnamese Spirit Mediums in a Transnational Age Karen Fjelstad and NguyӉn Thӏ HiӅn Spirits without Borders Vietnamese Spirit Mediums in a Transnational Age Karen Fjelstad and Nguyê˜n Thi. Hiê`n SPIRITS WITHOUT BORDERS `n, 2011. Copyright © Karen Fjelstad and Nguyê˜n Thi. Hiê Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 All rights reserved. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-29626-2 ISBN 978-0-230-11970-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-11970-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July 2011 For all the spirits of Ðạo Mẫu, and all the people who honor and serve them. Contents Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1 Border Crossings: Setting the Theoretical Stage 1 Chapter 2 Spirited Research: Studying Lên Ðӗng in Vietnam and California 17 Chapter 3 Ðҥo Mүu Spirits, Temples, and Rituals 39 Chapter 4 Spiritual Callings: Becoming a Medium in the Contemporary World 77 Chapter 5 “Lên Ðӗnging” in Silicon Valley 99 Chapter 6 The Vietnam-Cali Connection 137 Chapter 7 “You Have to Respect the Local Spirits” 169 Glossary 187 Notes 193 References 203 Index 213 Acknowledgments T his book could not have been written without the help of many lên ÿӗng spirit mediums and disciples in the United States