(VOVWORLD) - A program demonstrating Vietnam’s Mother Goddess worship with a trance ritual was performed by folk artist Nguyen Tien Nghia at Luu Phai temple in Hanoi’s Thanh Tri district last weekend.
 Folk artist Nguyen Tien Nghia (Photo: Ngoc Anh/VOV5) |
The program was attended by representatives of UNESCO’s office in Vietnam.
Worshiping the Mother Goddesses is an ancient spiritual practice in Vietnam.
Ancient people started the practice of communicating with the universe through a trance ritual involving mediums, who are thought to be chosen by deities at birth. The practice usually takes place at a temple or a palace.
Nguyen Tien Nghia, head of the Luu Phai temple, has been performing trance rituals for more than 30 years.
He says it’s a form of worshiping the Mother of Goddesses incarnated in heaven, river, forest, and mountain.
In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Vietnam’s Mother Goddess worship on its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.