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I grew up in a Christian family in Da Nang, Vietnam, and was not exposed to shamanistic practices. But my Hmong students have experienced this. One student shared that her father, a new believer, once fell ill and sought a shaman for help.
The shaman talked to a spirit that only he could see. He told her father that three evil spirits were possessing his body and that he could only be freed if he offered three boiled animals—a chicken, pig, and cow—to that spirit. Her father did so and recovered in a few days. Later, my student asked me, “Did the power of God or that of the shaman heal my father?”
Shamanism in Vietnam is rooted in the worship of nature and the spirit world. The origin of shamanism in the country is not documented. Scholars assume that it arose from Daoism (Taoism) over the course of thousands of years and then became part of folk beliefs.
Today, shamanism is most commonly practiced in worshiping the Mother Goddess (Mẫu), an agricultural folk religion that imbues natural elements with divine power, such as protection from disasters. During the lên đồng ritual, a female medium dressed in bright clothing, or a male shaman who puts on makeup and wears women’s clothes, is often possessed by a spirit and performs sacred dances. The worship ceremony is occasionally conducted in the Mẫu temple for a group of 20 to 40 people, providing a space for devotees to connect with the spirit and pray for protection and good fortune.
Other forms of shamanism also vary among ethnic minorities, like the Sán Dìu in Quảng Ninh province or the Lô Lô in Cao Bằng province, where a shaman is a powerful person in the village who performs ritual acts to heal the sick, rebuke evil spirits, and assure protection.
In 2016, UNESCO recognized worship of the Mother Goddess as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Vietnam’s government has taken some measures to promote this religion, as it is perceived as an important part of Vietnamese folk culture because it involves a combination of music, dance, art, and history telling. It helps to maintain and transfer traditional values, such as cultural integration and living in harmony, from generation to generation.
Vietnamese people continue to hold to a shamanistic ideology. They believe in a spirit world that simultaneously exists with the real world. To connect with and discover the unknown, people believe they need a shaman. Their gods and ancestors can help them solve difficult problems and protect them from negative forces, such as evil spirits and restless souls.
This can be helpful in evangelism, as the exorcisms that evangelicals, especially Pentecostals, perform in Vietnam are often perceived as shamanistic acts by people who go to pastors to seek special healing or deliverance from demons.
However, the way that believers conceptualize their theology may also reflect their folk beliefs. For example, some Christians have an idea of God as an omnipresent and omniscient judge. They also may view God as a genie in a lamp who will grant people what they want, and they may get frustrated if that does not happen.
To some extent, church has become a place where people ask for healing, wealth, and luck. While Christians don’t participate in worshiping the Mother Goddess, as it is considered idolatrous, they often favor listening to powerful preachers who possess the gift of healing.
The idea of inner healing has also become popular recently, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people, including believers, are increasingly interested in mindfulness therapy, soul care, and yoga as a means of dealing with depression, anxiety, and other stressors—similar to shamanism’s emphasis on connecting with nature.
These practices are neutral exercises for mental and physical health if they are not attached to worshiping a particular divine entity or forging a connection with a spirit. Christians, however, should know that God is their only source of healing. Church leaders and pastors can generate more dialogue and discussion on biblical perspectives of healing and examine these practices in light of the Bible.
Vietnamese Christians can also relate to the story of Saul asking a medium to call Samuel’s spirit from the dead in 1 Samuel 28. In Vietnamese culture, such summoning rituals often occur during the New Year or on death anniversaries as people seek to discern what their family member’s last will or unfinished wishes are. Some pastors explain that God allowed the conversation between Saul and Samuel to happen because they speak directly to each other, not through a medium.
Saralen Tran is a Christian education lecturer at Hanoi Bible College. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.
