Highlights

Within the Mother Goddess belief system, rituals and festivals are abundant and diverse, carrying unique characteristics that distinguish them from other religions and spiritual practices. However, the most central and representative is the ritual of...

1. The Rank of Great Mandarins The costumes comprise five colors: a red robe for the First Mandarin, a blue robe for the Second Mandarin, a white robe for the Third Mandarin, a yellow robe for the Fourth Mandarin, and a light-blue robe for the Fifth ...

Vietnam’s Mother Goddess Worship (Đạo Mẫu) was inscribed by UNESCO in December 2016 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. When speaking of this tradition, one cannot fail to mention the ritual of lên đồng (spirit possession), a unique, myst...

Hầu đồng is a ritual in Vietnamese folk belief that is quite widespread, yet its essence remains mysterious and not fully understood. Because of this, many who are unfamiliar with it may dismiss it as superstition or extravagance. But what is its tru...

Spiritual mediumship (hầu đồng)—also known as lên đồng or hầu bóng—is a distinctive ritual of the Mother Goddess Worship (Đạo Mẫu) of the Three Palaces (Tam phủ) and Four Palaces (Tứ phủ), an ancient belief system of Vietnam’s agricultural communitie...

Purpose & Concept Hầu đồng is not only a ritual but also a living art form blending music, costume, dance, and myth. This zone invites participants to become co-creators, translating their impressions of the ritual into artworks, writing, or digi...

Zone 1: Costume & Identity   Purpose & Concept The Costume & Identity Zone is designed to immerse participants in the aesthetic and symbolic world of hầu đồng costumes while highlighting their deep connection to identity, spirituality, an...

Painted in acrylic on an aged jackfruit-wood tray, Paper Guardians reimagines the ritual paper effigies of a horse and elephant—votive offerings central to the Mother Goddess (Đạo Mẫu) worship. The artist preserves the worn texture, cracks, and tiny ...

This acrylic painting on canvas depicts Chúa Thác Bờ, a revered figure in Vietnam’s Đạo Mẫu tradition, honored as a water deity associated with the Đà River.  It is  inspired by a photo of the medium Diệp Minh Châu at her mediumship possesion ritual....

Purpose & Concept Dance and gesture are the embodied language of hầu đồng. Through subtle hand movements, scarf twirls, fan openings, or sword flourishes, mediums give physical form to the deity’s personality and myth. Gestures also serve as cues...