Category: COSTUMES & IDENTITY

The red veil (khăn phủ diện) is not merely a ritual implement but a symbol imbued with profound spiritual significance within the Mother Goddess Belief of the Three Palaces (Đạo Mẫu Tam Phủ). Placed over the head of the medium (đồng nhân) prior to ea...

Hầu đồng is a form of possession in which deities of the Four Palaces descend into the medium, re-embodying the image of the Holy Mothers and Saints as they appear among humans, close to earthly life. Because of the cultural diversity across regions,...

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...

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...

Attending a hầu đồng session is like exploring a living museum, where layers of colors and symbols emerge through the incarnations of deities descending into the bodies of mediums—expressed via ritual songs (hát văn), music, dance movements, and espe...

During a recent workshop on preparing ritual costumes for hầu đồng, we had the chance to witness and practice the intricate art of folding and arranging khăn chầu—the ritual headdresses worn by mediums. What began as a hands-on experience soon unfold...

Last  week, our team -HauDong ft.Art visited the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi to explore its Mother Goddess Worship exhibit, part of the museum’s commitment to preserving and presenting Vietnam’s intangible cultural heritage. What I saw t...