Exhibition of Worshipping Mother Goddesses

Opening: Thu 05 Jan 2012
Vietnamese Women’s Museum

From the Museum:
You are invited to an exhibition “Worshiping Mother Goddesses:  Heart – Beauty – Joy”. The religion’s beauty and core values as they affect worshipers in daily life converge in the exhibition. The worship of Mother Goddesses is a purely Vietnamese folk belief with a long history of adapting to social change. This religion addresses the concerns of daily life, including the desire for good health and good fortune. Worshipers who find great emotional support in their belief include followers from all strata of Vietnamese society.

Beginning in 2009, the Vietnamese Women’s Union began research for this temporary exhibit, “Worshiping Mother Goddesses: Heart – Beauty – Joy,” with sponsorship from The Ford Foundation and the Center for Research, Support, and Development of Culture. This exhibition will provide the public with information about the religion of Mother Goddesses in contemporary Vietnamese life.

Researchers collected interviews from hundreds of worshipers, who live mainly in Hà Nội and northern provinces, such as Lào Cai, Thanh Hoá, Nam Định, Hưng Yên, and Bắc Ninh. Visitors will be impressed with the exhibition’s portrayal of the Hầu Thánh ritual involving the sophisticated mixture of colors symbolizing the Four Palaces in the religion of Mother Goddesses; Chau Văn music; and the sacred principles involved in arranging the altars, offerings, costumes, and jewelry.

Visitors will also feel moved when experiencing a recreated sacred space paying tribute to the Mother Goddesses, who protect and support worshipers in overcoming difficulties and misfortunes as they search for a peaceful and prosperous life.

Who are the Mother Goddesses? What are the religion’s values of Heart – Beauty – Joy? This exhibit answers these questions in a lively, objective portrayal of the thoughts and emotions of the religion’s mediums, worshipers, and the Chau Văn musicians.

The religion’s beauty and core values as they affect worshipers in daily life converge in the exhibition, “Worshiping Mother Goddesses:  Heart – Beauty – Joy.”

The exhibition will be on display until further notice.