Cultural Discussion: The Vietnamese Tradition of Mother Goddess Worship

Thu 16 Feb 2017, 7 – 9 pm
Thế Giới publishers
6th floor, 46 Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi

UPDATE: The event is fully-booked!

From the organizer:

The ancient Vietnamese tradition Mother Goddess Worship is now recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO.

Mother Goddess Worship is a fusion of Vietnamese and foreign religions. To celebrate this recognition, we are delighted to invite Professor Dr Nguyen Chi Ben, former Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Cultural & Arts Studies to host our evening. He also headed up the team which submitted to report to UNESCO.

More details about the discussion will be updated later, prior to the event.

Tentative agenda:
• Origins and beliefs about Mother Goddess worship
• The key elements and meanings of the tradition
• Information about music, songs, ceremonies, performances
• The hầu đồng ritual (Medium/Shaman)
• UNESCO application procedure
• 2 performances of rituals (with costumes/music etc…)
• Q&A with the Professor

The talk will be supported by visuals and as much explanation as possible. Our aim is to make this as visually interesting and as engaging as possible.

From 6.30pm we hope to have a mini exhibition/display to browse before the talk starts.

This is a very special honour for FVH that Professor Ben has agreed to host our event and we encourage as many people to come along as possible. Please bring family and friends. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from one of the Vietnam’s leading Mother Goddess experts involved in the UNESCO application. The Director and Editor in Chief of Thế Giới publishers, Dr Trần Đoan Lâm, will also be present and he also is an expert in Mother Goddess worship.

We would also like to thank Ass. Prof. Dr Pham Lan Oanh from the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies for introducing us to Professor Ben and for making this evening possible.

Set donation: 200,000 VND/person
Limit: 35 participants

Contact: Stella Ciorra; [email protected] (01662 979 605)

Please provide your mobile number when registering.

Notes:
1. Ticket price includes: talk by the professor, supporting visuals, performances and one drink
2. The talk starts at 7pm – please ensure you arrive before this.
Pre-event is from 6.30pm when we hope to have a mini exhibition and information for you to look at, get your seat early and make yourself at home
3. Upon your registration we will send you instructions, full agenda and location map.
4. Professor Ben will speak in Vietnamese – we will have an interpreter.
Involvement from Dr Lâm will be in English.
All printed handouts and explanation notes will be in English.