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VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES TRAN VAN NHAN LOCALIZATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN VIETNAM Major: Cultural Studies Major code: 9.22.90.40 SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN CULTURE Hanoi - 2022 The dissertation was completed at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Yen Reviewer 1: Prof Dr Le Hong Ly Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Do Quang Hung Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Dr Bui Quang Thanh The dissertation will be defended at Graduate Academy Level Council of dissertation assessment at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi Time: ………… date ……… month …… … year 2022 The dissertation may be found at: - Vietnam National Library; - Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Library INTRODUCTION The necessity of the research topic Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam in 1533, over the years, it has been immersed in Vietnamese culture and has constantly developed and become one of the major religions, and has influenced many aspects of society in Vietnam One of the outstanding ladies is the Virgin Mary who was introduced to Vietnam, immersed in Vietnamese culture, and became a Vietnamese woman with many values and symbols of Vietnamese women The Virgin Mary is present in Vietnamese culture with many names, powers, many myths, and many different images that are close to traditional culture, local culture, and ethnic culture in Vietnam A somewhat passionate devotion that sometimes overwhelms the devotion to God of the followers to her, is an issue that needs to be examined to see the process of localizing an exogenous god introduced to Vietnam Examining the localization of the Virgin Mary is to clarify the process of adoring the Virgin Mary, especially the manifestations of this localization in Vietnam Thenceforth, the study provides another perspective on the localization of a religious figure from a cultural perspective to affirm the strength of national culture and Catholicism’s contribution from a cultural perspective From the analysis mentioned above, the author has chosen the topic “Localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam” as his doctoral dissertation in cultural studies Research purpose and tasks 2.1 Research purpose Through the phenomenon of localization of the Virgin Mary to discuss the process of localization of religion in Vietnam, specifically the localization of Catholicism in Vietnam 2.2 Research tasks To achieve the above research purpose, the dissertation will focus on the following research tasks: - Reviewing the literature on the introduction of the Virgin Mary into Vietnam - Reviewing the literature on localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam - Exploring the manifestations of the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam through names, symbols, shrines, powers, and rites and rituals - Analyzing factors affecting the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam - Discussing the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam 3 Research subject and scope * Research subject The localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam is a major issue The study just examines the localization of the image of Mary in the Vietnamese Catholic community This is stemming from the following reasons: First, religion and belief in general and Catholicism in particular, are inherently highly symbolic, reflected inliterature, music art, painting, sculpture, and architecture Examining the image of Mary is to see the feelings and beliefs of Vietnamese believers to the Virgin Mary Thereby, it shows the proactive integration of the Mary image into Vietnamese culture Second, the Virgin Mary is the spiritual symbol of Vietnamese believers, examining this issue to provide an aspect of the psychology of religion, namely Vietnamese Catholicism through admiration somewhat overzealousness of Vietnamese believers to the Virgin Mary * Research scope - Regarding time: the dissertation reviews secondary documents, retrospective documents, and field documents collected in specific areas - Fieldwork was conducted from June 2017 to January 2021 * Research sites The study has selected main research sites in regions of the North, the Central and the South including Quy Chính Catholic Church in Nghe An, Vỉ Nhuế Catholic Church in Nam Dinh, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and La Vang Church in Quang Tri province Methodology and research methods To fulfill the research purpose and tasks, the dissertation approaches specialized folklore research methods and interdisciplinary methods in social science research Specifically, the study uses the method of interdisciplinary in Ethnology, Sociology, Folklore, and Religion New contributions of the dissertation 5.1 Scientifically - The dissertation provides a reliable document on the manifestation of the localization of the Virgin Mary in some specific areas in Vietnam Thenceforth, the study enriches and diversifies the phenomenon of localization of the Mary image in Vietnam - By examining the localization of the virgin Mary, the dissertation provides a theoretical basis for researching the integration of Catholicism in general and the Virgin Mary in particular in Vietnamese traditional culture 5.2 Practically - The study identifies localization trends and manifestations of localization, as well as the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors in the life of Catholics in Vietnam - The dissertation will be the necessary reference for cultural managers, policymakers who can propose recommendations and solutions in managing religious activities in Vietnam, especially Catholicism Structure of the dissertation Besides the introduction and conclusion, references and appendix, the dissertation includes chapters Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW, THEORETICAL BASIS, AND RESEARCH SITES 1.1 Literature review 1.1.1 Research works on localization of religions in Vietnam - Localization of Buddhism - Localization of Taoism - Localization of Confucianism These religions were introduced into Vietnam, have a great influence on Vietnamese culture, and are the research subject of many works with scientific and practical value 1.1.2 Research works on localization of Catholicism Research works on localization of religions in Vietnam show the influence of Vietnamese traditional culture and the strength of national traditional culture to force exogenous religions including Catholicism must adapt to survive and develop while introducing and integrating into Vietnam 1.1.3 Research works on the Virgin Mary and localization of the Virgin Mary - Research works on the Virgin Mary from a theological perspective - Documents on the Virgin Mary’s epiphany in the World - Documents on the Virgin Mary's integration into Vietnam 1.1.4 Comments Religion is a big topic that many researchers are interested in There are many books and documents on religions and most of them are evangelical and spreading doctrines Currently, the literature on the Virgin Mary from a cultural perspective is still small compared to the research potential of this large and unique subject 1.2 The theoretical basis 1.2.1 Some basic concepts - The concept of cultural exchange and acculturation Cultural exchange and acculturation are a concept introduced into the United States by the Anglo-Saxon school in the late 19th century to indicate the contact, change, or transformation of certain types of cultures of both such cultures By using the theory of cultural exchange and acculturation in examining the localization of the Virgin Mary, we can avoid an isolated view or in a static state to put the research object into a dynamic state, and in the multi-dimensional relationship between the worship of our Lady and Vietnamese folk beliefs, between the traditional culture of the Eastern and the Western civilization The application of such research theory will discover the accretive values, interaction dimensions, and actual problems in worshiping the Virgin Mary in the cultural life of Vietnamese people Discussing the absorption of culture in Vietnam, the book titled “The basis of Vietnamese culture” (Tran Quoc Vuong ed.) mentioned cultural exchange and acculturation as follows: “Cultural exchange and acculturation are accepting foreign culture of the native nation This process always requires each ethnic group to handle well the dialectical relationship between endogenous factors and exogenous factors These two factors are always transforming each other and are difficult to separate from one cultural entity The result of the interaction between these two factors takes place in two states: one is that the exogenous factor dominates and cancels the endogenous factor, the other is the mutual resonance, the exogenous factor has gradually become endogenous factors or blurring the identity of exogenous factors In this book, the author argues that the absorption of exogenous factors is shown in two forms: voluntary and forced absorption - The concept of localization of the Virgin Mary “Localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam” means the people have proactively received our Lady from Catholicism, an exogenous religion introduced into Vietnam, from an image that is somewhat strange to traditional Vietnamese culture The Virgin Mary has become a mother with all characteristics of a traditional Vietnamese mother but our Lady was still worshipped by Catholic beliefs of Vietnamese believers 1.2.2 Theoretical basis of Catholic integration policy and researchers’ perspectives on Catholic integration into Vietnam Catholicism was introduced to different cultures, with antagonism at the beginning, even in some places it was very difficult to integrate because of the difference between Catholic tenets and the indigenous traditional culture As a result, some clergymen have chosen to adapt and integrate Catholicism into the local culture In Vietnam, therefore, in addition to the local integration from missionaries and church, the authors Nguyen Hong Duong and Tran Ngoc Them have emphasized non-local integration from a cultural perspective This means the people’s proactive absorption and integration of Catholicism into the local culture By applying the above authors’ opinion on Catholic integration from the nonlocal perspective, the dissertation examines the manifestation of the localization of the Virgin Mary in the Vietnamese Catholic community in Vietnam through aspects such as names, images in literature and art, temple architecture, epiphanies and beliefs about the power and worship of the people 1.3 Overview of research sites The study has selected main research sites in regions of the North, the Central and the South including Quy Chính Catholic Church (Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province); Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (ward 9, district 3, HCMC; Vỉ Nhuế Catholic Church (Nap hamlet, Yen Dong commune, Y Yen district, Nam Dinh province; La Vang Church (Co Vuu village, Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province); Trung Binh-Khmer Church (Ap cho, Trung Binh commune, Long Phu district, Soc Trang province) In addition, we have also conducted fieldwork and surveys in many other locations in Vietnam These places are located in special cultural areas that are representative of regional culture Sub-summary of chapter Over the centuries, Vietnam has contacted and exchanged with the Western, besides Catholicism, the influence of Western culture has profoundly affected many fields of Vietnamese material and spiritual culture Regardless of the point of view, the localization of the Virgin Mary is a unique cultural phenomenon that many researchers are interested in studying From a figure somewhat unfamiliar with Vietnamese traditional culture, the Virgin Mary has strongly integrated into the life of Vietnamese believers By conducting fieldwork in places, the study has clarified the manifestation of the localization of the Virgin Mary in representative sites in Vietnam Chapter CATHOLICISM, THE VIRGIN MARY AND THE PROCESS OF INTRODUCTION INTO VIETNAM 2.1 Overview of Catholicism and its introduction into Vietnam 2.1.1 Overview of Catholicism * The Birth and Legend of Jesus Catholicism was started in the st century AD in the East of the ancient Roman Empire By the 4th century (AD 313) Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan and declared Catholicism as religious toleration in the Roman Empire, Jesus was considered the founder of Catholicism * Basic content of Catholic catechism, rules, rituals, and organizations - The Bible: The basics of Christianity's doctrines, laws, rituals, and organizations were mentioned in the Bible - Catechism: It shows the following basic points: Absolute belief in God; Man has two parts including body and soul - Rules: The Christian Church has quite complicated rules, but they have generally focused on ten commandments of God and commandments of the Catholic Church 2.1.2 The process of introducing Catholicism to Vietnam Based on Nguyen Hong Duong’s point of view, the process of introducing Catholicism to Vietnam is divided into the following stages: - Catholicism in the period from 1533 to 1884 - Catholicism in the period from 1884 to 1954 - Catholicism in the period from 1954 to 1975 - Catholicism in the period from 1975 to present 2.1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of integrating Catholicism into Vietnam There are several advantages of Catholic integration into Vietnam such as geographical location, cultural traditions of respect for women, Vietnamese people’s tolerance, and flexibility, this creates favorable conditions for exogenous religions to introduce to Vietnam In addition, Catholicism also faced difficulties from the feudal government, the strictness of rules compared to the national traditional culture 2.2 The Virgin Mary in Catholicism and the introduction and worship of Mary in the Vietnamese Church 2.2.1 The Virgin Mary in Catholicism 2.2.2.1 The Virgin Mary in the Bible In the Bible, the image of Mary is mentioned as a special woman chosen by God to give birth to Jesus but she was not a virgin permanently, she was also an exemplary wife and mother, and was considered the mother of the Catholic church 2.2.2.2 Catholic beliefs on Mary Catholic beliefs on Mary with the following points: Mother of God; Virgin Mother; her assumption into heaven in body and soul after death; Immaculate Mother The Virgin Mary has a very important role in Catholicism because she was the one who gave birth to Jesus, one of the most important factors for the formation and development of Catholicism 2.2.2 The introduction and worship of Mary in the Vietnamese Church 2.2.2.1 The introduction of Mary into Vietnam The introduction of Mary into Vietnam through manifestations of the introduction associated with the missionary process, and the appearance of churches bearing the title of Our Lady, and especially the appearance of Mary associations in Vietnam 2.2.2.2 Veneration of Mary in the Vietnamese Church According to Catholic tradition, the worship of Mary in the Vietnamese Church includes the venerate days of Mary that are recorded in the Catholic Code These days take place every year In addition to maintaining the obligatory rules, Vietnamese Catholics have been flexible in their rituals and veneration of Mary Sub-summary of chapter Catholicism was introduced into Vietnam in 1553, over the years, it has experienced many difficulties and challenges from the early days to the present Vietnamese Catholicism has developed and become a major religion Along with the introduction of Catholicism into Vietnam, the Virgin Mary - an important figure of Catholicism, has also been deeply integrated into Vietnamese culture Chapter MANIFESTATIONS OF LOCALIZATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN VIETNAM 3.1 Localization of the Virgin Mary through the name When entering Vietnam, in addition to the general name in the world, the Virgin Mary was also honored by names similar to the people who honor God in Vietnamese folklore 3.2 Localization of the Virgin Mary’s image in Vietnamese Catholic literature In Vietnam, in addition to the Bible and books on canonical rules, Vietnamese believers join the flow of Vietnamese literature, especially, Vietnamese folklore has created and expressed the Mary image through types of literary with Vietnamese cultural characteristics 3.3 Localization of the Virgin Mary image in the visual arts Believers have Vietnameseized the image of Mary in their way, turning a Western exogenous figure into a Vietnamese woman who is both close and powerful but also very simple and familiar to their cultural life 3.4 Localization of the Virgin Mary’s power 3.4.1 Localization of the Virgin Mary through epiphany transmission Vietnamese believers believe in the epiphany of the Lady, the epiphany often takes place with the general motif of somewhat mystical stories about the Lady through the manifestations of supernatural elements The Virgin Mary appeared in the difficult circumstances of believers to save from misfortune and danger or treating diseases for believers 3.4.2 Localization of the Virgin Mary through her power In Vietnam, Mary’s power is shown by protecting peace, saving from misfortune and danger, treating diseases, and giving birth 3.5 Localization of the ritual of worshiping the Virgin Mary 3.5.1 Localization of the ritual of offering flowers and burning incense European and American believers not burn incense and not worship like Vietnamese believers, they often put their hands together to pray or bow down their heads once In Vietnam, most of the establishments worshiping Our Lady have incense bowls, incense burners, candles In addition, they have merit boxes, when coming to Mary’s worships, Vietnamese believers often bring offerings This does not exist in Europe 3.5.2 Localization of performance art in the ritual of worshiping the Virgin Mary The procession and offering flower to Our Lady in the month is an outstanding cultural feature of Vietnamese believers, demonstrating many traditional cultural values of Vietnamese people through these ritual practices 3.5.3 Localization of some rituals inside and outside the church At many churches today, after Mass, parishioners often sing a song about Our Lady before leaving In Quy Chinh, parishioners often gather at the foot of the statue of Our Lady to 10 worship and pray, in addition, group activities and worship the Lady are held in Vietnamese believers’ families This is a prominent feature in the rite of honoring our Lady in Vietnam Vietnamese believers have practiced rites and rituals to worship the Virgin Mary based on Vietnamese culture The rites of offering flowers and the procession of the Virgin Mary remind us to think about rituals that are regularly performed in religious activities and folk festivals in Vietnam This is the main difference in the practice of rituals and ceremonies to worship the Virgin Mary of Vietnamese believers compared to Catholics in other countries around the world Sub-summary chapter The Virgin Mary – a mother of humanity, the creator, and God, has become a mother with characteristics of a Vietnamese mother The Virgin Mary has been scared by Vietnamese followers and added other values during the process of introducing to Vietnamese culture Vietnamese parishioners and followers have worshiped the Virgin Mary in the traditional cultural context of the nation, through various forms of Vietnamese folklore such as poetry, hymns, and parallel sentences The Virgin Mary has been simply shown as a beautiful symbol of Vietnamese women Chapter LOCALIZATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN VIETNAM 4.1 The basis of the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam 4.1.1 The spirit of worshiping God in Vietnamese folklore and the “sanctification” of Mary in Vietnam Vietnamese people have a tradition of worshiping God Normally, the Gods in folklore are those who have made meritorious services to the people and country or sometimes they are Gods who are admired by people from natural elements and gradually become Gods in folk beliefs Since then, it has created flexible conditions in receiving other Gods that were introduced to Vietnam, especially the Virgin Mary 4.1.1.2 Regarding the “sanctification” of Mary in Vietnam - Sanctification through epiphany - Sanctification through giving more power 4.1.2 Religious tolerance – a spirit of humanity and integration An essential basis for a multi-religious presence in Vietnam is religious tolerance This is also one of the quite prominent characteristics of Vietnamese 11 culture and easily accepts new things and tolerance 4.1.3 Local and ethnic factors By conducting fieldwork, we can see the local and ethnic factors have a profound influence on the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam 4.2 Localization of the Virgin Mary: The integration and transformation of the Mary image in Vietnamese culture 4.2.1 The integration and transformation of languages and scripts 4.2.2 The integration and interaction with Vietnamese architectural and visual arts 4.2.3 The integration and cultural exchange and cultural exchange of the Virgin Mary with the worshiping rituals of the Vietnamese people 4.2.3.1 The integration and transformation of worshiping rituals in public places One of the most prominent manifestations of the localization of Mary in Vietnam is that believers bring offerings to Our Lady This is different from Catholics around the world 4.2.3.2 The integration and interacting with ancestors worshiping beliefs The Virgin Mary is also worshiped on the Ancestral Altar, and a special thing is that in addition to God, the Virgin Mary is placed in the central position on the Ancestral Altar, some believers also worship separately the Virgin Mary along with the ancestral altar while Lord and Gods are in another one 4.3 Discussing the influence of localization of the Virgin Mary on the Catholic community in Vietnam 4.3.1 Psychosocial influence Faith and veneration to Mary will bring peace to Vietnamese Catholics 4.3.2 Localization of the Virgin Mary contributes to strengthening national cultural values Receiving and localizing the Virgin Mary in Vietnam also aim to enrich the diversity of culture because when in conflict with cultural identity, it is really shown its power 4.3.3 Localization of the Virgin Mary by making socio- economic development in Vietnam The localization of the Virgin Mary contributes to the development of our Lady pilgrimage centers, with millions of followers pilgrimage every year, contributing greatly to local economic development 12 Sub-summary chapter On the basis of Vietnamese culture such as the spirit of worshiping Gods, flexibility, and religious tolerance, Vietnamese believers have adopted and localized Catholicism In which, localization of the Virgin Mary through names, images, beliefs, the architecture of the church, rites, and rituals of worshiping the Virgin Mary Increasing the roles and meanings of the Virgin image as mentioned above, has shown the localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam has taken place widely and has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese culture CONCLUSION The study examines the localization of the Virgin Mary through the manifestations of localization of the Virgin Mary image in the lives of Vietnamese believers Applying the theory of acculturation and cultural integration to study the localization of the Virgin Mary based on integration and acculturation with Vietnamese traditional culture We chose five main research sites to survey that can be considered five typical research sites representative of the region and ethnicity Over the years, Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam and it has become one of the major religions and has had a multifaceted influence on the country Vietnamese Catholics always accompany the nation, contributing to the construction, protection, and development of the country The process of introducing Catholicism to Vietnam, especially in Vietnamese culture, it can be clearly seen in two aspects, that is, Vietnamese Catholicism has proactively integrated into Vietnamese culture and the influence of Vietnamese culture has created flexibility in the process of introducing to Vietnam The Virgin Mary has become an important value in the life of Vietnamese believers They adore the Virgin Mary passionately In addition to rites and rituals of worshiping under the Catholic rules, Vietnamese believers also have activities, rituals, and rites of worshiping under the national cultural traditions and become a spiritual fulcrum for all believers The actual surveys show that Vietnamese believers have localized the Virgin Mary in many different ways, especially they have added marvelous values to our Lady through stories about the epiphany, power, and building and popularizing the Mary shrines, as well as pilgrimage centers of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam 13 Vietnamese believers have “sanctified” the Virgin Mary, along with cultural and traditional elements that contribute to the localization of the Virgin Mary image in Vietnam Localization of the Virgin Mary has a positive influence on socio-psychology and contributes to preserving and promoting traditional cultural values of the nation The author’s published-research works Tran Van Nhan (2016), “The funeral of parishioners in Quy Chinh religious village, Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province”, Scientific Journal of Saigon University, HCMC, no 20, pp 59-69 Tran Van Nhan (2017), “Localization of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam”, Folklore Magazine, Hanoi, no 1, pp 51 - 55 Tran Van Nhan (2019), “The Virgin Mary in the life of Quy Chinh parishioners, Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province”, Journal of Vietnam Cultural Studies, Hanoi, no 6, pp 25-31 14