Controversy surrounding the spirit mediumship incident at Hue University

Controversy over spirit mediumship in university

The Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien - Hue coordinated to organize the 14th international conference Connecting with Vietnam with the theme Living with Heritage, recreating/creating heritage: Vietnam and the world, from August 1-6.

In the series of activities responding to the conference, on the evening of August 2, the opening ceremony of the International Fine Arts Exhibition was held with a program introducing some types of intangible cultural heritage. The performance of Hau Dong and the performance of costumes of the mediums in the heritage of the practice of the worship of the Mother Goddess of the Three Realms by some artisans and mediums in the North were the focus of controversy.

On August 3, the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) sent an official dispatch to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue province requesting to rectify the practice of spirit mediumship taking place on a university campus.

Performance of Hau Dong at the opening ceremony of the International Fine Arts Exhibition. Photo: Organizing Committee.

"Based on the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage and the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, this is an activity that distorts heritage when performing heritage outside the scope of the heritage's practice space, using elements of the heritage for performance that are not true to the nature and traditional characteristics of the heritage," the Department of Cultural Heritage stated.

The Department of Cultural Heritage explained that this "violates the principles of respect, protection of the sacredness, customs, and taboos of heritage and the principle of consensus based on full understanding of the community of heritage practitioners".

Hau Dong performance is one of the three main contents of the Heritage of Practices of the Vietnamese Mother Goddess Worship - recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2016.

On August 6, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue sent a response document, affirming that all of the above artistic activities were only for the delegates who were researchers attending the conference, held on the campus of Hue University of Arts, and were not offered to the community.

The Department's leaders also said they worked with the organizing committee, the school and the artisan group to learn from experience.

Official dispatch of the Department of Cultural Heritage sent to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien Hue.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue still believes that it is only a "heritage interpretation" activity in a narrow space to serve a narrow group of domestic and foreign cultural researchers attending the conference, not a "heritage performance" activity to serve the public in an open space.

This viewpoint of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue immediately caused a lot of controversy. Some artists attending the event affirmed that this activity was included in the General Program sent with the Invitation to delegates, marked as "on-site art performance activity", without any notes or recommendations on limiting the audience (on-site).

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue does not control the widespread sharing of information (media, livestream, posting on social networks...) so "it cannot be said that it serves a narrow group of domestic and foreign cultural researchers attending the conference".

It is necessary to distinguish clearly between religious practice and heritage performance.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Tat Kim Hung - Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Mother Goddess Worship Belief Preservation Club - affirmed that the performance of Hau Dong and the costumes of the mediums in the heritage of practicing the Mother Goddess Worship Belief of the Three Palaces on the university campus in Hue "seriously affects the value of the heritage and distorts the belief".

"Rituals and beliefs must be performed in palaces, temples, and places where the Four Palaces and Three Palaces are worshiped. Heritage cannot be brought to the stage to perform rituals or performances," said Meritorious Artist Nguyen Tat Kim Hung. He believes that preserving heritage in sacred spaces does not diminish the inherent value of the heritage.

Previously, on July 21, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued an Official Dispatch on strengthening the management, protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage values. The Official Dispatch pointed out the phenomenon of organizing artistic activities with performances of spirit mediumship that are not true to the nature and practice space of the heritage of the Vietnamese Mother Goddess Worship Practice, violating a number of customs and taboos and distorting the value of intangible cultural heritage.
"Improper practices of heritage leading to changes in heritage values will affect the consideration through the National Periodic Report that Vietnam must submit to the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In serious cases, UNESCO may consider and withdraw the title," the dispatch stated.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Tat Kim Hung also affirmed that performing Hau Dong on stage affects the sacredness.

He disagreed with the view of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue that the performance of Hau Dong at universities only takes place in a narrow space, to serve a narrow group of domestic and foreign cultural researchers attending the conference.

"Conference attendees can take photos, record videos, and even live stream the activities taking place on stage. Thus, it is no longer an activity of interpreting heritage in a narrow space," the artist analyzed.

He also said that the locality does not lack suitable spaces such as temples, shrines, and palaces to invite experts to research and at the same time promote heritage.

It is important to distinguish between religious practice and heritage performance.

Researcher, Dr. Tran Huu Son - Director of the Institute of Applied Folk Culture Research - emphasized that the structure of heritage includes heritage value, sacredness (religious rituals and beliefs) and other elements. Heritage practices must take place in private spaces and environments such as temples, communal houses, pagodas, etc.

"Heritage cannot be separated from the environment, cannot be carried everywhere to perform, especially sacred heritage," Dr. Tran Huu Son told Tien Phong.

Dr. Tran Huu Son believes that many experts and scientists do not understand heritage correctly, so they enjoy heritage in a patchwork way. Heritage, when removed from its own environment, becomes only a single element, a "fragment". Thus, when bringing cultural heritage to the stage or other contexts, the organizing unit cannot call it a heritage performance, but only a performance of heritage elements.

It is necessary to distinguish between religious practice and heritage performance.
From the case of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien - Hue, the Department of Cultural Heritage and a number of experts clearly stated the need to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage, especially clearly distinguishing between religious practice and heritage performance, between cultural practice space and performance space.
Many people still confuse heritage practice with heritage performance, especially heritage with spiritual elements. Therefore, some localities and individuals still organize performance activities that are not suitable to the nature of heritage and have the nature of "de-sacred" heritage.
Regarding the Festival of performing intangible cultural heritage representing humanity, including the practice of worshipping the Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism within the framework of the Hung Temple Festival and the 2023 Culture and Tourism Week of the Ancestral Land, the Department of Cultural Heritage explained that the Festival is organized in the spirit of complying with the provisions of the 2003 Convention, especially the Ethical Principles for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage promulgated by UNESCO and the spirit of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
"The Organizing Committee selects expressions and elements of intangible cultural heritage that are suitable for the type, performance plan, and introduction that are true to the nature and principles of practice of each intangible cultural heritage, consistent with the name, purpose, meaning, and requirements of the Festival, ensuring that the content and value of intangible cultural heritage are not practiced incorrectly," the Department of Cultural Heritage stated.

(Source: tienphong.vn)

Source