Thánh Trần worship

What it is

Thánh Trần worship is a shamanic current inside Vietnamese folk religion, standing beside Đạo Mẫu, the mother goddess tradition, and Nội Đạo Tràng as one of its three branches. Its god is the spirit of Trần Hưng Đạo, a general whom tradition credits with stopping Mongol armies. Devotees hold that he began as a heavenly being called Thanh Tiên Đồng Tử, came down to earth at the Jade Emperor's bidding to guard the land and give its people peace, and went back to Heaven after death. There he received the title Cửu Thiên Vũ Đế, the Martial Emperor of Nine Heavens, with charge over wicked spirits and demons in every realm. The cult also honours his parents, wife, children and generals, and reaches him through mediums, most of them women.

Where it comes from

Its human anchor is a real figure: Trần Hưng Đạo, a commander of the Trần dynasty remembered for turning back Mongol forces from the Yuan dynasty. Religious teaching reaches further, identifying him with Thanh Tiên Đồng Tử, a divine child of Heaven. In this telling his life on earth was a mission from the Jade Emperor, to guard the country and give its people peace, and when the work was done he went back above. The Emperor then gave him the rank of Cửu Thiên Vũ Đế and placed unruly spirits and demons under his authority. The worship sometimes goes by the name Trần Triều, meaning the Trần dynasty, after the royal house he served.

How it is done

The heart of the practice is mediumship. In the ritual dance known as lên đồng, a medium falls into a trance, and the spirit of Thánh Trần may come upon them, taking over their body and voice for a time. This possession sits inside the wider lên đồng mediumship and is particularly tied to Đạo Mẫu, the worship of mother goddesses. Mediums are chiefly women; when the spirit enters a man, the event counts as rare.

What it is for

Devotees look to Thánh Trần first as a protector of the nation. Tradition says the Jade Emperor sent him into the world for exactly that reason, to keep the country safe and its people at peace. His post in Heaven carries the work on: he is held to hold authority over harmful spirits and demons everywhere, which makes him a power that followers in contact with the spirit world appeal to.

Who does it

The ritual work falls to mediums, and they are mainly women. A medium is someone who lets a spirit enter and speak through them; here that happens in the trance dance of lên đồng. When the possessing spirit is Thánh Trần himself and the medium is a man, the case is treated as out of the ordinary. The mediums move within one of the three shamanic strands of Vietnamese folk religion, close to the Đạo Mẫu tradition of mother goddesses.

What people believe

Devotees picture Heaven as a court with ranks and offices. The Jade Emperor stands at its head; he it was who sent the divine child Thanh Tiên Đồng Tử down to earth, and who later, once the general had returned, gave him the title Cửu Thiên Vũ Đế with authority over wicked spirits and demons in all realms. Around the Martial Emperor the cult honours a full household: his father, Grand Prince Khâm Minh; his mother, Thiện Đạo; his wife, Nguyên Từ; four royal sons and two daughters, one of whom history knows as Empress Consort Khâm Từ Bảo Thánh. Six generals, his officers from life, complete the retinue: Phạm, Yết Kiêu, Dã Tượng, Hùng Thắng, Huyền Quang and Nghĩa Xuyên.

Compare and confuse

Thánh Trần worship is easily met alongside Đạo Mẫu, the mother goddess religion, because lên đồng mediumship is particularly associated with that tradition, and the same ritual practice serves both. It also stands with Nội Đạo Tràng as the third shamanic branch of Vietnamese folk religion. The name Trần Triều, meaning the Trần dynasty, is another title for the same cult.

Questions people ask about Thánh Trần worship

Good reading and sources

• Thánh Trần worship on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data