Spirit Worship and Sexuality in Vietnam

Abstract

This thesis is based on ten in-depth interviews with men and women who are involved in mediumship activities in various districts around Hanoi. The qualitative data from these interviews form the central component of my research and they demonstrate a range of sexual identities and roles in mediumship. These qualitative data are framed within an analysis of Vietnamese folk beliefs about sexual roles in Vietnamese history and within an exploration of the contemporary development of mediumship in the context of an emerging capitalist economy. While much has been written about Vietnamese mediumship by anthropologists and sociologists, the thesis attempts to situate mediumship within a new paradigm that examines both gender issues and more civil society in which mediums play a role in the circulation of money.