Vietnamese Tutelary Spirits (Thành Hoàng): History Of the Cult and its Current State

Gordienko Elena ORCID: 0000-0003-3922-7686 Assistant professor of Center for the Study of Religion, Russian State University of the Humanities 125993, Russia, Moscow, Miusskaya Ploshchad str., 6, building 5, room 1123 Kaktus85@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The cult of the patron spirits of the Thanh hoang locality we are investigating is a cult of spirits revered in villages, village communities and urban neighborhoods of Vietnam as patrons of the locality, protecting against disasters, epidemics, wars, etc. The veneration of the Thanh Hoang is rooted in the traditional culture of the Vietnamese and has been an integral part of the so-called Vietnamese folk religion (t?n ngng d?n gian Vi?t Nam) for centuries. Therefore, for a correct understanding of the current state of the cult, it is necessary to consider the milestones of its development: the design of the cult under the Late Le dynasty (1428-1788), the development trends under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), which was ruled by the period of colonization of Vietnam by the French, the decline of the cult in the second half of the twentieth century. in socialist Vietnam, the revival of the cult and the entire religious system with the beginning of economic reforms and the democratization of public life in the 1980s and 90s, finally, the modern flourishing of the cult and the peculiarities of its adaptation to modern conditions. It is the definition of the historical forms of the cult that allows us to identify the dynamics in its development and describe the inevitable transformations of the cult taking place in the XXI century, but often not realized by cultural carriers who perceive the cult as an ancient unchanging tradition.

The origins of the cult

The name "thanh hoang" began to be applied to the spirits of the area in Vietnam, apparently, not earlier than the XV century. It was then that the cult was constructed, which we see today among the Vietnamese religious practices. However, the origins are more ancient: the veneration of the spirits of the area refers to autochthonous phenomena. Since researchers everywhere observe similar cults among neighboring peoples (related and unrelated to the Vietnamese), it can be confidently stated that the veneration of spirits by the Vietnamese is part of an extensive religious phenomenon – animistic beliefs of the Far East and Southeast Asia, belonging to the substratum of the primordial religious practices of the peoples of these regions, at the junction of which Vietnam is located.

At the same time, the prehistory of the cult is not described in the sources, so its reconstructions are hypothetical. We will turn to the documented milestones of the Thanh Hoang cult – from the beginning of the reign of the Late Le dynasty, i.e. from the XV century.

The construction of a cult in the XV century .

The formation of the Thanh Hoang cult took place in Daiviet in the XV century . in the context of a comprehensive crisis after two decades of Chinese occupation (1407-1427) ^{[10, pp. 182-205]}. The expulsion of Chinese troops from Daiviet was accompanied by the search for new landmarks and led to the establishment of neo-Confucian ideology, which replaced Buddhism at the court. During the rule of the emperors new Late Le dynasty (1428-1788) was developed by a new set of laws, approved exams for the posts and compiled chronicle "the Complete collection of historical notes, Dai Viet" (i Vi?t s? k? to?n th? ) ^[17]. This work has made the Vietnamese ethnos obsolete by including the mythological kings of the Hung in the historiography (by analogy with the Chinese mythical Xia Dynasty). The American researcher L. Kelly characterized the XV century in Diviet as the era of the "invention of traditions" ^[25].

At this time, the rulers of the new Le dynasty created a state religion, constructed under the significant influence of Chinese models ^{[11, p.100-104]}, but based mainly on the local pantheon of spirits. Judging by the bibliographic descriptions of the preserved texts about spirits in the catalog of the Institute of Hieroglyphics of Vietnam (Vi?n nghi?n c?u H?n n?m, located in Hanoi at 183, Ng Ti?N ng), it was at that time that the state cult of the Thanh Hoangs took shape.

Since the XV century, the veneration of the Thanh Hoang is also documented in the Vietnamese chronicles due to the fact that they became the object of state regulation. The chronicles tell us that the founder of the Le– Le Loi dynasty (ruled in 1428-1433) ordered temples to be put in order in honor of spirits, including local ones, immediately after the end of the war with China. In 1464, Le Loy's grandson, the reformer Le Thanh–tong (ruled in 1460-1497), approved the rituals of worship in temples to the spirits of "honored subjects" of the past centuries. According to the Vietnamese historian P.V. Pozner, "if in the Li–Chan era (in the XI–XIV centuries – E.G.) the cult of ancestors remained primarily a family cult in Vietnamese society, then from the end of the Chan era, and especially at the beginning of the Le era, a vertical line began to be built from the family cult of ancestors to the cult of communalcounty patron spirits, from him to the cult of provincial-regional patron spirits and further to the cult of metropolitan patron spirits, the pinnacle of which is the cult of the ancestors of the imperial family" ^[16].

Apparently, it was in the XV century that the concept of "thanh hoang", which goes back to the name of the Chinese patron spirit of cities - Chenghuang, extends in Daiviet to the spirits of rural areas, while rural spirits of the area are called spirits of the earth – tudi. Let's denote the difference between them.

The Chenghuans are the patrons of cities in China (literally, "spirits of city walls and ditches"). The role of Chenghuans in China was played by real and legendary historical characters, major officials, scientists associated with the area by the nature of service. The first temples in their honor appeared in antiquity, but the cult became widespread in the Middle Ages – in the Song era (960-1279) ^{[2, p.234]}. The prevalence of the cult of Chenghuans is demonstrated by the literature of that time. The state patronized the temples and granted the spirits honorary titles and ranks. Under Zhu Yuan-zhang (ruled in 1368-1398), the worship of the Chenghuans became a state cult ^{[11, pp.733-744]}. The Chenghuans acted as judges of the afterlife, as well as the heads of all tudi in the subordinate territory. The statues of the Chenghuans are recognizable thanks to the official's attire and the writing tablet in his hands. Before the twentieth century . The temple in honor of Chenghuang included, in addition to the halls of chenghuang and other deities, "private chambers" – rooms for Chenghuang to live with his family and entourage (including a bed and toiletries). They were opened to visitors only on big holidays ^{[21, pp. 352-369]}.

In 1907, the Sinologist V. M. Alekseev described the Chenghuang temple in Xi'an as follows: "In front of the entrance there are statues of Chenghuang's assistants, dispensers of justice, to whom the population has a superstitious fear, considering them capable of cursing and aversion of evil spirits. Entering the temple first of all comes face to face with the formidable demons of hell — guizu. One of them is holding a tablet with the inscription: "Must grab your soul." <...> The temple is very rich, elegant, with a lot of calligraphic inscriptions, magnificent paintings, with complex and colorful architecture. A magnificent impression, for example, is made by a dragon in blue clouds and green waves, paintings depicting fish, etc. The Chenghuan couple is dressed very ceremoniously. Their bedroom is full of all kinds of toilet and wardrobe accessories" ^[1].

At the same time, the Chenghuans did not have unconditional authority, were sometimes perceived as administrators and even punished by people ^{[20, p.88]}.

The spirits of the land of Tudi (also Tudi-gong, Tudi-shen, fudezhenshen, po-gong, etc.) are the object of folk religious practices initially in rural areas, which later spread to urban parks and neighborhoods. Just like chenghuang, tudi is a position in the heavenly hierarchy that can be occupied by different spirits and deities. However, very often there is no clear information about this or that tudi ^{[21, pp.306-313]}. Very often tudi are nameless. These are benevolent spirits who are approached with requests for luck, wealth, harvest, peace. Hierarchically, they occupy a subordinate position in relation to the Chenghuans. More modest altars and temples are dedicated to Tudi. In addition, the patronage of tudi is local: the spirits of the earth can protect from disasters a small plot of land and even the territory of another temple (Chenghuang temples, Buddhist and Taoist temples). Altars and temples in honor of Tudi have been adjacent to other religious buildings for centuries, but they existed independently of them ^{[2, p.235]}. Tudi also acts as a guardian of graves. Regardless of the origin of one or another tudi, the birthday of these deities is always celebrated on the same day (the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month). Tudi is depicted in the robes of a scientist and with a staff in his hands ^{[21, p.314-315]}.

Thanh Hoang in Vietnam was formed under the significant influence of Chinese cults. Vietnamese researchers attribute the appearance of the cult of patrons of cities to the period of the so-called "northern dependence" (B?c thu?c, the period of dependence on China from 111 BC to the tenth century, when the Vietnamese territories were part of Chinese states), although the final formalization of the state cult of the Thanh Hoangs occurred in the XV century under the influence of Confucianism. The regulation of metropolitan cults led to the disappearance of many spirits revered by the people or to their displacement into the countryside ^{[28, pp.61-62]}. As a result, in terms of its status and functions, Thanh hoang occupied an intermediate position between Tudi and Chenghuan (although there are few direct analogues of Chenghuans in Vietnam, for example, the patron spirit of the capital To Pour ^{[27, pp.51-55] [12, pp. 321-322]}).

First of all, Thanh hoang is a benevolent spirit who does not appear as a judge of the afterlife. In any area inhabited by Vietnamese, Thanh hoang occupies a central place among the village spirits (or spirits of the city quarter). In the communal house (nh ?), a magnificent altar is dedicated to him, often with his image – a statue, a hieroglyphic inscription or a symbolic throne denoting the presence of the spirit. There is no relationship and strict hierarchy between thanh hoangs in different villages, spirits are worshipped in isolation from each other, although residents of neighboring villages who worship the same spirit can hold joint holidays in honor of him.

What was the goal pursued by the rulers of the Le dynasty, constructing the cult of Thanh Hoang?

In the XV century, the widespread spread of the Thanh Hoang cult, initiated by the court of Le, was necessary to strengthen the authority of local elites as a pillar of imperial power, since it was representatives of local noble families who performed rituals in front of the altars of the Thanh Hoang ^[3]. Thus, local elites possessed not only real (administrative) power, but also sacred. And the spirits, whose altars were moved to the communal house, began to patronize not just the locality, but all decisions that were made in the village (judicial issues, fines, taxes, distribution of lands that were in common ownership, etc.) ^{[28, pp.82-83]}. It should be noted that local elites often shifted responsibility for disasters to spirits and in critical situations could punish the statue of the spirit: lower in rank or even flogged ^[24].

Hagiographical writings about Thanh Hoang

With the inclusion of local spirits in the state pantheon, the compliance of the Thanh Hoangs with Confucian ideals became fundamental for the court. The role of thanh hoang was played by the founders of villages and generals who have merits for a particular area, as well as anthropomorphic mythical characters who "help" the village in difficult times. At the same time, zoomorphic deities, spirits of people with a dubious reputation, etc., should not have entered the communal house. The regulation of the pantheon was conducted through the approval of the biographies of people who became patrons of the area after death, or narratives about mythical characters revered by the inhabitants. Therefore, the emergence of the corpus of texts about the Thanh Hoangs was a natural consequence of the reforms carried out by the rulers of the Le dynasty.

Thanks to the efforts of local officials and court historiographers, thousands of writings about the spirits of the area have reached our time. Narratives about Thanh hoangs can be distinguished into a separate genre of Vietnamese literature due to their multiplicity (several thousand texts), as well as due to the stability of the features characteristic of these works. In addition, these texts are the most important source about the origins of the cult and the history of its development, and also serve as a source of information about certain Thanh hoangs, so we will consider this genre in more detail.

The process of creating a hagiographic texts (t?ch th?n, th?n ph, or th?n l?c), th?n ph? mines, t?ch th?nh, th?nh ph? mines) was in the court Chancellery Halangan (H?n l?m vi?n , the Chinese analogue of the Hanlin Academy). The hagiographic works about Thanh Hoang are literary works written in classical Chinese (its Vietnamese version is Hanviet – H?n Vi?t ). A prerequisite for the compilation of such an essay was the description of miracles and the supernatural. This was necessary to confirm the holiness of the spirit and its power ^{[28, p.88]}. When creating hagiographic works, Vietnamese authors used hagiographic motifs found in a variety of traditions due to their universality ^[19].

Along with the legend of the spirit and hagiographical motifs, these texts contain literary fragments, including poetic stanzas (with reminiscences from Chinese classics), as well as very often the historical context of the narrative. Under the influence of Chinese literary samples, mythical characters were historicized, and historical figures were mythologized ^{[4, p.54]}. Thus, in the texts about spirits, a historical narrative arose, which is not historical material in its pure form ("chronicle-historical narrative"), but rather represents a literary interpretation of historical events ("chronicle-artistic narrative", according to the classification of M. Yu. Ulyanov, proposed by him in relation to the ancient Chinese monument Chunqiu Zozhuan ("Zuo's commentary on "Springs and Autumns"") ^{[22, p.121]}.

At the same time, the most important feature of the texts about Thanh Hoang is the originality of this genre, since the samples borrowed from China were reinterpreted on the basis of Vietnamese folklore material. The main source of historiographers' creativity was the reports of local officials, who for centuries reported extensively on the peculiarities of the Vietsk lands, including the spirits of the area. Thus, the Vietnamese folk culture was reflected in the literary patterns perceived from China.

Texts about Thanh hoangs have a fairly clear structure. They contain information about the origin of the patron spirit, his biography and lifetime achievements (if a historical or pseudo-historical character became a spirit), as well as a description of his deeds as a spirit ^{[7, 9]}. Moreover, the emphasis is more on lifetime merits as a basis for veneration as a thanh hoang than on posthumous miraculous manifestations of the power of the spirit, which often find themselves in the center of attention in writings about the supernatural and otherworldly forces (for example, in Gan Bao, Xu Xuan, Pu Songlin and other authors ^{[5, 13, 18, 20]}).

It is possible that the structure and content of Vietnamese texts about spirits, as well as the very fact of the appearance of a slender corpus of these texts, was influenced by the acquaintance of Vietnamese with Christian teaching and its texts. It was under the rulers of the Le dynasty that the Franciscans, Dominicans and then Jesuits, who regularly went to Asia from the beginning of the era of the so-called Great geographical discoveries. Apparently, Christianity has also affected the cult itself, structuring it as an independent and fully regulated religious practice. At the same time, with the spread of Christianity during the Le Dynasty, it was the communal houses that became Christian temples, and Catholic saints replaced the Thanh hoangs on the altars. Holidays in honor of Christian saints at that time resembled the commemoration of the Thanh Hoangs ^{[15, p.185-189]}.

Judging by the catalog of the Institute of Hieroglyphics of Vietnam, containing information about almost 2 thousand texts about Thanh Hoang, most of the texts were compiled by 1572 by the court historiographer Nguyen Binh (Nguy?N b?nh ) in the form of a multi-volume work submitted for approval to Emperor Le Anh-tong (ruled in 1556-1573). This work was carried out in difficult historical circumstances: by that time, the real power of the Le court was completely lost in favor of the noble families of Mak, Chin and Nguyen, who controlled various parts of the country, while the monarchs of the Le dynasty occupied the throne nominally. Studying the texts about the Thanh Hoangs, we came to the conclusion about the serious scale of the work done by historiographers. In our opinion, the unification of the pantheon and texts about spirits significantly strengthened the sacred power of Emperor Le An-tong and his successors. Perhaps it was due to the regulation of the sacred sphere that the Le dynasty was not dethroned and continued to rule formally until the end of the XVIII century, i.e. two more centuries (the editing of hagiographic texts was carried out until the middle of the XVIII century.).

According to the catalog of the Institute of Hieroglyphics, in the XVIII century, under the last emperors of the Le dynasty, another systematization of texts about spirits was carried out. The court historiographer Nguyen Hien (Nguy?N Hi?n ) was engaged in this work for more than 20 years - in 1735-1756. He rewrote Nguyen Binh's writings and composed new narratives. Also among the authors of hagiographic texts, the scholar-encyclopedist, poet and statesman of the XVIII century Le Qui Don (L? Qu? n ) is noted. With him, the texts of this genre found their final form.

With the overthrow of the Le Dynasty in 1788, the work of court dignitaries on the narratives of the Thanh Hoangs ended. During the next Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), the editing of the Thanh Hoang narratives was carried out exclusively in the temple environment in villages and communities.

The next wave of unification of the veneration of Thanh Hoangs and texts about them dates back to the colonial period (French Indochina existed from 1887 to 1945) and is an initiative of French administrators with the participation of scientists. Despite all the negative aspects of the colonial regime and the contradictory relations between the metropolis and the so - called "natives" (indig?nes), the 1930s can be characterized as the peak of interaction between the French and the Vietnamese, which was reflected, among other things, in scientific research. The dialogue of cultures was also facilitated by the fact that in those years French field anthropology was rapidly developing, which sought to give an ethnographic description of the whole world – both French colonies and territories beyond their borders.

In 1938, the French School of the Far East conducted a large-scale collection of information about Thanh Hoang worship. Questionnaires were sent out everywhere with questions about rituals, ceremonies, rules for honoring spirits, including the requirement to present narratives about spirits. As a result, more than 13 thousand reports of village elders were compiled in Vietnamese, including narratives about spirits, presented with varying degrees of detail in Hanviet, Vietnamese and sometimes French ^[32]. The French handed over this archive to the Vietnamese (stored at the Academy of Social Sciences of Vietnam in Hanoi, Vi?n H?n l?m Khoa h?c x? h?i Vi?t Nam, address: 1, Li?U Giai). These materials became especially valuable after the loss of many original village texts (during floods, wars, as well as collectivization and anti-religious policy of the second half of the twentieth century) and serve as an important source on the history of the cult as a whole and the veneration of individual spirits ^[8].

Imperial decrees on spirits

The Imperial decrees on kanhangad ( phong s?c, s?c phong th?n , th?n s?c ) were regularly published by the rulers of Vietnam Le dynasty (1428-1788) and Nguyen (1802-1945, decrees were published before 1924). Decrees of rulers are the spirits bestowed titles, and ordered to guard a particular area of the troubles, and the inhabitants of the area were ordered to worship the spirits. Decrees on spirits were written on thick silk paper of large sizes – usually 50x110 cm or 50x120 cm . A dragon in clouds of silver color was depicted on a golden background, text and a seal were applied on top of the drawing. The text was applied in a special font: during the reign of the Le dynasty, hieroglyphs were written elongated, during the Nguyen dynasty – square ^{[23, pp.51-52]}.

In 1924, this practice also ceased, since the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai (ruled in 1924-1945), was a Catholic. Traditional culture was in crisis at that time, the cult of spirits was perceived as a relic of past centuries and gradually lost its political significance. With the cessation of state regulation of the cult, Bao Dai excluded the sacred sphere from the competence of the court, and after 20 years the Nguyen dynasty lost the throne. Currently, decrees on spirits are stored not only in the sanctuary of the communal house, but are also hung under glass on the walls of the temple premises ^[6].

 Thanh Hoang Cult in Socialist Vietnam

After the abdication of the last monarch of Vietnam in 1945, the state cult of spirits ceased to exist, since with the disappearance of the emperor and his subordinate dignitaries, rituals lost their meaning ^{[31, p.373]}. In addition, the land reform carried out by the Communists led by Ho Chi Minh after Vietnam gained independence deprived the spirits of those territories that they traditionally patronized. An anti-religious policy began in the north of Vietnam: the cult of the Thanh Hoangs was banned by the Communist Party of Vietnam and was regarded as a "superstition" (m? t?n), which can be considered as a method of fighting with the old elites for local power. The communal houses were abandoned, and during the wars with France and the USA (1945-1975) many of them were completely destroyed. In 1976, with the unification of the country, anti-religious policy spread to the southern provinces of Vietnam ^{[26, pp.23-51]}.

With the beginning of market reforms (the policy of "renewal") and the comprehensive democratization of public life in 1986. anti-religious policy has declined. In the 1990s, the Thanh Hoang cult was reinterpreted as a heritage and national treasure.  Currently, adherence to the folk religion and, in particular, the cult of the Thanh Hoang is considered by the Vietnamese as part of the national identity. Community houses are being restored as a historical heritage. Rituals have resumed in them, and they are still being repaired. They have lost their administrative role as a place of assembly and perform exclusively the role of temples of the Vietnamese folk religion, in which ceremonies in honor of spirits are held again ^[26].

In the past two decades of the XXI century, the cult of the patron spirits of communities has flourished against the background of a general religious boom and with the support of the authorities (including financial). However, the tasks of the state are changing: the preservation of heritage comes to the fore in order to assert national identity and foster patriotism. Justifications were found for changing the vector in religious policy, the key of which are references to the words of Ho Chi Minh: "In modern history, the concept of the government's attitude to religion and the non-organicity of this connection is expressed in a decree signed by President Ho Chi Minh: "The government does not interfere in religion. As for the Catholic faith, the religious relations between the Vietnamese Catholic Church and the Roman Holy See are an internal matter of religion. Freedom of religion and worship is the right of the people. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam always respects this right" [ng Nghi?m V?N 2001]. In Article 1 of Decree 223 (1955), President Ho Chi Minh states: "The Government guarantees freedom of religion and worship to its citizens. No one is allowed to violate this right. Any Vietnamese citizen has the right to believe or not to profess any religion" [S?C l?nh s? 223/SL]. Following this course, the government headed by Ho Chi Minh created a powerful bloc that united all believers and non-believers for the revolutionary struggle for national liberation" ^{[14, p.121]}.

Moreover, Ho Chi Minh himself became an object of veneration. The first attempts to place the image of Ho Chi Minh on the altar of the communal house were made back in the 1990s, but were not supported by the local authorities. Such a case was described by S. Malarni in one of the villages near Hanoi. As a result of the opposition of the authorities, the portrait of Ho Chi Minh was removed from the altar, but remained in the community house ^{[26, pp.189-207]}. According to our observations carried out during field research in 2017-2019, now in many community houses in Vietnam there are small altars with a portrait of Ho Chi Minh, whose spirit receives offerings along with Thanh hoang.

The following reasons can be identified for the change of the vector of the Communist Party of Vietnam in religious policy ^{[26, 29, 30]}:

1. The Communist Party is trying to maintain its leading role in public life, therefore it participates in all significant social processes, including leading the boom in religious life that we have seen in Vietnam for the last 30 years; this guarantees the stability of the Communist Party in a dynamic Vietnamese society;

2. through the support of religions, as well as through direct participation in rituals, the legitimization of the power of the Communist Party takes place;

3. religious doctrines and practices turn out to be relevant for the authorities in the context of the crisis of Marxist-Leninist ideology (although there is still no complete rejection of it in Vietnam);

4. The authorities care about the image of Vietnam in the eyes of the world community and especially foreign investors;

5. The cult of spirits is "fueled" by memorial practices common in Vietnam, at the same time, the secular veneration of those who died in the war is endowed with sacred meanings (and can be considered as a civil religion);

6. there is a rethinking of the role of religion in the life of a person and society, supported by the desire to search for identity, as well as "finding roots" and, as a result, pilgrimage practices;

7. The official support of the cult of the patron spirits of communities as a symbol of the Vietnamese village makes it possible to restrain the state-controlled boom of occult practices, primarily mediumistic sessions, which have become extremely popular with the support of UNESCO.

Currently, the cult of the patron spirits of communities is regulated by the Law on Religions and Beliefs (Lu?T t?n ngng, t?n gi?o S? 02/2016/HQ14 ng?y 18.11.2016), according to which the State encourages the development of "traditional" religions for Vietnam and related activities, for example, the holding of "folk festivals" having "historical, cultural and ethical significance for society" (Article 2). The restoration of community houses and temples is carried out within the framework of the policy of preserving cultural heritage (Article 13). At the same time, the People's Committee controls all aspects of the religious activities of communities (Chapter VIII), and inspectors from the people's committee participate in holidays and events (Article 62).

This law grants the State the right to lead religions throughout the country (Article 61) and instructs religious organizations to coordinate their activities and activities with the authorities. Such a regulatory framework gives the authorities freedom in the practical management of religious life in the country. As a result, there is a well-defined hierarchy of religious practices built by the state:

• the state supports "traditional beliefs" (t?n ngng) – the cult of the Thanh Hoangs and the cult of the ancestral spirits of the state (their followers often define themselves as atheists);
• supported by the state, but subject to restrictions of "religion" (t?n gi?o) – Buddhism, Catholicism (first of all, it is a ban on contacts with foreign religious organizations, including the Vatican, and their representatives, as well as the need to coordinate with the authorities candidates for spiritual hierarchs);
• occultism, mediumistic practices, and the activities of psychics are not encouraged by the authorities (they are not specifically described in the law, but they cannot be included in the concepts of "belief" and "religion");
• religious movements new to Vietnam are severely restricted (formally, they belong to "religions", but authorities at all levels are authorized to study the doctrine and make a final decision on the activities of the organization, assess compliance with the "spiritual needs" of society, the safety of activities, including for the "social order" and the state as a whole).

Thus, the Thanh Hoang cult now occupies a privileged position in Vietnam as part of the "traditional beliefs".

The number of followers of the Thanh Hoang cult is unlikely to be accurately calculated, since the Vietnamese themselves, apart from considering the cult of spirits as a religion (teaching), do not consider themselves to be of any denomination. In fact, most of the population, including Buddhists and excluding Catholics, participates in the veneration of the spirits of the area.

According to the census in Vietnam in 2019 (K?t qu? to?n city, South Central coast t?ng ?i?u tra d?n s? v? nh? ? n?m 2019), 83 million people are not followers of any religion (kh?ng theo t?n gi?o, no religion) with a total population of 96 million people (i.e., 86% of the population is non-religious). According to the report of the US government (Vietnam 2020 International Religious Freedom Report for 2020 – United States Department of State, Office of International Religious Freedom), the same 86% have no religious affiliation or practice animism, veneration of ancestral spirits, patron spirits, national heroes or local prominent personalities of the past (with a population of 98.7 million According to the estimates of the Pew Research Center (A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010), followers of folk religion (folk religionists) in Vietnam are almost 40 million people (or 45% of the total population estimated at 2010).

Conclusion

The Thanh Hoag cult is a cult of spirits revered in villages, village communities and urban areas of Vietnam as patrons of the area, protecting against disasters, epidemics, wars. Often, the founder of a settlement or handicraft of a locality acts as a patron spirit. The cult refers to animistic beliefs that are ubiquitous in the Far East and Southeast Asia. For many centuries, this cult has coexisted with Buddhism. In the XV century . under the influence of Confucianism, local spirits were included in the state pantheon; the monarchs of the Late Le dynasty (1428-1788) began to include in local pantheons the spirits of generals, associates of rulers, people with services to the state. The place of worship became a community house (dinh), the ceremonies were conducted by representatives of local elites (currently, this role is performed by residents of the older generation community).

With the arrival of European culture in colonial times, the cult of the Thanh Hoang experienced a crisis, in the 1950s and 1960s it was declared superstition and was banned during the anti-religious policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and after the unification of Vietnam (1976) it was banned in the south of the country. In the 1990s, the cult was reinterpreted as a significant religious tradition and cultural heritage. In the XXI century . It has become part of the Vietnamese national identity and is used by the Communist Party of Vietnam to legitimize its power, compensate for the crisis of Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Thus, the mechanism of regulation by the authorities of the religious sphere laid down in the history of the cult is reproduced. The spirits are again "in the service" of the state, although the content and purpose of the cult changes with the change of historical conditions.