Dien Than - Virtual Space
Timeline: 2024
Location: London
In this religion, the universe is believed to devided into three different realms including heaven, water, and forest. These three different realms are ruled by Mother Goddess Of Heaven. ‘Dien Than' is devided into different ‘realms’, so it will give the audience a better idea to navigate themselves among different segments.
Dating to the 16th Century, Hau Dong centers on a belief in the Mother Goddess that the universe is divided into three realms - forest, heaven, and water. Each realm is ruled by a different Mother Goddess. Under the three highest Mother Goddess, there are many other Deities and Saints who are believed to support the Mother Goddess to govern the three realms and give blessings to the humans. During a ceremony of a Hau Dong ritual, the priests would pray before the central altar, asking the Goddess, Saints, and Deities to possess them, then after that, he or she would mimic the Goddess by dressing and acting like them (sometimes the incarnation performance includes flag dance, sword dance or giving money, fruits, sweets... to the worshippers). Each performance is accompanied by a different song played by a trained singer and musician. There are 37 incarnation performances for different Goddesses, Saints, and Deities in total. The worshippers believe that this is a chance for them to communicate with the Goddesses spirit through the priest’s incarnation, and then they would be blessed with health, hope, happiness, and good luck. The rituals are usually held in temples, pagodas, or other sacred locations.
This project is an effort to revive an ancient Vietnamese religious ceremony called “Hau Dong" and bring it closer to the Vietnamese young generation, since it is claimed to be “a live museum" of Vietnamese cultural heritage.