Living with the Dead: The politics of ritual and remembrance in contemporary Vietnam

Abstract

Since the inauguration in 1986 of the reforms known as Đ ổ i M ớ i , ritual and religious practices have proliferated in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This renewed interest in religious and ritual practice has been the object of intensive scholarly interest both in Vietnam and outside, and has been interpreted in terms of revival ( ph ụ c h ồ i) , invention and politics of tradition. This collection of articles deals with this phenomenon of ritual revival in Vietnam as well but attempts to go beyond the – by now common – approaches that connect it with the emerging religious practice and political liberalisation, economic reform and the emerging market in the context of Đ ổ i M ớ i . Instead, these papers explore in more depth the ritual dimensions of life from the central state down to the individual level.