Syncretism in the worship of royal female deities in the Red river delta: An interdisciplinary approach from area studies

Abstract

The worship of royal female deities in the Red river delta is a distinctive phenomenon that exemplifies the interplay and creativity within Vietnamese cultural life. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach from area studies and combining fieldwork with textual analysis, this article examines the process of syncretism between the worship of royal female deities and external religious-philosophical systems such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. At the same time, it highlights the unique fusion of courtly and popular elements within this belief system. Using evidence from worship spaces, festival rituals, local narratives, and authorised texts (including decrees(sắc phong), deity chronicle (thần tích), inscriptions, and official titles in historiography (chính sử), the study shows how dynastic authority is translated into local ritual legitimacy through titles, moralised biography, and the organisation of sacred space. The findings demonstrate that the worship of royal female deities not only honours the special role and status of women in Vietnamese history but also vividly reflects the flexibility, inclusiveness, and creativity of Vietnamese culture in absorbing and transforming external influences. In doing so, the investigation demonstrates the enduring vitality of Vietnamese culture within the broader regional context.