Cultural exchange and assimilation through the worship of Thiên Hậu in southwest Vietnam

Abstract

More than 30 years after the implementation of the 1986 Vietnamese economic renewal and integration policy known as Đổi Mới, the Hoa community has been undergoing a strong ideological and cultural change. The Hoa community is comprised of Vietnamese people of full or partial Chinese origin living in general in the south of Vietnam, and in particular in the southwest region. Accordingly, the axiom "Where one was born is one's homeland” has become a motto among its many generations. This conviction serves as motivation for the Hoa community to adapt itself and use its folkloric capital as a means of ethnic exchange and acculturation. The worship of Thiên Hậu is a prime example.