Hero and Deity

Hero and Deity is an eloquent and fascinating journey into the world of the worshippers and the cult of Tran Hung Dao. The legendary fourteenth-century hero and savior of Vietnam has evolved as a key symbol of the nation as well as an efficacious deity in its spiritual pantheon. Today he is a ubiquitous, multivalent symbol of the contradictions of contemporary Vietnamese society. Intertwined with this rich ethnography is a work of self-interrogation and engagement with the author's complex and changing "home," and with the diverse women and men -- intellectuals, Communist Party cadres, and market sellers alike -- whose lives are centered to a significant degree around the cult of Saint Tran and other deities. The book is a contribution to the ethnography of Vietnam, cultural studies, and Asian studies and also an original and stimulating introduction to contemporary Vietnamese society. Pham Quynh Phuong is a researcher at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences.

Pham Quynh Phuong is a researcher at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, and currently is a postdoctoral fellow at the Southeast Asian Studies Program, National University of Singapore.