Performing the Divine : Mediums, Markets and Modernity in Urban Vietnam

Vietnam has experienced not only market reform and economic growth but also a related, symbiotic revival of popular religion. So it is no surprise that popular beliefs and rituals once attacked as wasteful and superstitious have again become a conspicuous feature of contemporary life. A blossoming of spirit mediumship has been part of this revival, not least that involving ritual possession by the deities of the Four Palace Pantheon, which this study brings to life with a deft handling of complex theory, historical research, ethnographic material and analysis.