A journey into the world of the worshippers and the cult of Tran Hung Dao becomes an original and stimulating introduction to contemporary Vietnamese society

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.