The Tradition of Ancestor Worship in Vietnamese Families from the Beginning to the Present Day and Some Current Problems

Abstract

The tradition of ancestor worship is one of elements that create culture of families, clans and the entire nation in general, so it involves many issues. According to a study conducted by the ethnologist Dang Nghiem Van (2002), this type of belief is understood in both broad and narrow sense. In broad sense, it is the worship of the people having contribution to their village, local community and nation. In a narrow sense, it refers to the worship of the deceased blood relatives to meet the functions of reflecting and strengthening of clans. In the same way, the authors Cao Van Thanh and Trinh Thi Thuy (2006) divide this custom into 4 levels: (1) Worship Hung king as a national deity (2) worship founders of a craft or people who discovered new lands to establish villages and fought foreign enemies; (3) worship ancestors of clans; (4) worship deceased family members