Vietnamese Cult of the Tutelary Spirits (Thành Hoàng) and its Place in the Vietnamese Folk Religion

This article discusses the cult of the tutelary spirits (thành hoàng) in Vietnam. These are spirits venerated as patrons of villages, rural communities and urban areas in Vietnam are expected to protect area against calamities, disasters, epidemics, wars, etc. These are mythical, historical and pseudo-historical characters who have merits to the area and its inhabitants. The veneration of them is rooted in the traditional culture. It is an integral part of the Vietnamese folk religion (tín ngưỡng dân gian Việt Nam). The spirits of the area are included in the pantheon of numerous deities and spirits (thần) worshipped by the Vietnamese nowadays despite the anti-religious policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam (in the second half of the 20th century). The article describes the main features of the Vietnamese folk religion, which is the context in which the thành hoàng cult still exists, describes the role of the cult and its connections with other phenomena of the Vietnamese folk religion. Our comparison of the thành hoàng cult with similar cults of neighboring peoples allows to identify the influence of alien religious and philosophical systems - Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, ideologies of the 20th century. This comparative analysis allows to reconstruct the origins and milestones in the development of the thành hoàng cult. The cult has not previously been studied by Soviet and Russian orientalists. I propose the first systematic description of the cult, its place in the Vietnamese religious system and its origins.