Thành hoàng (
Chữ Hán
Chữ Hán (𡨸漢, literally "Chinese characters", ), Chữ Nho (𡨸儒, literally "Confucian characters", ) or Hán tự (漢字, ), is the Vietnamese term for Chinese characters, used to write Văn ngôn (which is a form of Classical Chinese ...
: 城隍) or Thần hoàng (神隍), Thần Thành hoàng (神城隍) refers to the gods that is enshrined in each village's
communal temple in Vietnam. The gods is believed to guard the village against disasters and bring it fortune.
Etymology
' is a
Sino-Vietnamese word, literally referring to the city wall and the moat that surrounds it. It is also the Vietnamese pronunciation of Chinese ''Chénghuáng'' (or
City God), which was adopted from
Taoism.
Origin
No later than
Đinh dynasty, each locality started to worship the mountain and river gods that ruled over a domain which encompassed their village. Later on, the government decreed the deification of late national heroes, righteous officials and loyal subjects, and specific localities were chosen to exalt these gods. Gradually other common folks took up the practice and worshipped their own gods to be blessed with protection and fortune.
Ranking
Generally each village worships only one Thành Hoàng; however, it is not rare to see two or more gods enshrined simultaneously at a village. They are known collectively as Gods of Fortune (''Phúc Thần'').
[Phan Kế Bính, Vietnamese Customs, Ho Chi Minh City Publishing house, 1990 edition, p.78-79.]
Even these Gods were divided in three ranks
* High ranking gods: famous mountain and river gods, immortals such as
Thánh Gióng
Thánh Gióng ( Chữ Nôm: 聖揀, ''Saint Gióng''), also known as Phù Đổng Thiên Vương ( Chữ Hán: 扶董天王, ''Heavenly Prince of Phù Đổng''), Sóc Thiên Vương (Chữ Hán: 朔天王), Ông Gióng (''sir Gióng'') and Xung ...
,
Chử Đồng Tử
Chử Đồng Tử (Chữ Hán: 褚童子) is the name of a famous Vietnamese divine being, one of " The Four Immortals" "Tứ bất tử" in traditional Vietnamese mythology. In legend Chử Đồng Tử appeared on a yellow or golden dragon to Tr ...
whose backgrounds are mysterious and miraculous, and unusually brilliant men such as
Lý Thường Kiệt and
Trần Hưng Đạo.
* Middle ranking gods: whose accomplishments are ambiguous but have been worshiped for a long time
* Lower ranking gods: whose background and accomplishments are ambiguous but are known to bless mortals
Apart from the ranked gods acknowledged by the government, there were villages that worshiped "demons" and "tainted gods" such as the Beggar God, the Serpent God, the God of Lecherousness, and others.
Notes
See also
*
Cheng Huang Gong
*
Tu Di Gong
*
Seonangsin
Seonangshin (Hangul: 서낭신) is the patron deity of the village in Korean mythology. As the goddess of villages, boundaries, and war, the deity is one of the better-known Korean deities.
Worship
The goddess was believed to embody the Seo ...
*
Dōsojin
References
*Phan Kế Bính, Vietnamese Customs, Ho Chi Minh City Publishing house, 1990 edition.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thanh Hoang
Vietnamese folk religion
Vietnamese mythology
Tutelary deities
Vietnamese deities
Vietnamese gods