Votive horse. Paper, bamboo. Kinh people; Tien Tuong Truc village, Hanoi; 2001 Craig Chesek / AMNH

The Len Dong "going into trance" ritual concerns health and prosperity in this world rather than evil in the world beyond. Spirits who possess the medium’s body are asked to provide good health and auspicious enterprises. Performed all over Vietnam, Len Dong rituals are popular with the ethnic majority Kinh people, especially those who are eager for success in the new market economy.

An element of the folk religion known as the Mother Goddesses, a Len Dong ritual can draw on more than 60 spirits. Only a few are invoked during any given ritual, though, and some spirits never possess a medium. Those who do appear will interact with the hosts of the ritual and enjoy the songs and offerings they provide.

Invoking the Spirits
During Len Dong rituals, mediums put on the costume of the spirit they are invoking. The garments reflect the classic court dress of premodern times: kings, queens, courtiers and pages might have worn them. The pages wear old-fashioned children’s clothing. No longer worn in daily life, these styles—and the textile crafts required to make them—survive to clothe the gods.