Cultural Acculturation in Mother Goddess Worship of the Kinh in the North Region and the Cham in the Central Region from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The Mother Goddess worship beliefs of the Kinh people in the North region and Cham people in Central Vietnam are influenced by both endogenous and exogenous factors. The Kinh people’s belief in the Mother Goddess worship in the North is the result of acculturation between Vietnam, India, and China, whereas the Cham people’s worship of the Mother Goddess in the Central region reflects the acculturation of Cham-India and KinhCham cultures. The legends and gods worshipped in the temples of the Kinh and Cham people illustrate cultural acculturation. This article presents a comparative cultural analysis of the existing materials and field research results to explain the cultural acculturation in the belief of the Mother Goddesses of the Kinh in the North region and the Cham in the Central region. This comparative approach helps identify the similarities and differences in the acculturation process of Mother Goddess worship beliefs between these two ethnic groups in distinct cultural regions.