OI VIETNAM 27
Trance Formation
I repent.
I bow to thee, deities of Heave and of the Forests,
We are here at this temple today to offer thee these thrones.
Descend to this temple,
Witness our souls.
Hear our prayers and forgive us for the
Humble offerings.
We are thine.
These offering are thine.
Please bless us with prosperity, wisdom and grace.
I pray to thee.
Please let us live in harmony and unity.
I pray to thee.
Reply
Witness thy souls and prayers, I do!
I thank thee for being there.
I thank thee for these offerings.
Do not fear anything.
I have come from afar.
Where I control the way things go.
Having consulted the deities, I say
I bless thee with prosperity, wisdom and grace.
I bless thy family too.
I bless thee with success in what you do.
I bless that thee are loved, I bless thee with wealth.
I bless thee.
American photographer Tewfic El-Sawy spent over two
years documenting Hau Dong—an age-old spirit possession
ritual that involves supplication, spirit incarnation,
elaborate costumes and singing. The following articles— The
Mother of All Things, The Spirit Medium and The Singer—
are edited excerpts from his book Hầu Đồng: The Spirit
Mediums of Viet Nam.
Tewfic El-Sawy (www.telsawy.com) is a New York City-based
freelance photographer who specializes in documenting
endangered cultures, religious rituals and traditional life-
ways of Asia, Latin America and Africa. Known as “The
Travel Photographer,” he also leads photography workshops
and expeditions, publishes photo books and teaches
multimedia and documentary photography. He is one of the
original faculty members of the Foundry Photojournalism
Workshop. He is also the founder of the popular The Travel
Photographer blog (thetravelphotographer.exposure.co).
He has produced and published a number of photo books
such as Bali: Island of Gods, DARSHAN but it is his latest,
Hầu Đồng: The Spirit Mediums of Viet Nam that he is most
proud of. This 170-page photo book is an exhaustive
documentary on trances, possession, spirit worship, fortune
telling and clairvoyance, fashion and pageantry, sacred music
and hymns, faith, belief, superstition, the supernatural,
nationalism and history that constitute Vietnam’s indigenous
Dao Mau religion and its rituals. Tewfic is the only non-
Vietnamese photographer to have documented this ancient
but vibrant tradition in such depth.
Hầu Đồng: The Spirit Mediums of Vietnam is available at
these locations:
Blurb Bookstore:
http://www.blurb.com/b/7257989-h-u-ng-the-spirit-mediums-of-
vietnam
Amazon Bookstore:
http://www.amazon.com/x1EA7-x110-x1ED3-Mediums-Vietnam/
dp/1367352347