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From: Edyta Roszko
Date: Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 3:10 AM
Dear All,
I am currently writing my PhD thesis on popular religion and the various
intersections between religion and politics in the coastal province of
Quảng Ngãi, Central Vietnam.
I wonder whether someone could suggest me any literature referring to
political reforms of village administration in the South/Central Vietnam
by 1975 and after. I am particularly interested in when a position of
‘lý trưởng’ (village headman) was abolished in the South/ Central
Vietnam. My informants on Lý Sơn Island and in Sa Huỳnh (Quảng Ngãi
province) stated that it happened in the early 1960s but in reality the
position together with the Council of Notables (vị ngũ hương) survived
until 1975 and then was replaced with the Ủy Ban Nhân Dân and the chủ
tịch xã. They pointed out that by 1975 lý trưởng and registrar (hương
bộ) as the two assistants of a ritual master of the village (chủ tế)
had taken part in the đình ceremonies. What they meant was that the
authority of these officials had to be authorized in the front of the
đình’s divinity. I wonder whether it was a common pattern in the South
and Central Vietnam? As far as I know the đình in the South was split
into the ceremonial function (Ban Khánh tiết) and secular
administrative activities (Quan Bang Tá). I understood that the
notables who were responsible for performing rites in the đình were not
allowed to take part in any administrative affairs of the village, which
were subsequently reserved for a committee of officials.
I would be very grateful if you could help me to clarify this matter or
refer me to the literature that could give me more clear picture of the
village politics in the South/Central Vietnam.
Many thanks,
Edyta Roszko
Max-Planck for Social Anthropology in Halle/Center for Asia and Pacific
Area Studies in Taipei, Academia Sinica
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From: David Marr
Date: Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Quang Ngai and vicinity underwent a particularly sweeping revolutionary experience in 1945-54, during which ly truong were removed. Lien khu 5 successfully resisted French return, but as a consequence of the 1954 Geneva Accords thousands of DRV adherants went north, and then it was time for the RVN to crack down on those remaining. All these events must have had a substantial effect on religious attitudes and behavior. Try to locate individuals in their 70s and 80s willing to talk about it.
David Marr
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From: Kleinen, John
Date: Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 11:31 PM
For my Ph.D I researched the region and the province from French archival perspectives. I can send you the references, but the thesis (1988) is in Dutch. A visit in 1979 revealed what David is suggesting: the memory of a painful clash between DRV and RVN adhearents was felt until that day. There are some local party histories. Jonathan Schell has reported about the war events.
John
John Kleinen Ph.D
Associate Professor
University of Amsterdam Department of Anthropology and Sociology
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