MUSIC IN THE BUDDHIST CEREMONY OF GIVING ALMS TO THE DEAD OF THE VIET PEOPLE COMPARISON OF CASES OF HUE AND HO CHI MINH CITY

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES PHAM HONG LINH MUSIC IN THE BUDDHIST CEREMONY OF GIVING ALMS TO THE DEAD OF THE VIET PEOPLE - COMPARISON OF CASE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

PHAM HONG LINH

MUSIC IN THE BUDDHIST CEREMONY OF GIVING ALMS TO THE DEAD OF THE VIET PEOPLE -

COMPARISON OF CASES OF HUE AND HO CHI MINH CITY

MAJOR CODE : 62 22 01 30

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS

IN CULTURAL STUDIES

HANOI - 2016

The work is completed in:

Department of Cultural Studies Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

Scientific Supervisor Associate Prof Dr Nguyen Thuy Loan

Reviewer 1: Associate Prof Dr Bui Huyen Nga

Reviewer 2: Associate Prof Dr Pham Trong Toan

Reviewer 3: Associate Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Hung

The thesis will be uphold under the criticism of Graduate Academy’s Thesis Censor Council at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, No 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, Ha Noi at date month year 2016

The thesis is available at:

- Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

- Vietnam National Library

INTRODUCTION

1 Reason of choosing the thesis topic

Buddhism is a kind of religious culture that has extensive influence in the spiritual life of some ethnic groups in Vietnam Buddhist music is an indispensable component in the rituals of Buddhism That is one of the objects of cultural studies in general and of Buddhist culture in particular

In my process of researching into Hue Buddhist music, I noticed that there had been a mutual relation between Buddhism in Hue and that in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) through exchange monks and practice documents

to give alms to the death in two regions That relationship suggested me some questions related to Buddhism in general and Buddhist music in particular in two regions that were far from each other

They urged me to learn about the similarities and differences in Buddhist music between these two regions This was one of aspects performing regional culture- an area that had been attracting the attention of some researchers

We just focused on researching the music played in the Buddhish ceremony of giving alms to the dead (TDCT) in Hue and HCMC for some reasons: Firstly, in the ritual system of Mahayana Buddhism, TDCT was one of ceremonies that had the largest scale, frequent usage and extensive influence on cultural and spiritual life of the Viet community throughout the country Secondly, in comparison to other types of ceremonial music of Mahayana Buddhism, the music in TDCT ceremony could make the most use of Buddhist musical elements and was considered as a typical musical phenomenon of Vietnamese Buddhism Thirdly, Hue and HCMC were the cultural centers of both the Central and the South, where demonstrated the most cultural characteristics of each region

Therefore, “Music in the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the

Death of the Viet people - Comparison of cases of Hue and Ho Chi Minh city” was chosen to the thesis topic

2 Purposes and tasks of the thesis

2.1 Reseach purposes

- In-depth research on concrete expressions of the similarities, differences and characteristics of the music played in the TDCT ceremony

of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC

- Research contribution to clarify some aspects related to domestic cultural regions through a specific phenomenon, that was the music played

in TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in the two cities

- Research and conclusion on some theoretical issues of culture and religious culture that were related to the similarities, differences and characteristics of the music played in TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC

2.2 Research tasks

Comprehensive surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted on people who had profound knowledge about TDCT ceremony of the Viet people and its cultural aspects, especially its music, in Hue and HCMC Collected data from the field, including audio materials, photographs, interviews and written documents related to the research subject, was handled and analyzed The characteristics of the natural environment, society and history, as well as interior factors in each region were analyzed, compared and considered their impacts on the music played in TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in two places

3 Objects and scopes of the study

3.1 Research objects

Reseach object of the thesis is the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people and its cultural aspects

3.2 Research scopes

- In space: The thesis focuses on the study of the Vietnamese TDCT

ceremony held in Hue and HCMC On both places, we conducted survey on TDCT ceremony at various locations and performed by the different groups of monks and artists The survey conducted in different locations and groups would give the thesis author an overview of the actual musical performance in

a TDCT ceremony and thereby the author would collect a source of more diverse, completed and accurate information

- In time: We based on the fieldwork resources collected from actual

musical performances of the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC from 1990 to 2014

4 Research methods

- Method of field research and data collection from the field: We paid

special attention to this method because it was the main method to collect data for the thesis In the field, we carried out some tasks such as: attending, observing, taking notes, making interviews and retrospective interviews, filming, recording, doing photography

- Method of doing researches and data processing: the methods such

as analysis, synthesis, statistics, comparison, systematization and summarizing would be used in primary and secondary data processing in order to draw out some scientific assessments and assumptions to be used

as the rationale in the thesis chapters

- Method of interdisciplinary research: We use the method of

interdisciplinary research between cultural studies and musicology to approach and solve the problems of musicology and cultural studies related to research objects, particularly those identified in chapter 2 and chapter 3 of the thesis

5 Thesis contributions

5.1 In theory

This is the first overall and in-depth research on the music played in

the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the Death (Trai đàn chẩn tế

ceremony) in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City under the cutural and musical perspectives; Present the concrete expressions of the similarity and difference of the music played in the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the Death of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City, thus indicate the diversity of Buddhist music of the Viet people in Vietnam; Clearify the prominent features of music in the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the Death of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City; Indicate the cultural elements that effect the similarity and difference of music in the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the Death of the Viet people in the two regions; Contribute some aspects relating to the theory of regional culture and supplements the arguments for the diversity of regional cultural identity and the elements creating the difference of the cultural regions through a concrete cultural phenomenon, namely the music played in the Buddhist Ceremony of Giving Alms to the Death of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City; Contribute more arguments for the theory of the interactive relations among court, folk and Buddhist cultures that are demonstrated not only in music but also in the other fields of culture

5.2 In practice

Bringing about more profound understanding on a music culture which

is still unpopular; Contributing to the sciences of musicology, cultural studies and religious studies the new documents and new research outputs on this topic; This thesis will be a source of reference to the research and teaching in

musicology, cultural studies and religious studies

Chapter 3: Some theoretical issues learnt from the music played in the

ceremony of giving alms to the dead of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF THE ASPECTS RELATED TO RESEARCH

OBJECTS OF THE THESIS 1.1 The Buddhist ceremony of giving alms to the dead in Vietnam 1.1.1 Overview of the Buddhist ceremony of giving alms to the dead

1.1.1.1 The name

TDCT is the name of one of the biggest ceremonies of giving alms in Mahayana Buddhism That name is widely popular in the spiritual life of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC Depending on each region, this ceremony has different names TDCT is the common name used by the monks and Buddhists in the South of Vietnam from Hue In Northern Vietnam, this ceremony is often called , someti

1.1.1.2 Purpose and meaning

TDCT is a ceremony in which people make a large boat holding vegetarian food and water for thousands of hungry demons and ghosts which have neither support nor worship, both on land and underwater The humanistic meaning of the TDCT ceremony is to raise the kindness and to remind that people should have love to not only their family and relatives but also to the dead, the ghosts that have no place to rely on In TDCT ceremony, moral values of gratitude, piety toward parents, grandparents and ancestors are also reminded

1.1.1.3 Origin

The TDCT ceremony was originated from India associated with the story of Amanda’s meeting with Diem Khau demon In Vietnam, although the original time of this ceremony is unknown, nowadays, in Mahayana Buddhism temples in Hue and HCMC, monks still maintain the ritual of

and beverage into demon ones) in the afternoon rituals In China, this ceremony is known by sev

is the most popular name to Vietnam Based on the name and some other aspects such as Buddhist tools, singing types, song names which are used in the ceremony, it can be concluded that the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Vietnam has an intimate relationship with that in China

1.1.1.4 The process of appearance, expansion and development

Historically, the TDCT ceremony was originated from India, transmitted to China and then imported into Vietnam In Vietnam, as the arrival of the Viet people in each region was different, the formation and

development of the TDCT ceremony in each region were different too In Northern part, the TDCT ceremony was popular in Thang Long Citadel from the Tran Dynasty In Middle part - Hue, along with the historical process of moving to the South of the Viet people, the TDCT ceremony had appeared in these areas It was not until Gia Long dynasty (1802 - 1820), the TDCT ceremony in Hue had become a complete ritual, taken place in large scale and officially become a national ceremony organized by the court in some national temples In HCMC, according to many sources, Buddhism and Buddhist rituals of the Viet appeared early in the Southern part Today, in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in HCMC, the

material

1.1.1.5 Process of implementation

In the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and H

(providing alms to the dead) and a system

of compulsory rituals perf

, “nghi

1.1.1.6 General features

a) In scale: Depending on the environments and circumstances, the

ceremony of giving alms to the dead is held in a

(small ceremony), “Trung khoa” (normal cere

(big ceremony) b) In time: The TDCT ceremony can be

organized at any time of the year depending on the circumstances of each

temple and the need of Buddhist families c) In location: The TDCT

ceremony can be held at home, church, cemetery, temple yard or a large

airy and clean space d) In ceremony participants: When implementing the

TDCT ceremony, participants are included: one to three senior monks to witness the boat of vegetarian food and beverage, a monk giving mantras; a monk committee including six to eight monks; Buddhists; a music

ceremonial team and a monk to arrange and hosting the ceremony đ) In

venue decoration: means the ve

of TDCT ceremony is designed in largest scale in comparison to other application rituals of Mahayana Buddhism “

is the place to worshi

is the surrounding space of the Buddhist shrine so its scale is installed in

the model of Mandala Buddhist Tantric

1.1.2 Overview of the music played in the Buddhist ceremony of giving alms to the dead

Wherever the TDCT ceremony takes place in Vietnam, there are the same basic musical features such as Buddhist tools, musical instruments, singing

types and song melodies, instrumental tunes In Buddhist tools: In the musical

performance of the TDCT ceremony, Buddhist tools have musical characteristics - musical instruments used by Buddhist monks The compulsory

(flapper),

In musical instruments: Depending on different areas,

the main instruments include binary, trumpet, drum and each region may have

different musical instruments In singing types: In TDCT ceremony of the Viet

people in Hue and HCMC, there are 12 singing types: “bạch”, “đọc” (reading),

“hô” (shouting), “ngâm”, “niệm”, “nói” (speaking), “tán”, “thán”, “thỉnh”,

“tụng” (chanting), “vịnh xướng” In instrumental melodies and tunes: In the

ceremony, in addition to singing types performed by the monks, there are also other supports of instrumental melodies and tunes performed by artists At each location, the application methods of instrumental melodies and tunes in the ceremony are very different

1.2 Research process of the music played in the Buddisht ceremony of giving alms to the dead of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City

1.2.1 Phasing of the research period

1.2.1.2 Period of 1982 - 1999

In this period, the number of articles and works on Buddhist ceremonial music, music history containing some elements related to the music played in

TDCT ceremony of the Viet people had increased in comparison to the

previous period In particular, there were two first monographs written about

the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Gia Dinh - Saigon, which had

mentioned some musical aspects used in this ceremony

The materials on Buddhism, music history and Buddhist music history

contained some elements related to the music played in the TDCT ceremony of

the Viet people The monograph on the TDCT ceremony was “Trai đ

Gia Dinh – Saigon” published by Huynh Ngoc Trang and Nguyen Van Sanh,

mentioning about musical instruments, musical tools and singing types in the

TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in HCMC However, the above mentioned

aspects just covered in description

1.2.1.3 Period of 2000 - 2014

This period saw the appearance of several long-term projects,

including three works on theTDCT ceremony in Hue and the South, two

works on Buddhist music in Hue

Overall, this period began to attract the attention of researchers not

only in the rituals and ceremonial music of the TDCT ceremony of the Viet

people but also in the Buddhist music in general The authors researched the

objects in cultural practice environment with multiple relationships and

interactions among them This was shown most clearly in two monographs

on Hue LNPG For instance, in the monograph of Pham Hong Linh, the

authors had clarified many Hue Buddhist music problems from the

perspectives of musicology and cultural studies, such as Buddhist tools and

musical instruments, scales and instrumental music, song systems,

melodies, method of coordination among Buddhist tools, musical

instruments and singing types, the characteristics of Hue Buddhist

ceremonial music and the role of Hue Buddhist ceremonial music in Hue

traditional culture and music

1.2.2 Mentioned issues

1.2.2.1 Aspects in the field of cultural studies

These aspects relate to Buddhist music in general, and closely relate to

the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in two places

These include: Origin of Buddhist ceremonial music; Buddhish conception

of music; Meaning and usage of Buddish tools; Rituals in Buddhist

oratorio; Location, time and participants of the oratorio; Purposes and

characteristics of the oratorio; Relationship between the ceremony and the

music; Relationship between Buddhist ceremonial music and traditional music; Role of Buddhist ceremonial music in the cultural and spiritual life

1.2.2.2 Aspects in the field of musical studies

There are eight mentioned aspects They are: singing types and song systems, tunes; Scales - tunes; Buddhish tools, musical instruments; Structure of the orchestra; Coordinating methods between Buddhish and singing types; Coordinating methods between musical instruments and vocal music; Coordinating methods between Buddhish tools, musical instruments and vocal music; Applications of instrumental music in the ceremonial performance Among the above mentioned aspects, there are some aspects directly related to the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC They are: singing types, instrumental music, tunes, Buddhist tools, musical instruments and applications in instrumental music in the ceremonial performance

Overall, the findings of previous authors have presented a comprehensive understanding about the Buddhist music in Vietnam and contained more or less information related to the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC These are important contributions in term of both references and academics

1.2.3.2 Disunited issues

Some aspects have not been united among authors, such as: the classification of singing types in the LNPG in Vietnam; the classification of singing type of the LNPG in Hue; the classification of songs in the South

1.2.3.3 Inaccurate points

Some statements are not accurat

(songs); definitions of (song types); instrumental music played in the ceremony; method of coordination between instrumental music and vocal music; cases of using the orchestra and environments of using instrumental music

The remaining issues mentioned in the three above groups are the

aspects to be studied and addressed in this thesis In addition, the issues will

also be addressed in the chapters of the thesis, such as the music played in

the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City; the

similarities, differences and characteristics of the music played in the TDCT

celebration of the Viet people in two places; the cultural factors impacting

the similarities and differences between the music played in the TDCT

ceremony of the Viet in two places as indicated in the thesis purpose

1.2.4 Rationale

To achieve the thesis purposes, in addition to inheriting the findings

from multiple sources of other authors, making use of the experience and

knowledge accumulated from fieldwork, we also consider the views of

culture and musicology as the rationale for the relevant sections of the

thesis as following:

1.2.4.1 For the theoretical issues of culture and regional culture

To address theoretical issues of culture and regional culture related to the

similarities, differences and characteristics of the music played in the TDCT

ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC, we conducted researches and

surveys under the scientific guidance of the scientific supervisor, specifically

” Besides, we also refered to the work

” of Prof Ngo Duc Thinh, “

” of Ly Tung Hieu and “

-” of the National Research Center

1.2.4.2 For the interactive relationship between cultural currents

The view of author Nguyen Thuy Loan in the article “

” (Religious belief and traditional music) was also a direction for us to learn about the interactive relationship between

Buddhism music and court - traditional music On that basis, we would

learn more about the interactive relationship among the court culture, folk

culture and Buddhist culture

1.2.4.3 For aspects of musicology

Referring to aspects of musicology in this thesis, we use the following

terminologies and concepts: “ ” (songs), “ ” (tunes), “ ”

(variants), “ ” (traditional musical instruments), “

” (ethnic musical instruments), “ ” (court music),

“ ” (scholarly music), “â ” (folk music),

“ ” (traditional music) provided by Assoc Pro Dr

identify and classify the phenomena related to the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in the two research places

Minor conclusion of Chapter 1

The TDCT ceremony in Vietnam was originated from India Over time, this ceremony was ingrained in the cultural and spiritual life of the Viet population in every part From 1990 to 2014, the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC took place regularly in growing scales to meet the growing demand of the cultural and spiritual life of the majority of Buddhists Comparing to other music played in Mahayana Buddhism ceremonies, the music played in the TDCT ceremony has the largest number of singing types, songs, tunes, Buddhist music tools and it also represents the combination of national music and Buddhist music

Up to now, there has not been an in-depth work, article studied about the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC in aspect of both musicology and cultural studies Many projects, researches studied about the TDCT ceremony and Buddhist music in general, including some parts indirectly or directly related to the music played in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC; however, they only covered the description of singing types, Buddhist tools and musical instruments In addition to these contributions, the work of previous authors still had some remaining issues

CHAPTER 2 SIMILARITIES, DIFFERENCES AND CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE MUSIC PLAYED IN THE CEREMONY OF GIVING ALMS

TO THE DEAD OF THE VIET PEOPLE IN HUE AND HO CHI

MINH CITY 2.1 Similarities

2.1.1 Similarities in concept and purpose of using music

In practice, the ceremony in both Hue and HCMC must adhere to the provisions of the LNPG in general and that is the reason why the concept and purpose of the music played in the TDCT ceremony of two places remains the same

2.1.2 Similarities in the majority of Buddhist tools, musical instruments and their functions

2.1.2.1 Similarities in type and function of Buddhist tools

In the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in both localities, Buddhist musical tools used by monks include: “đại hồng chung, chuông gia trì, chuông báo chúng, đại cổ, trống kinh, tang, linh, mõ, bảng, khánh, phủ xích” In practice, these Buddhist tools are considered as musical instruments Depending on the content of each ritual step, each Buddhist tool can be used alone or in combination with others following certain standards

2.1.2.2 Major similarities in type and function of musical instruments

Overall, the majority of musical instruments used in the TDCT ceremony

of the Viet people in Hue and HCMC shares some similarities They are: “kèn, nhị, nhị hồ, trống kinh, trống chiến, trống bản, chập chõa, mõ thuộc các họ nhạc khí dây, hơi, màng rung” and “họ thân vang” During the ceremony in both localities, the aforementioned musical instruments have the functions

of supporting ceremony rhythms, signaling transitions, providing background music when the monks move, worshiping, bridging the transition of singing types and providing backing music for vocal music in forms of “đệm phức điệu tương phản” (contrasting backing music) and

“đệm tòng”

2.1.3 Similarities in some aspects related to vocal music and instrumental music

2.1.3.1 Similarities in vocal music

a) Similarities in numbers and names of the main singing type

b) Similarities in name and content of the songs:

2.1.3.2 Similarities in the minor instrumental music

Among the songs used in the TDCT ceremony of the Viet people in

two localities, there are 6 songs with the same name They are: “Nam ai,

Ngũ đối hạ, Bình bán, Lưu thủy, Kim tiền, Xuân nữ”, in which “Lưu thủy, Kim tiền” and “Xuân nữ” - with the same name and similar melodies

2.1.4 Similarities in order and usage of the music in the ceremony

2.1.4.1 Similarities in song order

Each step in the ceremony is illustrated by the content of a specific song During the ceremony, the number of steps is relative to the number of songs with corresponding contents As both localities have the same rituals, the order of songs used in the TDCT ceremony in two localities is exactly alike