The Ritual Crafting of Social Spacetime in a Muong Community (North Vietnam)

In Vietnam, as in other parts of Asia, rural communities establish ritual markers that delineate the social spacetime in which communal existence takes shape and meaning. These ritual markers evolve according to the socio-economic, political, and ecological challenges that said communities confront. The material for this study comes from a local community of North Vietnam that belongs to the Muong ethnic group. We focus on the various spatial levels—household, village, ethnic territory, and the nation as a whole—according to which this community fashions its sense of identity, asserts its ethos, and delimitates its frontiers. We also examine how these levels take varying importance at different moments in time. Moreover, we show how specific rituals condensate different strata of meaning into one unifying event. Finally, we attempt to unearth the various ways through which an Asian rural community constructs and asserts its agency by activating the ritual resources at its disposal while respecting the constraints that weigh upon their mobilization.