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[This
paper is translated from french by Duy Tâm.]
Rethinking the Status of Vietnamese Women
in Folklore and oral History
Conclusion
This
work of clearance is yet at its locating stage, from now on we may
start to form some ideas. We can but agree with Phan Khoi who argues
that Vietnamese society has in effect gone through a matrilineal
system, lasting at least till the Trung sisters, before having
adopted the patriarchy. Relying on variegated material as well as
implacable demonstrations, he rightly objects to his antagonists:
«Where were the men then - if one assumes that Vietnam was of a
patriarchal type - since it had befallen on women to conduct the
rebellion?» .
Thus, this hypothesis calls into question the myth of the Hung kings
who, according to official historiography, succeeded to the throne
from father to son during eighteen generations and over a period of
two millennia. This father-to-son dynastic rule is in utter
contradiction with a matrineal succession, and in that respect the
existence of the Hung kings is indefensible. That which does not
entail the non-existence of the Vietnamese people as such, but means
that their rulers were not those whom they pretend to have had. But
either in the case of the legendary couple of the Dragon and the
Fairy or of the Hung dynasty, both instances seem only to have
appeared for the very first time in the XVth century with the
compilation and revision of the
Dai Viet su ky toan thu by Ngo
Sy Lien. It is most likely that after the independence snatched from
the hands of the Ming, the author with the Court's encouragement,
should have inserted those episodes in order to forge and instil a
stronger sense of national identity. The fact that the Trung sisters
should have borne the same patronym «Hung» and that their
kingdom was named «Hung Lac», answer a similar
nationalistic rationale. A strong desire to assimilate both clans,
the Trung sisters' and the Hung kings', the founding dynasty, and
efface every matrilineal aspect, was underlying this new edition of
national history. All the clues had been confused from the start,
giving a semblance of coherence with this two thousand-year
succession of Hung sovereigns uninterrupted till the Trung Sisters'
rebellion. What was built is a construction with an impressionist
façade, resting on improbable foundations that easily fall
into pieces, come the first breeze of historical crititicism.
This
long list of puzzling facts would not be complete, were one not to
add those elements furnished by the oral tradition and popular
practice. To that extent,
quan ho gives us interesting
material regarding the relations between men and women. Based on
alternate songs inspired by love, this local tradition places males
and females on an equal footing .
As for ritualitic traditions, take the case of the goddess Lieu Hanh
who, hunted down by the authorities under her last avatar, had to
take vengeance by making havoc, before seeking Buddha's protection.
Does she ultimately symbolize in the popular psyche what the
Vietnamese woman once used to be? The cult of Lieu Hanh finds again
an echo among the people, and seeing the autnomy of her disciples,
all females, but for a few exceptions, it shows how relative the
position of men may be. An insight of the primaeval times when the
woman was the head of the family? At any rate, all these elements
make us think that despite the adoption of confucianism as a basis
for social organization and in view of superseding the matrilineal
system, the collective memory has preserved relics of the old system
through the oral and popular traditions. If the assumption of the
existence of a matrilineal system in Vietnam be accepted, the case is
far from being unique in South-East Asia. Still today on the
Vietnamese territory, there are ethnic minorities who have such a
societal model of organization. Lai Cua's recent research has
revealed the existence of a small community, called Na, living
between Yunnan and Tibet, whose peculiarity is to have neither father
nor husband .
The
elements furnished in
this paper constitute but the pieces of a jigsaw-puzzle the
reconstitution of which requires, of course, many more pieces. Will
the feminine figure appear on the face of this restored palimpsest?
In the affirmative, it will provide us with very useful information
on a world where the woman used to rule as a mistress. Besides, the mystery
remains whole as to when and why Vietnamese society switched to the
patriarchal model. Was it an effect of Chinese colonization or a
deliberate choice on the part of the natives? In which case what did
the new system bring compared with the old one? Did this shift,
probably decided by the ruling classes, have for sole consequence to
remove women from power? Could women have reacted to this
power-taking or did they just have to accept it? This mutation may
also be construed as a logical sequence to a societal organization
based on obsolescent oral traditions, incapable of fighting back a
formalistic culture based on literacy. So the founding myth of the
Dragon and the Fairy and, incidentally, the Hung dynasty episode
could have been wholly fabricated for the cause; but, on the other
hand, why not interpret these legends as the adaptation of more
ancient myths whose original meaning has been betrayed? Finally, a
myth does not come out of nothing, for all myths plunge their roots
deep into the terrain of human reality and the further one penetrates
into the maze of history, the more questions one meets. Here again,
one will only state facts and raise questions, but before finding the
adequate solutions, might one not just try to set the record straight
?
Glossary
Ca dao : popular song
Cau : uncle (mother's younger brother)
Cau doi : parallel sentences
Cha : father
Chau : nephew, niece, and small child
Co : ant (father's younger sister)
Con : child
Cong : from Confucius ideology that could be translated as merit, kindness
Cuoi : to take a wife (or husband)
Dan ba : woman
Dan ong : man
Dao : way, direction
Duyen : destiny, charm, and graces
Giac : individual or a group who are threatening to take over power regardless of their geographical or ethnic origin
Hieu : from Confucius ideology that could be translated as filial piety.
Hung : legendary Vietnamese dynasty
Kinh : to respect
Lay : to prostrate oneself, bowl down to the ground
Loan luan : incest
Long : Sino-Vietnamese term for dragon
Me : mother
Nghia : Confucius ideology could be translated by faithfulness, charity and devotion.
Rong : dragon
Tam tong : Confucius ideology that dictates a woman's three duties: as a child she has to obey her father, as a wife she has to obey her husband and as a widow she has to obey her son.
Te : ritual ceremony for special occasions for example when the king pay his respect to heaven, when the villagers pay respect to the village deities or Confucius, etc
Tho : venerate
Tien : immortal
Vo chong : married couple (words for words: wife husband)
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