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Goddess on the Rise: Pilgrimage and Popular Religion in Vietnam

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Philip Taylor's work takes us on an expansive tour of how Vietnamese in central and southern Vietnam have adapted traditional systems of worship to modern needs. In several chapters, Taylor focuses on the "The Lady of the Realm" on the border with Cambodia--businesswomen make regular pilgrimages to her site to seek assistance and repay the goddess for her help in their business dealings.
But he samples many other figures as well, both modern and traditional. For instance, there is the temple of the "Palace Damsel" on the coast, who has come to be seen as a protector of the boat people who took to the perilous seas in 1975-1985. And there is Le Van Duyet, the famous eunuch governor of the south in the early 19th Century, whose cult is enjoying a resurgence.
These traditional forms of worship have survived both the French colonial period (when Catholicism was favored as the true faith), and the Communist attempts to suppress "superstitious practices." If you ignore them, you miss out on the important role that spiritualism plays in the daily life of many Vietnamese. (Including Communist Party members, as official policy now pays more respect to them as folk customs that are a unique national characteristic.)
The first chapter is primarily for specialists, setting out some of the relevant anthropological theories. But the rest of the book is suitable for nonscholars who want to have a closer look at the people of Vietnam.