Necromancy has been used in Vietnam for decades to trace the remains and graves of soldiers who died during the Vietnam War that ended in 1975, killing around a million soldiers.
Many centers have been set up across the country for people to come and invoke the spirit of a dead relative or friend. Some wait for days, others for longer, for the spirit to “possess” them.
The centers play no part except for keeping a piece of land for praying, and they take whatever money is offered by the visitors.
There has been a spike in these activities in recent months in the central province of Quang Tri which was the most heavily bombed by the US. Here, one can see buses with a banner saying “Vehicle transporting remains of martyr” every 30 minutes.
On the morning of July 21, one such bus was going on a highway to the top of Doc Mieu Hill in the province’s Gio Linh District. It also had photos of Uncle Ho (Chi Minh) and martyr Nguyen Van Hy.
Upon reaching a soldiers’ cemetery, a dozen men and women got down from the bus, carrying with them flowers, fruits, incense, candles, alcohol, meat, and votive papers representing banknotes for the dead to spend in their afterlife.
A woman who seemed to be around 30 and was wearing a green uniform and a hat – like the one worn by soldiers during the war – was led down by two men. Her face looked pale, her eyes were close, and she was tottering.
Upon reaching the highest point of the cemetery, she began to wave her hands and utter words that were unclear. Her jaws were quivering and making clicking noises.
She pointed towards the graves, saying, “I stay here, No.23.”
People in the group plied her with questions: “You, sacred soul, tell us where you are so that we can take you home.”
The woman began to yawn, waggling her hands and legs and stuttering something.
A man in the group began to play a “red” (or revolutionary) song -- “Hanh quan xa” (Distant operation) -- on his mobile phone.
Everyone clasped their hands and sang for 30 minutes, hoping to hearten the spirit of the martyr.
Suddenly she stammered: “October 78 here. Row eight, the 23rd one.”
A man in the group translated the words: “He was brought here in 1978 October. His grave is the 23rd one in the eighth row.”
They rushed to the grave and placed the fruits and flowers as offerings.
Dang Thi Hoan (C, in green uniform) is 'possessed' by the soul of her late uncle Nguyen Van Hy, who died in 1965, and his tomb was lost until the soul of the dead returns to show his (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Facts from the living
Dang Van Hiep, a nephew of the martyr Hy, said Hy’s spirit had returned and inhabited the body of Dang Thi Hoan, his niece.
Hy’s family had gone to pray at a center and his spirit had returned and guided the family to the cemetery, Hiep said.
Hy was born in 1944 in Ha Tinh Province in the North, joined the army in 1965, and died in 1968 on his way to the South.
Hiep said the family had been looking for his remains for decades since liberation in 1975. It was only when they had gone to a center run by Nguyen Van Bang in Thach Linh, Ha Tinh, that the spirit of the dead man had returned to guide the family, he said.
“The uniform the woman wears was sold at Bang’s center,” he said.
When the spirit left and Hoan came out of her trance, Tuoi Tre spoke to her.
“When Hy’s spirit inhabited my body, I felt almost lost … as it I was in a different world. I was not aware of what I did or said.
“I did not take any drugs before falling into the trance. I have never been here before.”
A couple of hours later, Hy’s spirit possessed Hoan again and she began to get a fit of convulsions just like before.
She could give exact answers about the martyr such as his age, date of joining the army, and date of birth.
The family then performed a brief ceremony before placing a tombstone engraved with Hy’s details at the tomb which had remained unmarked until then.
There are thousands of graves at the cemetery, some marked and others unmarked.
Later the family went to the office of the local Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Welfare to fill a form to excavate the remains buried at the grave.
Hy could finally go home, 43 years after he fell defending his country against an invader.
Family members of a late person set up temporary altars at a center for lost tombs' search and pray for the return of the soul of the dead to show his/her lost tomb. They may wait days or longer and one of them may be 'possessed' by the soul
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