A bumpy bus ride filled with conversation on everything from Duke vs. UNC basketball to comparative religion, the Robertsons and their Vietnamese roommates arrived first at the famed Cao Dai temple.
The primary Cao Dai temple, located in the Tay Ninh
Cao Dai began in the early 1900s as an extremely Vietnamese nationalist religion, developing its own militia and taking political sides against the colonial French. Today its followers stand at over 2 million in 
Certain scholars have refuted Cao Dai's claim as a legitimate religion, pointing to its intensive political involvement, military force, unwieldy theology and most especially, its cultic worship. A fascinating study for anyone interested in the development of religion, the Cao Dai practice orients itself around French philosophy and use of Ouija boards and séance. Members gather daily to ceremonially pray and sing hymns at 6am, 7 am, and noon.
We were privileged to have a primo view of the Cao Dai worship service at noon; watch the video below and see how the followers enter in a hierarchical fashion, the leaders preceding newer novitiates, and colored robes symbolizing the branch of Cao Daism walking in separately.
The service lasted for approximately an hour and was surprisingly simple, given the overly ornate, rococo decoration of the temple. The service was primarily one of prayer, music comprised of light flute, gong and native Vietnamese sounds, and the burning of incense.
Although I found it difficult to photograph to show yall, the temple is organizing in an ascending fashion, with the entrance at the lowest point and the height progressing until the restricted section containing religious symbols depicting God (the eye in a triangle) and the saints (shown here are Buddha, Jesus, a female saint on the left, etc. Also included in the smorgasbord of saints are Joan of Arc and Victor Hugo).
Even though the highest section was off-limits to snoopy tourists, I had the good fortune to befriend the security guard (pictured here), whose name was Co, I believe. This made conversation a bit difficult, as Co is also the Vietnamese word for “you-older female,” so I was a bit confused on whether I was addressing her formally or more intimately. An
yhow, she was a sweetheart, letting me go further than was allowed and explaining much of the symbolism to me.
[Translated from Vietnamese by my good friend Khue] “The three animals in the circle represent the three values of Cao Dai. The tiger-creature on the right symbolizes wisdom; the turtle represents intelligence; the bird represents kindness.” Co has been a Cao Dai member since her youth, which somewhat surprised me, as Cao Dai was suppressed in prior years by the Vietnamese government, who rightfully recognized Cao Dai as a significant military force and political bloc.
In any case, the religion is fascinating. The temple is grossly overdecorated, reminiscent of a Seussian circus. Combining symbols from each of the religions and preaching an all-inclusive doctrine of universalism, Cao Dai seems like the answer to tolerance excepting atheism.
As a religious studies major, I always find it very interesting in studying what religions have to say about one another. Clearly there are religions that declare themselves exclusively correct, such as the stream of religions known as the People of the Book (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). However, religions that are universalist have always bothered me. How is it logical to say that Hinduism, with its multiple reincarnations of multiple gods, can possibly dovetail with Islam’s singular Allah who has never incarnated into human flesh? Not only is it irreconcilable, it seems to be very rude and naïve to tell religious followers that their doctrines are the same as every other religions’ tenets. People live their lives based on these beliefs and explanations of spirituality and the world, and telling them that it’s really no different from another religion is callous, silly and inaccurate.
In any case, I find Cao Dai a really interesting phenomenon in its nationalist yet all-inclusive perspective. Entering on the women’s side (left entrance when facing the temple), I was wowed by the phantasmagoric iconography and size of the temple hall. Definitely go visit if you get the chance, and don’t be surprised to see Cao Dai outside of
Learn more at Cao Dai's official website by clicking here.
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Afterwards we continued back the way we had come to the Cu Chi tunnels, a vast array of subterranean tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. We saw an extremely nauseating exhibit of the macabre traps used by the VCs as well as their fiendishly clever kitchen pits. 
We even shot AK-47s down a shooting range, which happened to be a very discomfiting situation as we weren’t given hearing protection or any rules. The best part, however, was of course going down the hollowed out tunnels ourselves, stooping then kneeling then crawling. Here are some photos of myself and David within the larger tourist tunnel to demonstrate the size. We were about 10-15 ft underground and crawled through two tunnels, one about 30 meters long and the other maybe twice that.
All in all, I was duly impressed by the ingenuity of the guerrilla VCs and sorrowful for the American soldiers who must’ve thought that the enemy soldiers were supernatural in their powers to navigate the dense forests and disappear at will. The tunnels were very cool and would make a fantastic paintball arena, but the knowledge of how many desperate men fought and died here gave it a quiet, special reverence.
Here are the videos of myself and friends attempting to squeeze into the tunnels:
1 comment:
the phrase "reminiscent of a Seussian circus" all but establishes Susie as one of preeminent American bloggers of the 21st century
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