Abstract
Introduced by a short history of folkloristics in Vietnam, the article sets out to discuss the metaphysical features of traditional and contemporary folk narratives in Vietnam. Discussing a number of legends about haunted houses and psychic stories, the article explores the underlying sociocultural patterns of the dynamic genre of contemporary legends to reveal how the metaphysical worldview is constructed in the new media. Based on an intense historical experience of war and violence along with indigenous beliefs and a presently propagated atheist ideology, the discussion argues that contemporary legends reflect the Vietnamese wars of colonialism and imperialism, manifesting the deep trauma of the postwar nation and revealing the hidden conflict and reconciliation between the metaphysical tradition of folklore and the atheist doctrine of the socialist country.
Recommended Citation
Thi Kim Ngan, Nguyen
(2021)
"Metaphysical Experiences in Postwar Vietnam,"
Narrative Culture: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/narrative/vol8/iss2/8