Definition

1. Noun:
   • A female medium, a female shaman: "bà đồng" refers to a woman who practices spirit mediumship, acting as an intermediary between the spirit world and the human world, often in the context of Vietnamese folk religion and rituals like len dong (hầu đồng).
   • A female fortune-teller/spiritual practitioner: The term can also broadly denote a woman who performs rituals, makes offerings, and communicates with deities or spirits to seek guidance, healing, or blessings for others.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người dân trong làng thường đến xin lời khuyên từ bà đồng. (The villagers often go to seek advice from the female medium.)
  • Bà đồng đang thực hiện một buổi lễ hầu đồng. (The female shaman is performing a len dong ritual session.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "bà đồng" is specifically used for female practitioners. The male equivalent is "ông đồng".
• It is a term deeply rooted in the practice of Đạo Mẫu (Mother Goddess worship) and the Four Palaces belief system in Vietnam.

Variants and Related Words

• Ông đồng (n): A male medium; the male counterpart to "bà đồng".
• Bà cốt (n): A synonym for "bà đồng", also meaning a female medium or shaman. (Note: This is listed as a reference synonym, not the target word itself).
• Đồng cốt (n): A general term for a spirit medium, which can be gender-neutral or refer to the practice itself.
• Hầu đồng (n/phr): The ritual of spirit mediumship, the ceremony performed by a "bà đồng" or "ông đồng".

Synonyms

• Female shaman: A woman who acts as an intermediary with the spirit world.
• Spirit medium: A person believed to communicate with spirits.
• Mudang (in Korean context): A female shaman in Korean tradition, provided for cultural comparison.

Related Phrases

• Lên đồng: To go into a trance; the state of being possessed by a spirit during a "hầu đồng" ritual.
• Hầu bóng: To serve the spirits; another term for performing the mediumship ritual.

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms using "bà đồng" as a standalone component, the practice is central to idioms about spiritual matters, such as the concept of "có thờ có thiêng, có kiêng có lành" (If you worship, there is sacredness; if you abstain, there is luck), which reflects the cultural context in which a "bà đồng" operates.

1. như bà cốt