Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pray (to a deity or a dead person's soul) to possess a medium: The act of invoking a spirit, deity, or the soul of a deceased person to enter a living person (a medium) in order to communicate, ask questions, or make requests, often considered a superstitious practice.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người dân trong làng thường đến đền để kiều thánh, cầu xin mùa màng bội thu. (The villagers often go to the temple to pray to the deity to possess a medium, asking for a bountiful harvest.)
  • Theo tục lệ, gia đình sẽ kiều vong người ông đã mất để hỏi về chuyện gia đình. (According to custom, the family will pray for the soul of their deceased grandfather to possess a medium to ask about family matters.)

Advanced Usage

• "Kiều" in Ritual Context: The term is specifically used in the context of spiritual or mediumistic rituals. It implies a formal or ritualistic invocation, not a casual prayer.
  • Buổi lễ kiều được tổ chức trang nghiêm với sự tham gia của thầy cúng và đồng cốt. (The possession-praying ceremony was solemnly organized with the participation of a ritual master and a medium.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kiều bóng (n): A term sometimes used to refer to the practice or ritual of spirit possession.
• Đồng cốt (n): The medium; the person who is possessed during a ritual.
• Cầu cúng (v): To worship and pray (a more general term for ritual prayer and offering, which may encompass ).

Synonyms

• Cầu khấn: To pray, to beseech (a more general term for praying or entreating).
• Khấn vái: To pray and bow in worship (emphasizing the physical gestures of prayer).

Notes on Meaning

• Cultural/Religious Context: The word "kiều" is deeply rooted in Vietnamese folk religion and spirit worship practices. It is not a term used in mainstream institutional religions.
• Connotation: The word often carries a connotation of superstition or folk belief from a modern or skeptical perspective. It describes a specific type of spiritual communication.

1. Pray (to a deity or dead person's soul) to get in to a medium (and grant one's wishes...)