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The emperor's new clothes: Re-fashioning ritual in the Huế Festival

2007; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 38; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0022463407000264

1474-0680

Oscar Salemink,

Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis

Abstract This essay focuses on the political dimensions of the Festival Huế, which is claimed to be significant as a celebration of the nation. Although socialist state rituals have lost their relevance in the Đổi Mới era, the revival and re-invention of ritualised tradition create fertile ground for new ritualised events that legitimate and lend significance to the current regime. I argue that despite the unfamiliarity of many spectators with the symbolic contents of these new forms, they are effective because of their aesthetic resemblance to, and association with, familiar rituals.