Hoa Hao Movement


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Hoa Hao Movement

Hoa Hao Movement: Hoa Hao is a religious syncretic tradition that combined Buddhism and local beliefs. It was founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So. It spread in the fertile Mekong delta area. It claimed approximately 2 million followers throughout Vietnam, according to this religion, aid to poor was favoured over building Pagodas. According to Hoa Hao traditions, religious and social ceremonies must be simple and modest and were not to include offerings. Elaborate wedding or funeral customs were viewed as waste of money, which would be better spent helping the needy. Its followers were expected to attend communal services on first and fifth of each lunar month and on other Buddhist holidays. Huynh Phu So opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and use of alcohol and opium.

Suppression of the Movement: French authority tried to suppress the movement inspired by Huynh Phu So. French authority declared him mad and put him in a mental asylum. Doctor who had to prove him insane became his follower. In 1941, the French doctors declared that he was sane. The French authority exiled him to Laos and sent many of his followers to concentration camps.

#Syncretic :-  Characterised by syncretism, aims to bring together different beliefs and practices , seeing their essential unity rather than their difference . 

#Concentration Camps :-   A prison where people are detained without due process of law . The word evokes an image of a place of torture and brutal treatment . 

 
 


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