Consuming loc—creating on: Women,offerings and symbolic capital in northern Vietnam

Abstract

Women are disproportionately represented at most Vietnamese religious sites. Understanding the reasons behind women's prominent participation provides a revealing glimpse into both Vietnamese religion as well as the dynamic nature of gender and power in Vietnamese society. At the core of most women's religious lives is the common practice of making offerings and then reclaiming them as loc (an object that brings good luck), but its implications are as secular as they are supernatural. The act of distributing the reclaimed loc, especially to family members, serves to strengthen relationships and improve the social capital of women by adding to feelings of indebtedness (on). This paper explores the practices and socio-religious implications that surround loc.