CURSE IN VIETNAMESE CULTURE

Abstract

"Curse" is a religious act aimed at creating a spiritual shell to protect a certain subject, or creating a mechanism of binding towards punishment when the speaker himself violates his vow. In the course of history, the curse gradually became popular. It is present in many aspects of life with different functions and characteristics, sometimes surpassing the "sacred", becoming popular as a daily life language. From historical, cultural and literary data and by methods of document analysis, retrospective, field methods and interdisciplinary tactics, the article specifies the nature, origin and manifestation of the curse in folklore. The paper has an academic contribution, contributing to the analysis and interpretation of a cultural phenomenon; simultaneously, it has practical meaning orienting communication behavior in aesthetic and humanistic manner.