Re-Sacralisation as a Mechanism for Sustaining Livingness at an Archaeological Religious Site: The Case of Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, Vietnam

Hoàng Thúy Quỳnh

People-centred approaches increasingly reflect a significant shift in heritage conservation paradigms in the twenty-first century. In this context, sacred sites are understood not merely as archaeological remains of the past, but as living heritage spaces shaped by ongoing ritual engagement and community participation. This paper examines re-sacralization as a mechanism for sustaining the livingness of an archaeological religious site through the case of Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, Vietnam. Once the religious centre of the Champa kingdom, and after a long period during which ritual functions were no longer actively maintained, the site gradually became an archaeological monument and was later inscribed as a World Heritage Site. In recent years, the sacred landscape of Mỹ Sơn has been reactivated through diverse ritual practices performed by multiple communities, including the Cham community as historical descendants associated with Hindu traditions, Indian visitors and devotees practising Hindu rituals, and heritage managers organising ceremonies shaped by contemporary Vietnamese cultural forms. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with ritual practitioners and heritage managers, the paper analyses the tensions arising from the coexistence of these practices. It argues that re-sacralisation operates as a dynamic mechanism through which livingness is sustained within a protected archaeological religious site. Divergent interpretations of sacredness generate ongoing negotiations concerning material conservation, rights of access, and ritual authenticity, demonstrating how living heritage is continuously shaped through interaction and adjustment among multiple actors in contemporary heritage governance.