Founded in the 1920s by Ngoh Min Chieu, a Vietnamese civil servant who claimed to have been visited by Hugo and Jesus in a series of visions, the religion has attracted a following in New Age capitals from California to Australia. The main Cao Dai temple, about 100 km west of Ho Chi Minh City in Tay Ninh province, is a sort of spiritual Disneyland that has become a required stop on day trips to the Vietcong's famous Chu Chi tunnels. Ceremonies, though, are distinctly Cao Dai, blending ancient mysticism with ceremonial offerings of wine and tea and using seances and a type of ouija board to commune with the dead. In the 1960s, the Cao Dai controlled the area north of Saigon and had an army of 25,000 that battled both the French and the communists. Now, after decades of suppression, adherents are free again to worship.
Visitors are welcome.
Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines .