Cao-Dai
 

While in Pleiku we used to truck LRRPs west and drop them off , Useually we had to walk back.
Anyway, one day we get an order to truck some Special forces guys to the south of Pleiku. We met them at the hell-a-pad. There were about 6 or 7 Sp forces guys and around 20 or so Natives with cross bows and bow & arrows. I figured they were moutan-yards (sp) So I asked where they were taking there yards? (joke) The guys says THERE NOT YARDS, they were Cao-Dai.
OOOOOOKKKKAY.
The history channel awhile back made a passing referance to Cao-Dai and religion. So---- what, who were the Cao-Dai????


Ron

cao dai
 

Yo Ron--mighty mighty good to see you back

re: Cao Dai

I think perhaps you might have misunderstood or maybe the guys who told you were wrong--Cao Dai IS a religion and a fairly wacked (though influential) one at that--course the yards in question mightta been of the Cao Dai religion but not likely--most of the yards I ever heard of were animists (believers in animal gods and woodland spirits) although i know some of them converted to Christianity
Cao Dai was/is a tremendously influential religion in Vietnam, behind Buddhism and Christianity although, as I say, somewhat wacked--one of their minor deities is William Shakespeare (NOT kidding!!) They had their ownn Army during the early US part of the war
When Frisco and I went back there our guide Tam confessed to being a Cao Dai and he seemed to be a pretty squared away dude
In the Diem era, Diem played one religious cult off the other as part of his power grab, then double crossed them all. JF Dulles called him the "Churchill of Asia" which probably made ol Winnie sht a square turd

Hot Jets Ron; stay good
James

James
 

You back?

The reason I remember the Cao-Dai was because the guy spelled it for me after I told him "Goo-Day to you to bud"
We took them 40 or 50 miles south of Pleiku. I do remember that cause it took us almost a week to walk back.

Ron

RON
 

I'm like you. If they were packin' crossbows and arrows, they were 'Yards. I don't care if they worshipped fuck-you lizards or Walt Disney. :D :D

Did any of you get to shoot a 'Yard crossbow? I shot one that took about a 3ft. arrow. Took both hands and both feet to cock it. Would put an arrow completely through a sandbag at 75ft., no problem. Most of them were smaller, and the Montagnards could kill a monkey in 100ft. tall tree with one shot.

Ron :

The main Cao-Dai temple is in the middle of Tay Ninh. I saw it several times, but didn't get a chance to go inside. It is an interesting religion. Lots about it on the internet, with pictures.

Larry

Cao Dai
 

There were three offshoots of Buddhism that formed in Vietnam, the Hoa Hao, the Binh Xuyen and the Cao Dai, with the latter being most influential in Vietnamese politics. The first group operated primarily in the Delta, and had their beginnings in an obscure Buddhist priest who claimed to have seen a vision. By and large, they advocated land reform as a major contribution to the ongoing political instability of the region, sometimes playing into the hand of the local VC propaganda machine.

In what started out as a very dynamic reformation, at least on a local level of Theravada Buddhism, the Binh Xuyen soon revealed themselves to be nothing less than some local gangsters, albeit saffron-robed thugs, and their influence in government and politics was minimal.

The Cao Dai, on the other hand, embraced a vibrant pantheon of deities and entities in their panoply of worship figures. While I've never read that knew of William Shakespear, much less elevated him to a position of reverence, my studies did reveal that Victor Hugo was one of the few Europeans they included in their adoration and worship, perhaps because of his ethnicity. This sect also included aspects of Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, and Judaism, but rejected the Muslim theology on the grounds that it was coarse. Their temple in Tay Ninh City was the cleanest place I ever saw in all my limited travels in Vietnam, a place of almost surreal serenity and calmness. Would like to go back there some day!