has thus added another dimension to the perceived identity of this ethnic group by non-Chams in Vietnam. The Vietnamese regard of Cham potency to the latter’s perceived power and knowledge derived from their “privileged connection to the local area”, and as imagined “weapons to overcome the deficits” of displacement, impoverishment, and disadvantage that they had suffered. The belief and worship in potent Cham spiritual figures and their origins in the Mekong Delta reveal aspects of being Cham- where fame and repute are derived from being trans-local and mobile, achieved through trade, religious studies, and pilgrimage, with a sense of “simultaneous belonging to local, trans-local and universal communities of faith”, drawing a parallel to the sacred journeys undertaken to Mecca and the locale’s perceived magical potency. The Cham female spirits are venerated as the protectors of their respective localities, following the establishment of such cults by the Viet emperors who claimed of having been “assisted” by the spirits in their victories over Cham territories, and thus by co-opting Cham cultural elements into their territorial expansion, created a legitimacy narrative over the conquered Cham lands. By establishing “historical potency” and continuity, the Vietnamese engage in “remembering” the Chams as the first occupiers of the land. Through such “remembering”, a form of cultural “compensation” is considered to be rendered towards the Chams. In this regard, ideological complexities are observed in the worship of the “Lady of the Realm” of the Mekong Delta in which the multi-ethnic historical layers that undergird this region is reflected. The “Lady” ‘’Ba Chau Xu’’ and her shrine in Chau Doc near the Cambodian border functions as a “boundary-marker”, whose legends in the official accounts relates to how she assisted the mandarin ‘’Thoai Ngoc Hau’’ in his efforts towards defending Vietnamese territories, co-opting the goddess into the Vietnamese pantheon and national defense narratives whereas the aspect of Vietnamese expansion into previous Khmer territories had been reversed, especially given archaeologic attributes of the statue to be a female likeness made over that of Shiva of Khmer origin. Some locals believe the “Lady” to actually be the Cham goddess ‘’Thien Y A Na’’ or even of Indian origins, although in current times, it is increasingly being venerated by the local ethnic Chinese for her efficacy in fertility and business prosperity. In this vein, a revival of ethnic spirit rituals in the post-Doi Moi era is seen to have taken place in