VIETNAM

Location and Geography. Vietnam occupies

approximately 127,243 square miles (329,560 square
kilometers), an area roughly equivalent to New
Mexico, and is situated between 8 and 24 degrees
latitude and 102 and 110 degrees longitude. It borders
China in the north, Laos in the northeast and center,
and Cambodia in the southwest. Its 2,135 miles (3,444
kilometers) of coastline run from its border with
Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand along the South
China Sea to its border with China. The delineation of
Vietnam's borders has been a focus of dispute in the post–1975 period, notably the ownership disputes
with China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia over the Spratly Islands; and with China and
Taiwan over the Paracel Islands. Recent progress has been made settling land border disputes with
China and Cambodia. The Vietnamese culturally divide their country into three main regions, the north (
Bac Bo ), center ( Trung Bo ), and south ( Nam Bo ), with Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly
Saigon) serving as the main cities of each region. Hanoi, the site of the former capital of one of the
country's earliest dynasties, has been the capital of the unified Vietnam since 1976.

Vietnam contains a wide-variety of agro-economic zones. The river deltas of Vietnam's two great rivers,
the Red River in the north and the Mekong in the south, dominate those two regions. Both deltas
feature irrigated rice agriculture that depends on the annual monsoons and river water that is
distributed through immense and complicated irrigation systems. Irrigated rice agriculture is also
practiced in numerous smaller river deltas and plains along the country's coast. Vietnam's western

Cultural traditions in Vietnam

Superstition

Because of the scepticism surrounding science in parts

of the country, Vietnamese philosophies for life
generally rely on emotions or the words of their
forefathers. For example, in their twelve-year lunar
calendar many of the years are considered incompatible,
meaning a traditional Vietnamese man could not marry
a woman born in the wrong year because it would break
t he family ties with his parents and relatives. Duck
foetus eggs are also meant to bring good luck; but eating
them in odd numbers will reverse the process and send
the bad luck tumbling back!
Martial arts

The Vietnamese martial arts tradition was born of the constant

need for defence against foreign invaders. Ironically, it was also
heavily influenced by China during its ongoing occupation, but
over time the Vietnamese have developed their own distinct
styles. ‘Vovinam’ was founded in Hanoi, and practitioners can
be recognised by the blue uniforms they wear. It is most
famous for its scissor kick, classically used to dismount
attackers on horseback. ‘Vo Binh Dinh’ practitioners wear
distinct black uniforms and owe their reputation to the legendary warrior king, Quang Trung. Traditional
wrestling is also considered an ancient martial arts tradition
and is practiced during Tet.

Religion

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are known in Vietnam as

the ‘triple religion’, and all three are prevalent in Vietnamese
culture. However, Vietnam owes much of its belief system to
folk tales and in the traditional sense, is one of the least
religious countries in the world. Its people turn to the worship
of gods, goddesses and ancestors for guidance, and are the
only known collection of people to have a god of the kitchen. It
is also believed that failing to conduct proper rituals upon death will create ‘hungry ghosts’, so the spirit
world is commonly considered to be of great importance.

Festivals

Tet, meaning ‘festival of the first day’, is the lunar New Year
and the biggest festival in Vietnam. It is a celebration of
renewal and hope, and the majority of Vietnam closes for a
week to honour it (see ‘Tet’). Hoi An holds a Full Moon
Festival once a month on the eve of each full moon during
which lanterns are lit all over the city. Most Vietnamese
festivals involve offerings to the spirit world, celebrations of
life or commemorations of the dead, and so weddings and
funerals in Vietnam are both joyous occasions.

The Language

Vietnamese, Vietnam's official language, is a tonal language that can be compared to Cambodia's official
language, Khmer. With each syllable, there are six different tones that can be used, which change the
definition and it often makes it difficult for foreigners to pick up the language.
There are other languages spoken as well such as
Chinese, Khmer, Cham and other languages spoken
by tribes inhabiting the mountainous regions.
Although there are some similarities to Southeast
Asian languages, such as Chinese, Vietnamese is
thought to be a separate language group, although a
member of the Austro-Asiatic language family.

In written form, Vietnamese uses the Roman

alphabet and accent marks to show tones. This system of writing called quoc ngu, was created by
Catholic missionaries in the 17th century to translate the scriptures. Eventually this system, particularly
after World War I, replaced one using Chinese characters (chu nom), which had been the unofficial
written form used for centuries.

Food in Daily Life. Rice is the dietary staple which most

people eat three meals a day. Rice is usually consumed
jointly by family members. The common practice is to
prepare several dishes that are placed on a tray or table
that people sit around. Individuals have small bowls
filled with rice, and then take food from the trays as
well as rice from their bowls with chopsticks.
Vietnamese often accompany these main dishes with
leafy vegetables and small bowls of salty sauces in
which they dip their food. Popular dishes include
sauteed vegetables, tofu, a seafood-based broth with
vegetables called canh, and a variety of pork, fish, or
meat dishes. A common ingredient for cooked dishes and the dipping sauces is salty fish sauce ( nuoc
mam ). Another important family practice is the serving of tea from a small tea pot with small cups to
guests. Northern cuisine is known for its subtle flavors, central
cuisine for its spiciness, and southern cuisine for its use of sugar
and bean sprouts. Diet varies with wealth; the poor often have
limited amounts of protein in their diets and some only have the
means to eat rice with a few leafy vegetables at every meal.

Clothing

The ao dai is popularly considered the national dress. It consists of

a long tunic-like gown with splits on the sides that go up to the
waist. It is worn over trousers that almost touch the floor. The ao
dai used to be worn by men and women but now is almost
exclusively a feminine attire often made to fit the body. On a daily
basis, however, most people wear western clothes.
Marriage

Traditional marriage rituals include two ceremonies. The first in an

engagement celebration in which the groom and family visit the
bride and family and bring them presents. Both families decide the
date for the wedding. The nuptial ceremony includes another visit to
the bride's house to take her to the groom's place. There, the couple
prays at an altar, the union is consecrated, and a reception is held

Arts and crafts

Many have their origins in other

traditions, Chinese, Indian, Malay,
European, and so on, but over the
centuries they have evolved into
something distinctly Vietnamese.

Lacquerware

Vietnamese lacquerware is a good

example of the evolution of a craft.
Introduced into Vietnam from
China, the skill of creating highly-polished articles by coating them with several layers of resin developed
into sophisticated art. The brilliant colours and gilded embellishments in pagodas and temples, delicate
items of polished furniture, large wall-hung artworks, and tourist souvenirs are all being created by
modern craftspeople, and show influences from all over Asia and beyond.

Wood and stone carving

The tradition of wood carving can be seen in Vietnamese statuary, furniture, architecture and
ornaments. Typically, they are heavily incised and often stained to very dark colours or lacquered.
Inlaying, usually with mother of pearl, is also a highly-developed Vietnamese craft.

An abundance of high-grade limestone and the early

influences of the Hindu motifs of the Cham people
have encouraged a long tradition stone carving. In the
past, the craft was closely associated with
embellishments to royal and religious buildings, but is
now more often expressed in the form of public
statuary. The fine work in the large cities shows a
variety of styles from classic styles through Soviet
realism to modern art.
Craft villages

A particularly Vietnamese tradition is the ‘craft village’, small communities where the inhabitants work
together to manufacture particular products such as knives, rush mats, bamboo birdcages, ceramics, rice
wine, and dozens of other commonplace and unusual articles. Most craft villages are in the north,
mainly clustered around Hanoi.

Ethnic crafts

The richness and diversity of ethnic craft in Vietnam can be seen

in many shops and galleries in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Advanced skills include embroidery, batik, appliqué work and
different styles of weaving, often with highly stylised patterns, as
well as intricate jewellery, usually fashioned from silver and local
gemstones.

Music

Both the mainstream and ethnic musical traditions in

Vietnam are associated with religious ceremonial and
ritual. The Kinh majority group has a musical tradition
stretching the back to the lithophones and stone gongs of
the ancient past, and the magnificent ‘rain drums’ of the
Dong Son people that are on view in the museums of Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City. Cham music and songs are part of
that tradition, as is the Chinese oriented classical forms
linked to the Imperial Court.

Architecture

The construction of religious and royal buildings has always been regarded as a pre-eminent art form in
Vietnam, and is intertwined with complex beliefs about the spirit world and religious ceremonial. Many
pagodas, temples, palaces and tombs display
exquisite examples of symbolic and devotional
motifs and embellishments.