Costums & habits
Village traditions
Tet Nguyen Dan
Village markets
Chewing betel and areca nuts
Tra' - Vietnamese tea
Water pipe
Vietnam is endowed with a rich culture stemming from a wet rice civilization. Thus,
the traditions of the Vietnamese people are closely attached to their villages and native
lands. The definition for ' villages and native lands' are differently termed in the
spoken and written language of each ethnic group in Vietnam. 'Villages and native lands'
are defined as Lang in the Vietnamese language, Chieng in the Tay-Thai
language, Ban in the Muong language, and Buon Play in the languages
of several other ethnic minority groups inhabiting the Central Highlands. The Lang
(village) is an extremely interwoven social organization. It is not only an administrative
organization, but an economic unit based on sections of farmland. Farmers living in the
same village are closely linked by family, community, or business relations. Thus the
habits, religious practices, and festivals are all based on the origins of the village.
Deep in the recesses of every Vietnamese person's memory, there never fades the images of
his or her village. It may be a Banyan tree standing at the village front gate, bamboo
groves surrounding the village, deep water wells, the roof of the village temple, a far
away mountain peak, a nearby running river, paddy fields or the joyous sounds of the
bustling village.
Tet Nguyen Dan (The Lunar New Year Festival)
To the Vietnamese people, this festival is
very sacred. The Tet season usually falls on either the second half of the first lunar
calendar month, or the earliest days of the second lunar calendar month of the year. This
is the time when family members provide food, fruit, and incense offerings on family
altars to commemorate their ancestors. This is also the time for people to visit their
neighbors, friends and relatives.
During the days of Tet, people enjoy traditional foods such as banh chung, a square-shaped sticky rice cake; the fragrance alone would strongly provoke one's sense of nostalgia for Tet.
During the first three or four days of Tet, the first house guest to offer Tet greetings would be considered the 'first visitor of the year' (xong dat). Their luck is considered to have a strong effect on the homeowner's business success for the coming year. The belief of xong dat remains very strong nowadays especially among business people.
One of the most interesting features of Vietnamese rural areas are the village markets where agricultural products are usually exchanged or sold. These markets operate on a fixed day, week, or month. In Mekong Delta Provinces, floating markets are very popular as produce is carried on boats or junks. In mountainous areas, village markets are also a place of entertainment where ethnic villagers in colourful clothes gather to dance and sing folk songs to the sounds of a flute
Countryside market
Most of the communes in the Vietnamese countryside has a market place. The name of the commune is often the name of the market. Such markets are often called "Cho Que" (countryside market).
There are
two types of countryside markets, a fair and an evening market. Fairs, however, are
periodically held. These fairs only occur on days with a 3 or 8 in them. For example,
these markets would only occur on the 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, 23rd, and 28th days of the
lunar month. Recently, the major fair markets have also opened up on Sunday and always
attract a lot of people. Apart from local products, we can also find industrial and
expensive commodities produced in other localities at these markets. Evening markets (Cho
Hom), however, attract fewer people as they usually want to buy necessities only such as
fruits, oil, salt, vegetables, and food. Such markets normally gather in the afternoon and
therefore are also known as "afternoon markets" (Cho Chieu).
Highland market
Markets in the highland areas where large groups of ethnic minorities live are
not only places of vending and purchasing but also cultural gatherings. People may spend
many days getting to the market just to be able to buy and sell products.In these markets
are multifaceted as people may play flutes, dance, and sing. This is also a time to meet
and make friends, and look for potential lovers. These courting opportunities at the
market are referred to as "Love Markets" (Cho Tinh).
Floating Market
Floating markets ("Cho Noi") are a very interesting type of market that is quite popular in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta Area. A floating market comes together as thousands of boats gather to form a market. Trading activities take place all day, but it is quite exciting in the morning as boats are loaded with agricultural produce. These produce include various fresh fruits and special foods such as rambutan, oranges, polemoes, mangosteen, durian, fresh-water fishes, turtles, snakes, field crabs, and shrimps. At the "Cho Noi", all trading activities take place in boats. Other food services may also take place in boats. Big "Cho Noi" take place at Phung Hiep, Nga Bay, Phong Dien, Cai Rang (in Can Tho), and Cai Be (in Tien Giang). Most agricultural produce and fruits at "Cho Noi" are sold to wholesalers, who then resell them to food processing factories or ship them to Hanoi and northern provinces.
Custom of Chewing Betel and Areca Nuts
According to the legends, this custom was popularized during the Hung Vuong Era, and closely follows the famous fairy tale of the "Story of the Betel and Areca Nut". A quid of betel consists of four materials: an areca leaf (sweet taste), a betel bark (hot taste), a chay root (bitter taste), and hydrated lime (pungent taste). The custom of chewing betel nut is unique to Vietnam. Old health books claim that "chewing betel and areca nut makes the mouth fragrant, decreasing bad tempers, and makes digesting food easy".
A quid of betel makes people become closer and more openhearted. At any wedding ceremony, there must be a dish of betel and areca nut, which people can share as they joy the special occasion. During festival or Tet Holidays, betel and areca nut is used for inviting visitors and making acquaintances. Sharing a quid of betel with an old friend is like expressing the gratitude for the relationship. A quid of betel and areca nut makes people feel warm on cold winters days, and during funerals, it relieves the sadness. Betel and areca nuts are also used in offerings. When Vietnamese people worship their ancestors, betel and areca nut must be present at the altar. Nowadays, the custom of chewing betel remains popular in some Vietnamese village and among the old.
As you walk along the streets, somewhere near a lamp post, under the shade of a tree, or next to a door, there is a low table with glass pots containing different kinds of candies, roasted ground nuts, and sugar coated cakes. Usually next to these treats, there is a humble tea cozy with a tray of cups. Around the table are several small wooden stools. This is traditionally a complete description of a make-shift tea shop which is a very popular part of Vietnamese street life.
The first sentence a customer will utter to the shop owner will invariably be, "One cup of tea, please". The owner skillfully lifts the cap of the tea cozy, takes out the tea pot, and then pours the hot tea into a small cup. The owner then hands the cup of steaming tea to the customer. This drink is considered indispensable to every inhabitant of the city. Tea is drunk every day from the early morning until late at night. People drink tea at their homes, at their work places, and even in tea shops on their way to and from work.
Whenever the Vietnamese feel thirsty, they are likely to look for this drink. It is drunk in both the summer and the winter months. In the winter, a sip of hot tea makes you feel warm inside and better able to cope with the cold temperatures outside.Unlike northerners, whose preference is for a cup of hot steamy tea, people in the south like to drink their tea cold, tending to add ice cubes.
If you pay a little more attention to the surroundings of the average tea table in northern Vietnam, you will probably notice a very old-looking bamboo pipe leaning against the edge of a table or kept inside a nearby wooden box. The pipe is called dieu cay (tobacco water pipe), and it is said to be one of the typical traits of the lifestyle in northern Vietnam. To make a dieu cay, a piece of bamboo pipe up to 0.5 metres in length and an opening at one end is required. A smaller wooden pipe is fixed at the other end and it is here that the tobacco is placed. A smoker begins by rolling a small amount of tobacco into his hand before placing it into the small wooden pipe. He then lifts the open end of the bamboo pipe to his mouth and lights the tobacco with a burning bamboo stick while smoking. During smoking, one can hear a merry noise inside the bamboo pipe. This is caused by the water contained inside the pipe which is used to filter the smoke. When the tobacco is completely burnt out, the smoker begins to lean his head backwards and slowly exhale the smoke from his mouth in order to appreciate the complete satisfaction and enjoyment that the smoke has to offer.