Lifestyle
Family
Vietnam being a large and developing country, the lifestyles of its people vary from regions to regions. However, there is one thing in common for the Vietnamese and that is family being the most important aspect of their life. In many households, extended families live together and sometimes up to three generations of a family live under one roof. Families have an average of four children per couple, with the father or the eldest son being the head of the household.
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| Family |
In the family, respect is very important and everyone is expected to work hard. Thus, it is common to have both parents working while the grandparents look after the children. Children without traditional caregivers will be taken care of by elder siblings or otherwise be left at the day care center. Children must be obedient, respectful towards elders, and helping out with household chores and the tending of livestock.
There is probably Chinese influence here as family is also the center of their life, with filial piety as the most important virtue.
Village Life
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| Rice fields |
As of 2008, about 72 percent of Vietnam's population live in rural villages scattered throughout the lowlands and the mountains. In the lowlands, people make money by farming. They grow rice, vegetables, fruits, sugarcane, tea and coffee. Livestocks are also raised in some families and along the coast, people work as fishermen.
The life of a farmer is hard. People get up to work before the sun rises and only take a break in the middle of the day when the weather gets too hot, after which they return to the fields.
Every member of the family has a certain job to perform. The heavy labour like plowing and digging will be done by the men while the women will do household chores, and easier work like planting, weeding and helping with the harvest. Elderly will do light labour, girls will clean, cook and work in the vegetable garden and boys will carry water and help the men in the field. In periods during planting and harvest, the whole family helps out.
Farmers wear lose pants that can be easily rolled up before they enter the field. They usually wear sandals or go barefooted. To protect themselves from the scotching sun and heavy rains, people wear conical shaped hats known as nonla. Nonla is in fact worn by people all over Vietnam, even in the cities. To me, it is a symbol of Vietnam.
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| Stilt houses |
Many houses are built on stilts to keep above flood water.
People living in the mountains are very self sufficient thus they only buy things that they cannot make, grow, trap or hunt. Some mountain dwellers also make money by growing rice, coffee and tea. Other than that, they harvest rubber trees and some are even engaged in illegal growing and harvesting of opium poppy.
City Life
Is life in the city easier then? Well, it may be not as physically challenging but life in the city is still generally hard. Many people take on two jobs in order to support their family. Everyone gets up early in the morning and work starts as early as 6 am for some street vendors. By 6:30 am, the main streets will be filled with people on bicycles and scooters weaving their way to work in the slow and congested traffic. Hawkers start parking their push carts on the sidewalks and people gather to eat noodles soup, French bread and Xoi which is a type of sticky rice.
Some exercise in public parks. Housewives go to the market place to buy fresh vegetables, fish, chicken or pork for the day's meals. Children go to school for half a day, either in the morning or afternoon shift, after which they return home to work, study or play.
Office work usually ends at about 4 pm while shops remain open until 8 or 9 pm. Families usually have dinner at about 6 or 7 pm and go to bed at about 10 or 11 pm.
People usually stay near their place of work. Homes are small with a small kitchen and bathroom and little furnitures. Most homes have running water and electricity but do not have appliances such as TVs and refrigerators.
Values and Beliefs
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| Xoi |
Office work usually ends at about 4 pm while shops remain open until 8 or 9 pm. Families usually have dinner at about 6 or 7 pm and go to bed at about 10 or 11 pm.
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| Ho Chi Minh City landscape |
People usually stay near their place of work. Homes are small with a small kitchen and bathroom and little furnitures. Most homes have running water and electricity but do not have appliances such as TVs and refrigerators.
(Simply Wood, n.d.)
(Oracle ThinkQuest, n.d.)
Values and Beliefs
There are four basic tenets in the Vietnamese value system namely allegiance to the family, yearning for a good name, love of learning, and respect for other people.
Allegiance to the Family
The family is the most important factor in the value system of the Vietnamese. It is of excessive concern to the Vietnamese and the backbone of their society. Every individual strives to be the pride of his family. Filial piety is thus the most essential of all virtues. Every child must be grateful to his parents for the debt of birth, rearing and education. From young, children are taught to think of their parents and ancestors first and to love and take care of their parents as they grow old. One should readily forget himself or even make sacrifices for his parents' sake and his family's welfare and harmony.
The misbehaviour of an individual is not only blamed on himself but also his parents, siblings, relatives and ancestors. Similarly, achievements by an individual brings honour and pride to everyone in his family.
Acquiring a good name
The good name in this context is not literally the name of a person but the reputation that one earns. There are three ways in which one can earn a good name and they are by heroic deeds, intellectual achievements and moral virtues. One must also avoid all words and actions that damage his dignity and honour.The easiest and surest path would be to lead a virtuous life as the other two are harder to achieve. These virtues include the sense of honour, honesty, righteousness, modesty, generosity, and disdain for material gains.
To the Vietnamese, a good name is more important than any other material possession one could have. Only a man with good name is respected. The Vietnamese also believe that the best thing a man can leave behind after he had left this world and be remembered by is a good reputation. Indeed, as a proverb goes, "After death, a tiger leaves behind its skin, a man his reputation".
Love of Learning
The Vietnamese consider learning as more valuable than wealth and material success. They have great love for knowledge and learning. A learned man is held in high esteem and respect by almost everyone in the nation. In the traditional social system, the scholar ranked first followed by farmer, artisan and tradesman. In the modern Vietnamese society, education serves as an essential stepping stone to the social ladder and to good job opportunities.
Concept of Respect
It is expected of a man to show respect to people who are senior to him in age, status or position. At home, one shows respect to his parents, older siblings and older relatives and it is often expressed by obedience. Outside of home, respect is paid to elderly people, teachers, and people in high positions. While one respects the others, he also expects to be respected by the younger and people of lower status.
Allegiance to the Family
The family is the most important factor in the value system of the Vietnamese. It is of excessive concern to the Vietnamese and the backbone of their society. Every individual strives to be the pride of his family. Filial piety is thus the most essential of all virtues. Every child must be grateful to his parents for the debt of birth, rearing and education. From young, children are taught to think of their parents and ancestors first and to love and take care of their parents as they grow old. One should readily forget himself or even make sacrifices for his parents' sake and his family's welfare and harmony.
The misbehaviour of an individual is not only blamed on himself but also his parents, siblings, relatives and ancestors. Similarly, achievements by an individual brings honour and pride to everyone in his family.
Acquiring a good name
The good name in this context is not literally the name of a person but the reputation that one earns. There are three ways in which one can earn a good name and they are by heroic deeds, intellectual achievements and moral virtues. One must also avoid all words and actions that damage his dignity and honour.The easiest and surest path would be to lead a virtuous life as the other two are harder to achieve. These virtues include the sense of honour, honesty, righteousness, modesty, generosity, and disdain for material gains.
To the Vietnamese, a good name is more important than any other material possession one could have. Only a man with good name is respected. The Vietnamese also believe that the best thing a man can leave behind after he had left this world and be remembered by is a good reputation. Indeed, as a proverb goes, "After death, a tiger leaves behind its skin, a man his reputation".
Love of Learning
The Vietnamese consider learning as more valuable than wealth and material success. They have great love for knowledge and learning. A learned man is held in high esteem and respect by almost everyone in the nation. In the traditional social system, the scholar ranked first followed by farmer, artisan and tradesman. In the modern Vietnamese society, education serves as an essential stepping stone to the social ladder and to good job opportunities.
Concept of Respect
It is expected of a man to show respect to people who are senior to him in age, status or position. At home, one shows respect to his parents, older siblings and older relatives and it is often expressed by obedience. Outside of home, respect is paid to elderly people, teachers, and people in high positions. While one respects the others, he also expects to be respected by the younger and people of lower status.
(Vietnam-Culture, 2009)
Food
Food is one important aspect of culture as it is an essential part of our everyday life.
What comes to your mind when you put food and Vietnam together? For me, it is definitely Pho Bo!
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| Pho Bo in Pho24 Restaurant Ho Chi Minh City |
Pho (pronounced as 'fur') is a Vietnamese dish that originated from Northern Vietnam. It is also known as Beef Noodle Soup. As the name suggests, Pho is served in a big bowl with white rice noodles in a clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef.
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| Banh Cuon |
Banh cuon is a rolled rice pancake. A couple of red shrimps, a bit of fresh rice noodles, a few slices of bacons and stalks of chives are wrapped in a thin sheet of steamed rice paper.
Banh cuon is also accompanied by the famous Vietnamese condiment, fish sauce.
(VietBao, 2009)
Exotic food? Take a look at Hot Vit Lon which is fertilised duck egg.
(andyzohoury, 2006)
Hot Vit Lon is a delicacy in Vietnam which is believed to strengthen men, the weak and nourish recovering women.
These three components (lifestyle, values and beliefs, food) add up to briefly highlight Vietnam's culture.
The next topic is the traditions of Vietnam.
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