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Village culture is an important component taking part in creating Viet Nam cultural identity.
Being a typical agricultural country, people's lives must depend much on natural conditions, thus, for existence and development, owners of Viet Nam villages that are peasants in the majority must rely on and link to each other’s. That's why, communal character has been regarded as the first cultural characteristic of Viet Nam villages. This has been formed through close organization with many different rules.
First of all is the organization basing on bloodline comprising family . Family is the basis unit including people who are of bloodline relationship. Such families form kin. In Vietnamese thought, kin is sometimes more important than family. Concepts involving to kin such as head of a clan, patriarch, genealogy, temple of fore father; ancestral anniversary, birthday feast,... are respected much.
From past time till now, village people have liked to live in big families. The family that is of three or four generations living together, its leader feels proud of. Compassion and assistance among people are the representation of kin's strength. In a kin, everybody is responsible for protecting and assisting each other’s both material and spirit, guiding each others to promote their position in society.
The basis of bloodline relationship is hierarchy. The direct hierarchy system of Vietnamese people consists of nine generations from forefather, great grandfather, grandfather, father, I, child grandchild, great grandchild, post child. This system is seldom met in the world. This creates the distinctiveness for Viet Nam culture one hand, the other hand it also forms few negative characters of rural persons. They are patriarchal behavior and private.
Second is the organization basing on resident areas to be hamlets and villages. This is originated from agricultural environment. Because the wet rice cultivation requests a big labor force, Vietnamese peasants not only bear much but also assist to each others. In order to cope with the social environment such as robbing... it is necessary to cooperate to make effect. Vietnamese people cannot live without relatives as well as without neighbors. The organization basing on habitat creates democracy and equality between man and man. This is regarded to be primary democratic form - village democracy. However, its flip side is dependent character and jealousy.
Countryside is also organized into guilds according to interests and vocations. In order to link persons who have the same vocation, guilds are set up such as pottery guild making ceramics, fishing guild, cloth guild weaving cloths, plaster guild doing constructional guild.... As for persons of same hobbies or classes, there are associations such a association of scholars for civil mandarin in a village, literacy coterie links Confucian scholars in a village who are not mandarins martial coterie links persons who follow art of fighting, old men take part in gentlemen association, old women participate in lady guild, "To torn" guild (card game using a deck of 120 cards and played by five persons) chess guild, cock fighting guild....Although guild and association have some common points, the specializing character of guild is usually more deeply and its scale is often smaller. Democratic character is also a characteristic of guild and association. Thus, people in the same guild are usually responsible for help each other.
Beside patterns mentioned above, Viet Nam villages are as well held up to administrative unit to be hamlet and commune. Commune is another calling of village and hamlet is another name of subdivision of a village in terms of administration. One commune sometimes, may consist of few villages and a hamlet, may include some subdivisions.
In a commune, there is often of an existence of apparent discrimination between principal people and aliens. People whose origins are in village are called principal ones and people coming from other regions are called aliens. This discrimination is very sharp. While principal men are enjoyed all rights and interests, aliens are often treated without any respect,. This opposition is really of aim at restricting peasants to separate from their homes and also limiting aliens to come to live in village. Therefore, this discrimination is considered to be a means for maintaining the stability of villages.
That may be vocational villages with traditional handicrafts such as incrustation, woodwork, forging... A village's fame may be due to the whole village does that vocation or just some professionals but their products are esteemed in many places.
That may also market village specializing trade and" commerce. Above are four typical traditional cultural villages in Viet Nam. Right from the feudalism, the cultural value of villages was much respected. Many feudal dynasties were consciousness of bringing up nice qualities of villages. A village who has good families with virtuous persons is also considered to be a cultural village.
When the country encountered enemy at the end of the 19th century, Vietnamese people both coped with invaders and got in touch with new ideas revolution villages or resistance ones were formed and paid homage to. The combination between tradition and newness has done its share in making villages more beautiful.
In history of Viet Nam culture, village culture has developed and brought its influence into play as a substance in communities, collectiveness’s and individuals of Vietnamese, meaning in villages of Viet Nam. In order to understand manifestation of village culture, it is necessary to understand these traditional cultural villages.
Content of village culture may be researched through aspects such as social culture, spiritual culture and art culture. Each aspect has many different cultural phenomena, among them, some have become symbols of certain traditional value. Images of communal houses, banyan trees, water wells, mulberry-terraced fields call up something familiar and moving to expatriates. Genealogies, habits, customs is the treasure folk knowledge in which a lot of social and historical information is contained. Historical relics, archaeological vestiges, headstones or festivals with their rich content express significance of religion, habit literature, music, art at many respects.
All has made liveliness as well as the pride for ages of Viet Nam to their villages.
This article is written by lan nguyen from Vacation to Vietnam, for original article please visit:
Vacation to Vietnam
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