Vietnamese Culture

Despite dialectic variations throughout the country, Vietnamese (Kinh) still confirm its status as the official and normative language. However, there are dozens of different languages spoken by various ethnic minorities and Khmer and Laotian are spoken in some parts. The most widely spoken foreign languages in Vietnam are Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), English, French and Russian, more or less in that order.

Along with these, popular artistic forms including traditional painting on frame-mounted silk; an eclectic array of theatre, puppetry, music and dance; religious sculpture; lacquer ware and ceramics are also mainstays of the country's culture.

In addition, Vietnamese cuisine itself varies greatly by its regions. Even dishes that are staples throughout Vietnam are prepared differently in the north, centre, and south. Vietnam ’s cuisine is like much of its culture in reflecting its many contacts with other cultures over the centuries – Chinese, Khmer, and French the most notable. General speaking, there are nearly 500 different traditional dishes that include exotic meats (but consider carefully before you eat a rare animal) and fantastic vegetarian creations (often prepared to replicate meat and fish dishes). However, the staple of Vietnamese cuisine is plain white rice dressed up with a plethora of vegetables, fish (which is common in Vietnam ), meat, spices and sauces. Spring rolls, noodles and steamed rice dumplings are popular snacks, and the ubiquitous soups include eel and vermicelli, shredded chicken and bitter soups. Fruit is abundant; some of the more unusual ones include green dragon fruit, jujube, khaki, longan, mangosteen, pomelo, three-seed cherry and water apple. Vietnamese filtered coffee (ca phe phin) is very good; it's usually served very strong and very sweet.

Music

Music is considered as an inevitable spiritual food for life in the eyes of Vietnamese generations. Through lyrics, they can free your innermost feelings, insert themselves with encouragement, nurture good sentiment in their children’s mind, communicate with the invisible supernatural forces, or expressing their desires towards a better life.

Since its beginning, the Vietnamese music has undergone strong inclination with high degree of originality in style and instrumentation, resulting from the heavy influence of thousands-year Chinese domination and, in the South, the Khmer and Indianised Cham musical traditions. The traditional system of writing down music and five note scales are of Chinese origin. Generally, Vietnamese music can be classified into three broad purpose-based categories namely Folk Music, Classical Chamber Music (Court Music) and Theater Music. 

Firstly, Folk Music includes children's songs, love songs, work songs, festival songs, lullabies, lamentations and funeral songs. It is composed by villagers illustrating their life in the countryside and usually sung without the support of musical instruments.

Secondly, Classical Chamber Music is rather rigid and formal. Once it was performed at the imperial court for the mandarin elite only. This music falls into two typical kinds such as “Hat A Dao” (in Northern Vietnam) and “ Hue royal music” (in Central Vietnam ), which was recognized as one of the world’s intangible Cultural Heritages in 2003. Here is the appraisal of the UNESCO Council for Vietnamese royal music: “Vietnamese royal music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with the music performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries, religious festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different categories developed in Vietnam , only the royal music was national.”

Last but not least, Theatre Music is the harmonious combination of singing, dancing and instrumentation. Nowadays it is blended by Court Theatre, folk performances and foreign influence exemplified in three typical types such as “Cheo”, “Hat Tuong” and “Cai Luong”, of which “Cheo” dates back from the oldest history of Vietnam.

As Vietnam is home to 54 brotherly ethnic groups, its musical characteristic is very diverse accordingly. Each group has its own musical tradition that includes the distinctive melody expression, costumes and instruments such as reed flutes, litho-phones, bamboo whistles, gongs and stringed instruments made from gourds. 

Vietnam water puppetry

Water puppetry is Vietnam age-old traditional culture with its own identities. The stage is the water surface, the closed-door house or puppets’ house or "thuy đình" (pagoda on water) is built in the middle of the pond or lake that looks like a communal house in Vietnam countryside. Water puppetry originated in the northern Vietnam Delta during the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225). Chronologically speaking, it is considered an ancient art form which is on the brink of extinction.

The items to be played depict people’s daily life activities or customs and habits. To have a finished puppet, it needs time and patience for chiseling, fitting, painting, decorating and dressing. The well-prepared puppets, the easier for controlling and the more interesting the performance is. Normally, puppets are made of sycamore wood because it’s light and tough finished puppets are vitalized by artists in harmony with characters in the play. Water puppets are traditional wooden carving; they are realistic, poetic and romantic in roles of fishermen, fairies or musicians... Each puppet consists of two parts: the body and the base. The body is the floating part and the base is the underwater part for controlling most important is the control-board attached in the base and success lies in the movements, the action of puppets. Well-experienced artists have created for life, for younger generations variety of puppets and the control-boards. Puppets are controlled and directed by artists in the puppets’ house by pulling, pushing strings. In water puppetry, music plays the vital part. With outdoor stage on water and no-word play except few poems or saying, music is inseparable; it’s to make merry the performance, to personify the characters, and to direct the acting.

Water-puppetry is a cultural tradition of the red river delta farming people. It helps the locals to preserve their villages’ identities, the nature of the farmers who are very hard-working and high-spirit in fighting against the enemy. Therefore, it is said that a trip to Vietnam is incomplete without water puppet shows. All it takes is one hour, and the audience can immerse themselves in Vietnamese culture and peak at the bygone days.

Hue royal music – an intangible cultural heritage

On November 7, 2003, UNESCO bestowed world heritage status on 28 relics of nations as masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity. Among the 11 masterpieces of Asia, nha nhac (royal music) represents the first intangible legacy of Vietnam to have been put on this list. The UNESCO council appraised Vietnamese royal music in the following terms: “Vietnamese royal music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with the music performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries, religious festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different categories development in Vietnam , only the royal music was national.”

Nha nhac (Vietnamese royal music) and its principles came to Vietnam under the Ho Han Thuong reign (1400-1407). The Ho dynasty, however, only existed for a short time, so nha nhac rapidly fell into oblivion. In 1427, Le Loi defeated the Chinese Ming invaders and liberated the country. However, nha nhac only began to develop in the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497 and reached its peak under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). Nha nhac is genre of scholarly music. It attracted the participation of many talented songwriters anf musicians, with numerous traditional musical instruments. From now on, nha nhac will have opportunities to preserve, develop and popularize to the public, inside and outside the country.

Gongs of the Central Highlands

The Central Highlands’ Gong instruments formed into sets. Each set is a musical allotment with a close system of sound. Each set of Gongs consists of 3 or 15 of gongs together with drums and cymbals. As the part of a musical allotment mentioned above, Gongs reflect an efficiency of excellent sound. Furthermore in the co-ordinative-synchronous performance that the natives call “competition” of Gongs. Hence, these musical instruments mobilized in a majestic space of Highland forests. Gongs music caused everybody tremulously, attracted most of the generation and they are also admired by legendary long-poems.

In the common valuation of the Highlands ’ Gong, Gongs of each ethnic minority has its own, The Edeh’s Gong has is complex sound, fast speed and big intensity. As for M’Nong’s Gong is quite fast speed but not big intensity. Although of the fast speed, the music is “a pleasant dialogue” of Gongs. When it sounds to harmonize to each other, listener has a feeling as the sound of springs, the wind and murmuring forests as well as sound of animal, smiles. Gongs of the Bahna, J’rai incline to the tune of the music.

The Central Highlands’ Gong is not only a musical instrument but also a holy implement a fantastic language and the message linking human and God. Because according to point of view and faith of ethnic minorities that Gong is the dwelling of Gods. The Gong God has his spirit with happiness, sorrow and sulk. The Gong God also has his family: Father, mother and children. He can help human to be fully wealthy and happy, but he will make an opposition if he is hurt.

Highland ’s Gong goes with man passing through difficulties in life. The sound of Gong is used for holding such ceremonies as: the rite of ear-bugling, maturing, age of seventy upwards, wedding, greeting for guest, abandoning grave, celebrating new house…Gongs’ sound is also a signal of information, hearing of Gongs’ sound of Highland that we can understand the owner of the party is happy or not, then we will take part in the happiness or sorrow with them.

Because of the value and signification of Gongs, it is said that: “there is the culture of Gong in the Highlands . Besides, due to the diversity complexity and high density of the highland Gong, so it is said that the Central Highlands is one of the cultural centers of ASIAN Gong. When speaking of cultural character of the Highlands , they cannot help speaking of culture of Gong.

Traditional Chèo or popular opera

Traditional chèo is seen as a heritage of Vietnam culture and the red-river delta is the cradle of this, the region rich in folk songs, in funny stories, in proverbs and sayings, in allegories... The land the sites and beautiful spots are deeply impressed in stories narrated by village yard chèo performances. Generations gone by, chèo becomes more and more selected and enriched and it’s a typically artistic style. Since its birth, chèo has been an attraction to people of all walks of life, with no regards to age or social position or nationality.

Chèo is self-narrative stage form where the spectators and the performers mutually exchange ideas. The players make a self-introduction while the viewers closely watch. There are dance, singing, music and literature in script. The contest in chèo varies in proverbs and sayings, fully optimistic in the laughter, humor and no less witty. The humanity is deeply expressed in human rights in the fight between the good and the evil and the winner is always the kindness. Classic chèo normally has good ending in oriental traditions. Many chèo scripts are highly valued as national properties. Actors and actresses in chèo are good dancers. They express their emotions by dancing, in clear styles that are sourced from dailylife activities. The melody in chèo music is a touch, it’s combination of both traditional and modern music. Music is background of chèo that directs the performance styles of all times. Music and play script are decisive factors, chèo music depicts the red river delta folklores that deeply imbue in poems, then again are expressed in chèo contextual meanings. It’s also called “làn” or chèo style. During performance, there are different situations in chèo characters known as “dieu" or way of acting. Đieu is more artistically skilled. The songs in chèo are sometimes excerpts of traditional proverbs and sayings. There’s also clown in chèo who help make the spectators get rid of their tiredness of daily hard work. For years, chèo becomes well-affected by new factors in language, music dancing and art. Folkloric melodies of all parts in the country, from North to South, from lowlands to highlands, even from overseas are popularized to meet the tastes and demands of the countryside spectators.

Viet Nam chèo is said to be vitalized and sustainable. Nowadays, there are professional chèo troupes in cities and provinces. More traditional values such as courage, loyalty, self-sacrifice are felt. Moreover classic chèo is always highly appreciated. Even modern themes are applied and played in chèo.  For generations now, chèo become spiritual source of life for Việt Nam farmers. Chèo is stage art, chèo is music and poetry in their life. Chèo is liked best due to its nationally cultural identity.