Ms. Phuong Ngo Thai

Vietnam

The Culture of Vietnam or culture of the Kinh group which was originated from Northern Vietnam and Southern China is one of the oldest of such in the Asia Pacific region. Despite the influence of the big culture of China over the history, the Vietnamese culture has been established with many features which are similar to the cultures in the Eastern Asia and different from the cultures in the South East Asia which was influenced by the Indian cultures (such as Cambodia, Laos and Thailand).

Although the Chinese culture is considered the most external culture influencing on the Vietnamese culture, the Kinh group still remains many own features of its culture. These customs still play crucial roles in the life of Vietnamese people today. Many historians believed that before the influence of the Chinese culture, the DongSon culture which was originated in the Northern Vietnam (and also developed strongly in other areas in the Pacific region) is the first stage of the Vietnamese history.

It can be said that the Vietnamese culture is a mixture of many old cutlures and the original Vietnamese culture. Apart from the influence of the Chinese culture, Vietnamese culture is also influenced by the smaller cultures such as Indian and Cham cultures and later on by Western cultures (France, Russia and America)

Community organisation

About 70% of Vietnamese currently live in rural areas, and although many are being influenced by the process of a growing economy, rural tradition and customs still play a vital role in shaping the national culture. The Vietnamese community is organised into villages. A village is a close and structured “organisation”. A village usually has a “communial house” (đình làng) which commemorates the founder (thanh hoang) of the village and is also a place for the village gathering, meetings or for organisating important events and festivals. A village is often bounded by the bamboos and has a gate. There is also a cay da, a swell, a...