Vietnam Culture

The birth place of quan ho folk songs is Bac Ninh Province. During village festivals, which are held every year, particularly in spring, young men and women gather in the yard of a communal house or pagoda, on a hill or in a rowing boat, and sing quan ho.

Vietnamese literary tradition has evolved through the multiple events that have marked the country’s history.

This girls' game (chơi chuyen) includes ten thin, well-sharpened, round bamboo sticks and a ball, which traditionally is a fig, a miniature variety of eggplant, a small rock or a clod of clay.

According to ancient carvings, the moon-shaped lute appeared in Vietnam in the 11th century. Intended to be played by men, the lute has maintained a very important position in the musical traditions of the Kinh.

Each ethnic group in Vietnam has unique ways of celebrating Tet. The Tay people of Cao Bang and Lang Son Provinces have a special Tet game that not only ushers in the spring but also serves as a matchmaker.

Vietnamese modern dance started developing around 1945. It consists of a combination of materials; some from the folk dance period and others from the new era.

Vietnamese music has had a rather long history. Since ancient times, the Vietnamese have had a strong inclination for music.

Festive activities are living museums in which typical cultural values of the nation have been preserved for centuries.

Getting married is an important event in a Vietnamese’s life. The procedure of the ancient wedding ceremony was very complicated.

The lithophone is a set of stone slabs of different sizes and shapes fabricated through an elementary technique.

The xam song is one kind of song that was created by the Vietnamese a long time ago, and which is considered a very special performance.

A long with other traditional festival games, releasing pigeons has attracted numerous participants since the distant past. Some villages including Tam Giang and Hoan Son villages in Bac Ninh Province still maintain the tradition.

Vietnamese water puppetry has a long history. An inscription on a stone stele in Doi Pagoda, Duy Tien District, Nam Ha Province, relates a water puppet show staged in the year 1121 to mark a birthday of King Ly Nhan Tong in 4036 words.

Either boys or girls, usually age’s seven to ten, play the two-person game of O an quan (literally "Mandarin's Box"). They draw a rectangle on the ground and divide it into ten small squares called "rice fields" or "fish ponds.

A large group plays the children's game rong ran (dragon-snake). In One person sits on a small hill or some location above the other players; he or she acts as the doctor.

The tranh zither is also called the thap luc cam or sixteen-stringed zither. The tranh zither appeared in Vietnam in the time of the Tran dynasty (12th-13th centuries).

The Vietnamese culture has always evolved on the basis of the wet rice civilization. Thus, the lifestyle of the Vietnamese population is closely related to its village and native lands

It is impossible to be without this kind of traditional music at a Khmer wedding reception in the South of Vietnam.

Rija is a term used by the Cham to designate numerous festivals related to agriculture and clans (for instance, Rija Prong, Rija Nagar or Rija Yaup, etc.)

The ly song is one of the special folk songs of the Vietnamese people. It is sung in the northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam.