In today’s post, I will be doing a very general overview of Vietnamese culture. We will cover aspects such as family life, Traditional dress, major festivals, literature, and art.

Family Life

Traditionally, Vietnamese households would have 3 or 4 generations living together under one roof. Many families were guided by the saying “more children, more fortunes”. These households were often heavily influenced by traditional Confucian and feudal views of male preference. Men tended to have important roles in the family, often being the head of the house. Women often acted under the feudal ethics of “three obedience’s, four virtues”. The three obedience’s are obedience to their fathers during childhood, to their husbands when married and to their sons in widowhood. Meanwhile, the four virtues are diligence, good manners, proper speech, and morality.

Nowadays, household and family life is different. In recent years, legal documents have been adopted to make family relations more equal. Families now have 2 or 3 generations under one roof, and most couples only have 2 children. Advocacy for men’s superiority over women has become less common. However, with these changes, often times men remain the head of houses. There is also still advocacy for “respect for the elderly and love for the children”.

Costume/Dress

Traditionally, traditional dress has varied greatly between different ethnic groups. In fact, most ethnic groups have their own distinct costumes. Many of these are decorated with vivid patterns and contrasting colors. These outfits tend to be made out of natural fibers like ramie, silk, pineapple yarn and cotton, all fine, durable, and sweat absorbing materials. Outfits were often designed around the ability of people to work manual labor.

  

Men traditionally wore outfits consisting of white pants and brown tops with a scarf. They would also commonly wear ordinary sandals or wooden clogs called “guoc”. For more formal or official events, they would wear a long velvet or cotton dress, paired with a turban.

Women traditionally wore more colorful clothing. Daily wear consisted of a black skirt, white brassieres, a four-panel dress with a “crow-beak” scarf and a pergularia-like belt. For more formal events, outfits would consist of three layers of dresses. The first was a velvet four panel dress in a dark color or light brown. The second layer would be a light-yellow dress, with the third layer being a lotus-colored dress. These dresses would have buttons going up the sides and women would often only fasten the buttons below her underarms, and the upper part is opened to show the three colors of their dresses. Beneath the dresses, women typically wore a red brassiere. These outfits were often paired with a special conical hat called “non”.

Now a days, formal wear has changed for many. For men, suits have become more common than the more traditional dress. For women, many still wear Ao Dai, though its style has changed a bit. The modern Ao Dai is more a tunic with a slit to the waist with two loose panels falling down to about the mid shin.

Major Festivals

Arguably, the most important festival of the year is Lunar New Year, also known as Tết Nguyên Đánor just Tết. During this festival, following the Chinese Lunar calendar, families will all come together to enjoy a big feast. Tết is the end of the old year, so it is believed that one must wrap up the misfortunes to open up a new year of good opportunities. Many families pay tribute to gods and ancestors. Often performing traditional rites such as “the first visitor of the Year,” “buds picking” and “lucky money”.

Another major festival is the Vu Lan Festival also known as Full-Moon Festival. This time is dedicated to deceased parents, grandparents, and ancestors. Many families during this time remember the phrase “when eating fruit, remember who planted the tree”. This festival is often celebrated by holding worshipping rites. This includes leaving offerings to ancestors as well as wandering spirits who may not have anyone to celebrate them. These offerings typically include parched rice, dry pancake, candies, and fruits. Often times votive papers are burnt for spirits of the dead.

 

Another festival is the August Full-Moon festival or Mid-Autumn festival. This also referred to as the Moon Watching festival. Families will have a tray of specialties for members. This tray will be passed around as the families eat and enjoy the moon’s beauty. This festival is considered very fun, especially for younger children.

The final festival we will talk about in this post is the Hung Kings Worshipping festival. During this festival, traditional offerings are prepared. People prepare lanterns, incense sticks, wine, betel, arca-nut water, Chung, and Day Cakes.

Literature

In Vietnamese literature, there are three primary time periods that have been impactful. These are traditional literature, contemporary literature, and revolution literature. Traditional literature includes things such as folklore, classical Chinese, and Nom (Vietnamese scripts modified from classical Chinese scripts). Contemporary literature came into fruition after the National Language Introduction set the foundation. Revolutionary literature was popular between 1945 to 1975. This literary time reflected the nation’s aspiration for peace and independence after years of occupation.

Arts

Vietnam has various forms of performing arts. Interestingly, many of these types may borrow from other cultures. We will in this post talk about a few influential forms as well as arts that are still in use/popular.

 

One ancient and popular art is Royal Music and Dancing. This particular art has many different styles. This are thrived during the dynasty of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông. There are various branches, such as Trung Cung Chi Nhac (Palace music), Yen Nhac (Banquet music), Nha Nhac (Refined music), Mieu Nhac (Confucian Temple music), Dai Nhac (Great music), Van Vu (Civil dance), and Vo Vu (Military dance). While Royal Music and Dancing may have thrived during the dynasty of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông, it peaked during the Nguyen Dynasty. This art functioned as a way to wish the king and his family happiness, prosperity, and longevity.

Another common form of performing art is Water Puppetry. This art first appeared in the Ly Dynasty. This involves characters acting out many different stories. Characters are sculptures often with different shapes and personalities. Typically sculpted from wood and coated with waterproof material. The main reason it is called water puppetry is dues to the puppeteers being in water to control the puppets. These performances are often accompanied by music provided by a drum set, tocsins, and gongs.

Cheo also known as popular theater originated form folklore music and dances. Cheo was traditionally performed in villages. It is very popular in the northern delta region. Often times Cheo was used to teach traditional values to young audiences. Other theater includes Tuong also known as hat boi. This is characterized by its classical and scholarly theatrical art. Often it is compared to China’s opera or Japan’s Noh. Finally, there is also Cai Luong or reformed theater. This is characterized by its more traditional opera feel. It originated in the 20th century and consists of Ly folk songs and amateur music from Mekong Delta. It often is accompanied by an orchestra consisting mainly of guitars with concave frets and Vietnamese two-cord guitar.

Painting is also a very common art in Vietnam, in addition to popular sculptures. Painting is primarily divided into two categories, Folk painting and Modern painting. These visual arts are usually grouped with ancient sculpture as well. Folk painting is often split into two forms, these are New-Year paintings and Worshipping paintings. Both are often connected to religious beliefs. They were mass produced at one time using woodblock painting. However, in recent years, they have become extremely rare. Modern painting came after the founding of The Fine Arts College of Indochina and is often associated with contemporary plastic arts. Meanwhile, ancient sculpture has experienced continuous development, leading to a very diverse spread over many years.

 

I hope you have enjoyed learning about Vietnams culture through this post. If you are interested reading more in detail, the links are provided below!

• https://vietnamtravel.com/vietnamese-culture/
• https://vietnamembassy-usa.org/vietnam/culture
• https://www.odynovotours.com/vietnam/holidays-festivals.html
• https://vietnam.travel/things-to-do/top-festivals-vietnam

In this post, I will discuss values and etiquette in Vietnam. These are important to remember is you ever visit Vietnam to avoid offending people.

Values within Vietnam often center around humility, restraint, and modesty. This means that one should avoid showing off wealth. PDA is often frowned upon and should be avoided. Additionally, one should try and dress conservatively, as well as give honor and preference to the eldest member of the group.

When visiting religious sites, it is important to remember not to be a distraction. This means that one should avoid tight-fitting/overly short attire. Women should wear a shirt with sleeves and shorts that go to the knee. One should also remove hats when visiting a sacred site. This is because heads are considered the most sacred place on the body and feet are considered the least sacred. The head being sacred, means that you should never touch another person’s head. One should also never point the soles of their feet towards any other person or towards any sacred statues.

Another important thing to know when visiting Vietnam is proper greetings. Commonly, you can greet people by saying “Xin Chao”, this means hello. Some people may just say “Chao”; however, this is commonly reserved only for people who you are really familiar with. So, for strangers or someone older you should use “Xin Chao”. It is also important to note that since Vietnamese is a tonal language, you should make sure you are using the proper tones when speaking or else the meaning of what you are trying may change drastically.

When it comes to Dining etiquette, there are many unspoken rules. Before eating, you should say “Chúc mọi người ăn ngon miệng”.  This means the same thing as “Enjoy,” but also shows your excitement for the meal. Remember that the oldest at the table always eats first. One should always clean their plate; it is often considered offensive to leave food on your plate. You should also avoid picking your teeth. If you absolutely need to, you should cover your mouth with your hand or a napkin. You should also not hold your chopsticks straight up. This is because the motion is similar to a common funeral rite. Additionally, relating to chopstick etiquette, you should not play with your chopsticks, this includes sucking on or tapping them. It is also important to remember that you are not required to keep your bowl on the table, you are allowed to bring it up to you.

You may be wondering what you should pack/wear in Vietnam. More than anything, you should attempt to primarily pack modest clothing. This may not be as upheld in more touristy areas, but when in doubt, one should try their best to dress conservatively. This means long shorts, avoiding revealing shirts, covering knees and shoulders. One should also try to pack more light weight clothing as Vietnams climate is often warm and humid.

One the most important thing to remember is to respect others. You should avoid standing with your arms crossed in public. Additionally, you should also avoid standing with your hands on your hips. Both of these behaviors may come off as arrogant and standoffish. You should also avoid flaunting your money or criticizing others.

There are also many common taboos that one could fall into, so to avoid those, here are a few things you can do. Try your best to control your temper, especially when in public or around other people. You should also avoid public touching, especially with someone of the opposite sex. This relates to the value of remaining as modest as possible. You should also remember that the head is sacred and do your best to avoid touching someone else’s head. If you find yourself in a situation where you are handing something to someone, you should use two hands. This also applies to is you are receiving something. You should also avoid pointing as it can be seen as disrespectful and rude. Finally, when going into some else’s house, you should always remove your shoes.

 

To read more:

• https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/vietnam-travel-tips/the-ultimate-guide-to-customs-and-etiquette-in-vietnam/
• https://internationalliving.com/countries/vietnam/traditions-and-culture-in-vietnam/

Humanitarian Laws are universal laws of war. They focus on the protection of those who do not fight, those who have already fought, and civilians. These laws are set up to protect people and limit the suffering of individuals due to war and conflict. They were created after World War 2 along with the United Nations, a pact amongst many nations of the world that agreed to uphold the humanitarian right to life across the globe. 

I have chosen to look at Myanmar, formerly known as Burma with respect to its humanitarian laws and genocide. Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia, has a very troubled history from “coups, military rule, and ethnic conflict”. The country has suffered from decades of repressive military rule ever since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1948. Recently Myanmar has been in the midst of a civil war and ethnic conflict between the military and people in the Rakhine State. This conflict has resulted in the killing, rape, and destruction of many individual’s lives. The Rohingya genocide is the biggest humanitarian crisis in Myanmar right now as the Rohingya Muslims are the target of the militaries’ force. It is estimated that this crisis, which began in 2016, has displaced over 200,000 people, killed over 25,000 people, and harmed many more. Many first-world countries, along with the UN have called this a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed. The military regime that controls Myanmar does not have any level of humanitarian law that is known to the outside world. It is hard to receive information about Myanmar, and the human rights crisis because the military has censored a lot of information leaving the nation. In an attempt to support the people of Myanmar, the international community has condemned the military coup, but no other action has been taken to uphold the idea of international humanitarian law.

*This conflict is very complicated and there is limited information about it. I was able to piece together a little bit of the story, but there is much we don’t know about the military regime and the Rohingya Muslims. This short documentary looks into the crisis further: Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide – YouTube

 

 

Read more about the Rohingya Genocide:

Myanmar’s Troubled History: Coups, Military Rule, and Ethnic Conflict | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)

Myanmar Rohingya violence is genocide, US says (bbc.com)

The International Efforts to Combat Myanmar’s Growing Humanitarian Crisis | U.S.-China Perception Monitor (uscnpm.org)

 

Read more on Myanmar: (under the oppressive forms of government, there are limited local news sources from Myanmar itself)

Myanmar: Intense fighting spreads to cities, as civilians seek shelter | UN News

Global New Light Of Myanmar – Myanmar Daily News, Myanmar Latest News, Myanmar News Today (gnlm.com.mm)

Human rights is always a hot topic around the world. In recent years, the discussion of human rights in Vietnam has become more prominent. Many believe that Vietnam has many human rights violations as they do not allow for basic civil liberties, as well as political rights. In this post, I will discuss in more detail the human rights issues in Vietnam.

Vietnam is currently under a one party rule by the Communist Party of Vietnam, or the CVP. The CVP enforces many restrictions that suppress what are considered basic rights. This includes restrictions on freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, movement and religion. The government has also set in place prohibitions on independent labor unions, human rights organizations and political parties. Additionally, recently there was a decree that restricts international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from operating in Vietnam. Another thing that many people take issue with is the removal of content critical of the ruling party (the CVP).

Within Vietnam, there are currently about 160 people in prison for peaceful exercsising of basic civil and political rights. Many of these people have been protestors and activists who are looking to spark change in their country. Additionally, in some cases, gatherings of people have been met with violence from authorities during peaceful marches/protests.

Vietnam also has strict restrictions on media. With the prohibition of independent or privately owned media outlets, the CVP has control over what reaches the public. The government decides what gets shared and what does not reach the public. This also comes into play with the governments strict control over radio, television and print publications. The government restricts what gets said. This is also seen in the removal of critical content on social media.

There is also pretty large restrictions on religion. Restrictions have been put in place through legislation, registration requirements, and surveillance. Religious groups must get approval from the government to gather and practice their religion. They are also required to register with the government, so that the government can keep track. While there are some government sponsored churches and other places of worship, it is difficult for people to freely practice their religion as they wish, especially with the registration and surveillance of the government.

Over the years, the CVP has promised certain protections that they have not been able to act on. They have said that they would allow freedom of religion and remove restrictions but, as we can see, there continue to barriers that prevent people from living freely. There have been many promises that have been broken or not kept with the country itself.

 

To read more:

• https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/vietnam
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/03/vietnam-rights-reforms-urgently-needed
• https://freedomhouse.org/country/vietnam/freedom-net/2023
• https://www.state.gov/2023-u-s-vietnam-human-rights-dialogue/
• https://www.voanews.com/a/vietnam-us-upgrade-partnership-activists-critique-silence-on-human-rights-/7267878.html

Cambodia is one of the most biodiverse regions in Southeast Asia. There are four main ecological regions within Cambodia including: the Annamite Range moist forests, the Cardamom Mountains moist forests, the Central Indochina dry forests and the Mekong freshwater ecoregion. Cambodia is estimated to have around 8,260 plant species, 10% of which could be endemic. It has a diverse range of animal species as well. Around 874 species of fish, over 500 species of birds, about 120 species of amphibians and reptiles, 874 fish species, and at least 123 mammal species all reside within Cambodias boarders. Seagrass and coral reef species are also plentiful. Not to mention, biodiversity is still being discovered at a rapid rate in Cambodia

Even though Cambodia contains so much biodiversity, its forests have decreased in quality and area in the last couple decades. The FOA Forest Resource assessment in 2005 stated that Cambodia has lost more than a quarter of its primary forests since 2000 and it has only gotten worse. Mangrove coverage has also decreased significantly. There are also many endangered animals under the IUCN Red list that reside in Cambodia in the “near extinct”, and “rare” categories. Near extinction includes 10 mamal species and 6 bird species. The rare category includes 27 mamal species, 45 bird species, and 5 reptile species. Rapid deforestation, growing industries, and illegal wildlife trade result in over exploitation and unsustainable uses of Cambodias land and animals. This, along with climate change are the reason for loss of so much biodiversity in Cambodia.

Why should you care? Well besides biodiversity being something generally positive, it is also integral to humanity. Cambodia’s biodiversity serves the Cambodian people. It supplies their industries, such as a thriving agricultural sector and domestic demands. Regulates climate, ecosystems, water circulation, reduces floods, provide clean air, and much more. People also rely on the biodiversity for food and shelter. Due to biodiversity and human culture being so intertwined, a threat to biodiversity is also a threat to people’s livelihoods.

To learn more please visit:

https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=kh

https://dicf.unepgrid.ch/cambodia/biodiversity

Cambodia Biodiversity: Animal and Plant Species and What Is Under Threat

Biodiversity

 

Photo: The Batak Language 

The Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia, consists of 7,641 islands and has both Filipino and English as their official language. Like many of the countries in south-east Asia and Oceania, the Philippines is affected by endangered cultures. The Batak people of the Philippines islands are slowly diminishing. Named for being the ‘people of the mountains’, the Batak tribe was forced to move from their former settlements near the coastline when settlers began to arrive in the Philippines. To this day, the Batak people live off of hunting and gathering and continue their ancient traditions despite the vast and exponential change during the past few centuries. With the diminishing resources and depleting population, the Batak people have begun to “intermarry with outside communities for survival“. (1) The tribe has experienced food scarcity and the increase of outsider populations consuming their land. These have impacted their culture and it’s starting to vanish. The Batak have been severely impacted by the outside world, from the settlers that displaced them on their island in the early colonial days to the capitalism that continues to control the greater Philippine nation. The Batak people are considered to be in poverty and hence have a hard time finding work and functioning in a capitalistic society. This means that most of the tribe struggles with malnutrition and depleting numbers in the population. The Batak people continue to follow as many traditions, like their methods of hunting and gathering as I stated above and their consistent use of their dying language. All in hopes of saving their community. According to The Ethnic Groups of the Philippines, there are many groups attempting to help re-establish the Batak language and help the Batak regain independence, but due to a lack of food supply and population, the Batak tribe is continuing to vanish.

 

If you wish to learn more about the Batak tribe:

1Uncharted Philippines | A Vanishing Tribe: The Batak People of Palawan

Who are the Batak People? | Ethnic Groups of the Philippines (ethnicgroupsphilippines.com)

Batak Tribe of Palawan: History, Culture, Arts, Customs, Beliefs and Traditions [Indigenous People | Philippines Ethnic Group] – yodisphere.com

 

Want to learn more about the Philippines?

INQUIRER.net | Philippine news for Filipinos

Latest News | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph)

The Manila Times | News | Opinion | Philippines | Asia | World

Today I will be talking about the current economic state of Cambodia, as well as its globalization. Cambodia has many established global relationships with many countries including the US. Currently, Cambodia is a part of eight of the nine core human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Cambodia Overview).

Cambodia is also part of several trade agreements including the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States (Cambodia- United States). TIFA supports greater trade and investments between the countries. As of 2022, Cambodia is a part of 27 bilateral investment treaties (BIT). However, they do not have a BIT with the United States (Cambodia-United States).

In terms of economic development, Cambodia is one of the fast-growing economies in the world due to its average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent between 1998 and 2019 (The World). This growth rate can be attributed to garment exports and tourism increases. Reaching lower middle-income status in 2015, Cambodia is striving for upper middle-income status by 2030. During the COVID-19 pandemic, like every country, their economy struggled. However, since 2022 Cambodias economy has begun to recover, and the economic growth is projected to be around 5.2 percent in 2023 (The World).

Although it has had a fast-growing economy, Cambodia just graduated from being considered a least developed country by the United Nations. In 1991 they were added to the list and in 2021 Cambodia met the criteria to graduate this status (Least Developed). However, they are still one of the poorest countries in Asia. And economic development in the long term is still a challenge they will have to navigate due to their high-income inequality, limited Human Resources, corruption, and poor job prospects (Cambodia Economy).

Overall Cambodia is a country with many relationships with other nations. Although there has been recent economic growth, poor income equality leads to many of Cambodias citizens to be  impoverished.

“Cambodia Economy.” CountryReports, www.countryreports.org/country/Cambodia/economy.htm.

“Cambodia Overview.” OHCHR, cambodia.ohchr.org/en/rule-of-law/overview#:~:text=To%20date%2C%20Cambodia%20is%20party,Forms%20of%20Racial%20Discrimination%20(ICERD).

“Cambodia – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 26 July 2023, www.state.gov/reports/2023-investment-climate-statements/cambodia/#:~:text=In%20July%202006%2C%20Cambodia%20signed,%2C%20Cambodia%2C%20in%20January%202019.

“Least Developed Country Category: Cambodia Profile | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-cambodia.html. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.

“The World Bank In Cambodia Overview.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/overview#1.

Endangered cultures refer to the assimilation and threatened extinction of indigenous cultures and languages. This has become increasingly more common in the international community, with more dominant cultures controlling a country or region and ignoring the less popular (usually indigenous) cultures that may have been in the area before. Within Vietnam, the endangered culture that I will be focusing on are the Montagnard’s.  Montagnard’s are indigenous to the highlands on mainland Southeast Asia, with ancestral lands that used to span over Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. While they are often collectively referred to as the Montagnard’s, they consist of upward of 30 distinct and diverse ethnic groups, including the Bunong, Jarai, Ede, Koho, Tampuen, Brou, and Kreung.

Map of where the Central Highlands are:

From a western view, Montagnard’s are often seen as fighters, largely due to the knowledge that they sided with the US in the Vietnam war. Aside from that though, little is actually known by the general public. In fact, Montagnard’s were not only hired by the US but were hired by both  sides. Due to this the Montagnard population experienced many casualties.

The name Montagnard, originate from the French colonial period. It means “people if the mountains” and has been adopted by the US since the end of Frances colonization. However, it is important to note that while they may often be grouped under one name, each of the different villages and cultures are unique. Often times, it is hard to group them into one category due to the culmination of so many different tribes. Regardless of this though, Montagnard tribes are mainly of Malayo-Polynesian, Mon-Khmer, and Sino-Tibetan extraction.

During the French colonial period, late 1800’s to 1954, the Montagnard’s were allowed a bit of autonomy to act on their own within their tribes. However, even with this autonomy, the 28 distinct tribes became one political unit under the French. When the French were overthrown and the Southern Vietnamese government took power in 1954, the Montagnard’s autonomous political status was abolished. This was followed by the banning of teaching native languages, burning of books and documents, and the Montagnard’s being forced to take Vietnamese names. Additionally, about 1 million Vietnamese refugees resettled in the Central Highlands. Ancestral land was seized often times with no compensation.

In 1958, the Montagnard’s attempted to resist the government. This effort was crushed and the Vietnamese government even resorted to violence in some instances. Many southern Vietnamese citizens viewed Montagnard’s as “Moi” or savages. In 1960, the Northern Vietnamese communist government, included the right for highlander autonomy in its founding platform, though when they did eventually take overpower, this promise was forgotten. In fact, the government even executed some tribal leaders, while others died in prisons or “reeducation” camps. Montagnard’s were again subjected to severe restrictions, such as limits on cultural rights, education, and employment opportunities. While the treatment of Montagnard’s has mostly gone unnoticed by the West, they gained some international attention between 201 and 2004, for protesting religious repression and the confiscation of ancestral lands. This protest ended in violence and has not been heard of since.

Nowadays, many Montagnard’s live in extreme poverty. They are rarely found outside of Vietnam, if they are from Vietnamese origin. While it has become increasingly rare  to interact with Montagnard people outside of Vietnam, there are nearly 12,000 refugees, many of which live in North Carolina.

 

To read more:

• https://carolinaasiacenter.unc.edu/event/endangered-cultures/#:~:text=Endangered%20Cultures%3A%20the%20Montagnards%20of%20Cambodia%20and%20Vietnam,-February%2025%2C%202019&text=Often%20collectively%20referred%20to%20as,Tampuen%2C%20Brou%2C%20and%20Kreung.
• http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/135023
• https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/vietnam-montagnards-10232018155849.html
• https://www.mhro.org/montangards-history