Vietnam - Home to Traditional Festivals

3:26:30 PM | 7/8/2005

Vietnamese culture has been endowed with a long heritage and is deeply stamped with national pride. Famous ancient cultures include the Nui Do culture closely followed by the Son Vi culture, were founded over 10,000 years ago, then by the Hoa Binh-Bac Son culture and the flourishing Dong Son culture, which was closely related to the Red River and wet rice civilisation (in the north); the Sa Huynh culture related to the Cham people (in Central regions); and the Oc Eo culture of Phu Nam State (in the South).

Despite all of these historical contingencies, there still thousands of preserved historic and culture sites throughout Vietnam, from which nearly 3,000 have been listed as national heritage sites. These relics are concentrated mainly in Hanoi and Hue. For example, the relics of the Hung Kings in Phong Chau (Phu Tho province) date back to the period of the formation of the country. There are also the Co Loa Citadel of the Au Lac State, the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, and the My Son Cham Towers in the Central region.

Vietnam has its own language and writing. The national identity is made up of the 54 ethnic minorities living together in the country. This diversity has produced a lot of traditional arts which have been developing for thousands of years.

Specific features of Vietnam are likewise reflected in other cultural tokens such as legends, festivals, traditional theatre (Cheo, Tuong, Cai Luong, Quan Ho), water puppetry, music, dances and other customs.

Cheo (popular opera)

Cheo, or popular opera, originates from the Red River Delta. The most typical form of popular opera is clowning, in which the clowns make the audience burst out in tears one minute and laugh heartily the next.

Tuong (classical opera)

Tuong started in the 17^th century and became very popular in the 18^th century. Tuong stages royal and imaginative characters and it is more commonly performed in central and southern provinces.

Cai Luong (reformed opera)

In this stage performance, the characters’ thoughts are often expressed in songs. “Ca Cai Luong” means that singing plays an important role in the performance. Cai Luong is commonly performed in the Mekong River Delta.

Water puppet show

This original form of art originates from rural festivals in Vietnam. The ponds and lakes of the villages become lively stages for water puppet shows. All puppets are handled by hand and a live musical band accompanies their movements on the water.

Quan Ho Folk songs

Quan Ho folk songs originate from the province of Bac Ninh, north of Hanoi, where traditional village festivals are held every year. These songs are performed by groups of young men and women, who sing alternately in outdoors settings, such as the yard of a communal house, a pagoda on a hill, or a rowboat.