Culture of Vietnam
The Vietnamese culture has its beginnings in the Dong Son culture about 3000 years ago.
Today's culture in Vietnam is a mixture of the following three elements:
- original local cultures of the Vietnamese and other peoples of the country
- Chinese elements that came into the country through Sinization when Vietnam was under Chinese rule or a formally independent Chinese vassal state . At times, these elements were deliberately pushed back.
- Elements of the Central European culture, which were taken over during the period of French colonial rule
Language and writing
The Vietnamese language is spoken by almost all residents of the country. In all likelihood, it belongs to the Mon-Khmer language family and is now grouped together with that of the Muong into the Viet-Muong languages . During Chinese rule and also under Vietnamese feudal rulers, Chinese was the official language. From the 13th century onwards, Vietnamese was also written using the Nom characters , i.e. Chinese script . The many loan words from Chinese, which make up about 30 percent of modern Vietnamese, also originate from this period .
From the 17th century, French missionaries introduced the Latin alphabet into the Vietnamese language. The Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes (1591–1660) developed a transcription system for Vietnamese, which became the basis of the alphabet used in written language from the late 19th century, called Quốc ngữ . In order to represent the six tones of Vietnamese, numerous diacritics were added to the Latin alphabet .
In addition to the Vietnamese language, the more than 50 ethnic groups in the country speak languages from various other language families . In addition to Chinese, these are: Mon-Khmer ( Khmer , Mon and 19 other ethnic groups) and Austronesian languages ( Cham , Giarai , Ede and others), Tai-Kadai languages ( Thái , Tày , Nung and others), Tibeto-Burmese and Hmong -Mien languages ( Hmong , Dao ).
literature
Early Vietnamese literature was heavily influenced by Chinese literature as well as the spread of Buddhism and Confucianism . Two currents developed, namely a scholarly literature, which was written with Chinese characters , and a folk literature, which was initially only transmitted orally, but was later also distributed in its own Vietnamese script, the Nôm script . Both currents have in common that they have a great affinity for the rhyme form .
After the establishment of the Lê dynasty , although Vietnamese traditions were emphasized, the scholarly literature remained in Chinese and the examinations for prospective civil servants were also held in Chinese and largely contained Confucian literature. From the time of the Le and their successor dynasties, there are mainly collections of poetry, but also some works that deal with the history of Vietnam. During the crisis of the Vietnamese state, there were writers who criticized the prevailing situation in Nom in a satirical way. Its two most important representatives were Hồ Xuân Hương and Nguyễn Du , the latter known for his verse novel Das Mädchen Kieu .
As a result of the colonization, not only the Latin script, which is still used today, came to Vietnam, but also new forms of literature and Western ideas. A new generation of writers saw themselves as political enlighteners and abandoned the strict literary forms of Confucianism. New forms of modern poetry, epic and drama emerged in Vietnam. Important personalities from this era are Trương Vĩnh Ký , who was also the author of the first Vietnamese-French dictionary, and Hoàng Ngoc Phách , author of the first Vietnamese novel (The Girl To Tam; 1922).
With the beginning of the Indochina War , the literary life of Vietnam came almost completely to a standstill by the end of the Vietnam War . After the Vietnam War, literature was censored by the communist government and was mainly used to make its own soldiers in the Vietnam war heroic and to promote the communist path of development. Only since the 1980s has Vietnamese literature been given a boost by writers such as Ma Văn Kháng , Le Luu , Nguyên Huy Thiêp or Dương Thu Hương . The latter took part in the liberation struggle, later criticized the party leadership, was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested, but is now one of the most popular writers in Vietnam. One of the few Vietnamese writers whose works are also available in Germany is Phạm Thị Hoài .
Visual arts
A traditional Vietnamese art form are woodcut prints that are hung in the apartments for the Vietnamese New Year festival Tết Nguyên Đán . Similar to the cherry blossom bushes and other decorations, they are intended to ensure happiness in the New Year on this occasion. These New Year's pictures take their Vietnamese name Tranh Đông Hồ or Làng Đông Hồ after the village Đông Hồ in the municipality of Song Hồ, district Thuận Thành, in the province of Bắc Ninh , about 40 kilometers northeast of Hanoi. This is the most famous of the handicraft villages that produce these images, because only here are the prints made from regional, natural materials and these recipes have been passed on as a secret for centuries. Over half a million pictures are produced annually.
As paper, the bark of a tree called "Dzo" is refined, watered for months and usually colored orange, pink, yellow or purple. The motifs are printed with different color combinations, then a rice flour paste is applied as a protective film, which makes the pictures extremely durable. Traditional motifs are preferred to modern ones in the representation.
The rooster protects the house, the frog stands for bravery, the pig for prosperity and the prosperity of the harvest, peacock and phoenix for beauty and peace, and the goose for gentleness. Many of these symbols are also known in China, but have changed their meaning in Vietnam. Typical Vietnamese motifs are palm trees and elephants as well as the depiction of legendary people and events. Many of the New Year's pictures reveal humor, such as the popular motif of the old man trying to settle the dispute between his two young wives, mouse or frog weddings and scenes from everyday life in the country.
The painting on the right celebrates the year of the rat and depicts a rat wedding. A cat is shown as a representative of the upper class, whereas the rats represent poor and good-natured creatures. In order for the wedding to go well, they must give their ruler the right weight with gifts. The satirical character of the representation has retained its importance to this day. According to another interpretation, the cat represents China, to which the Vietnamese pay tribute.
Festivals
Most of the Vietnamese festivals are of Chinese origin. In the course of time these festivals got a typical Vietnamese touch. There are also a number of festivals that are celebrated by the ethnic minorities.
The most important festival of the whole year is Tết , the Chinese New Year , which usually lasts a whole week from the last day of the lunar calendar . For this festival, many Vietnamese who live abroad come back to Vietnam, all shops and restaurants are closed for several days. The turn of the year is celebrated with a hell of a racket from percussion instruments and actually illegal fireworks . According to tradition and popular belief, the New Year must be celebrated in a freshly cleaned house and with new clothes. In addition, some dishes are only prepared on this holiday. Poor families in particular have to save all year round to be able to afford the celebrations.
Other important festivals are Tết Trung Nguyên , the day of the wandering souls, which usually falls in August (according to the western calendar). Here clothes and food are offered to the souls of the dead and the graves are cleaned. At Trung Thu , the mid-autumn festival, dragon dances are performed, the round moon is admired and special cakes are eaten. Christmas has recently become a general holiday, but it is only really celebrated by the Christian minority.
See also: Vietnam
religion
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A large number of ethnic religions can be found in Vietnam . Originally, animism , polytheism and ancestral cults were widespread among the Vietnamese peoples . Many of the gods that were worshiped back then still exist in popular beliefs today.
The most important religion is Buddhism . Mahâyâna Buddhism , which is predominant today , came to Vietnam in the 2nd century via China and the southern kingdoms of Funan (now Cambodia) and Champa and was the first foreign religion to gain a foothold in Vietnam. In addition to Mahâyâna as the most important school, there are also followers of Theravâda (especially common among the Khmer), Zen Buddhism and Hoa Hao , a Buddhist tradition founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So.
The second most important religion after the number of followers is Catholicism . He came to the country with French, Spanish and Portuguese missionaries from the 17th century. Today there are around 6,000 churches in Vietnam and around 7% of the population are Catholic. Since the end of the 19th century there has also been a small group of Protestants .
Around two million Vietnamese are followers of the Cao Dai ("Grand Palace"), a syncretistic religion that emerged in the 1920s and goes back to the spiritualistic revelations of the founder Ngô Văn Chiêu .
Muslims are mainly found in the mountain regions of Central Vietnam, among the descendants of the Cham .
As before, the centuries-old close ties with China are reflected in the religious world of Vietnam; both Taoism and Confucianism left their mark. All of these religions have undergone a certain adaptation to the country in Vietnam, so that they are often not identical in their manifestations to those in the neighboring countries of Vietnam.
It is very difficult to quantify the number of people who belong to a particular religion. First, Vietnam is an officially atheist state, and the Vietnamese government also acted aggressively against religions until the 1980s, which is no longer the case. Furthermore, it is not uncommon in Asia to profess more than one religion. In almost every household there is a small shrine in honor of one's ancestors. The majority of the population practices a mixture of Buddhism, Daoism, animism and ancestral cult.
kitchen
Vietnamese cuisine is among the lightest and healthiest in the world. It is related to Chinese cuisine, but Vietnam has its own cooking tradition that has produced many dishes that do not exist in other countries. In the south there are Thai , Khmer and Indian influences on the Vietnamese menu, Buddhism has also contributed to a rich vegetarian cuisine, and the French have brought baguettes , croissants and coffee .
theatre
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Vietnam has produced some typical forms of musical and theatrical arts that are heavily influenced by those of its neighbors ( China , Thailand , Cambodia ); Particularly strong weight in the development of these arts has been given to the ethnic minorities. Most art forms have been passed down orally from older to younger generations; Unfortunately, many of them have been lost through the long period of wars.
The oldest stage art in Vietnam is called Chèo (roughly: Volksoper). Here satirical scenes are improvised on the basis of well-known legends, stylized movements and pieces of music ; the audience is drawn in by beating a drum when the scene is not appealing. The art was temporarily banned during the imperial era because of its satirism and today there are only a few ensembles that perform Hat Cheo.
Tuồng is a modification of Chinese opera and originally had the task of entertaining the imperial court; only later did it hit the streets. The theme is events from history or Confucian thought such as the relationship between the monarch and his subordinates. There are no props, everything is represented by the movement, music and make-up of the actors. Hat Tuong has also become very rare.
(Hát) Cải lương is a more modern hybrid of western spoken theater and traditional Vietnamese styles. The pieces mostly represent a historical theme with modern means, are very fast and modern musical instruments such as keyboards , electric guitars and drums are used. This form of theater is very adaptable.
An art form that only exists in Vietnam is water puppet theater . Its origins are unclear, but it was likely an integral part of the country's cultural life as early as the 11th century . In the water puppet show, marionettes that are above the surface of water represent scenes from rural life or history. In addition to the puppets, fireworks and the surface of the water itself, which can be calm or very wild, are used. The water puppet show was an art form that was kept top secret and was only passed on from the old to the young within a family. It was almost extinct by the 1980s when a French organization brought this tradition back to life with new puppets and a new stage. The ensembles have already made successful guest appearances abroad on several occasions, and the performances can be seen in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City .
music
Similar to theatrical traditions, musical traditions were passed on orally and have partly been lost. A great loss would be the disappearance of the court music Nhã nhạc , translated as 'elegant music' or 'ceremonial music', which describes the music that was played from the Trần dynasty in the 13th century to the Nguyễn dynasty in the mid-20th century Courts of Thang Long, now Hanoi , and Huế , and flourished in the 19th century. Efforts to save this highly developed art form from oblivion can be observed every two years at the Festival of Huế ( Nhã nhạc cung đình Huế ), which was included by UNESCO in the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity program in 2003 become.
Examples of traditional religious art forms are Lên đồng and Hát chầu văn , which were banned from the early 1950s until 1986. Hát chầu văn is a combination of music and dance that was performed in pagodas and temples. It's very rhythmic and mesmerizing; they played media into a trance state in order to establish contact with the gods.
Local styles often shape the musical genres and their names: Quan họ, for example, comes from the delta of the red river and is one of the oldest surviving forms. Here an unmarried man and an unmarried woman alternate singing improvisations without any other accompaniment. This ritual used to be very important when preparing a wedding. Since 2009 Quan Họ has been on the UNESCO list of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
Ca Trù and Ca Hué are song forms that are sung by female voices based on poems and ballads and are accompanied by lutes, a bamboo drums and a drum. Ca Tru has become very rare. Ca Hué is performed in the city of Huế for the tourists. In the old imperial city, the popular Hat a Dao art, which is reminiscent of the Japanese geisha culture,was oncealive. At the beginning of the Ly dynasty , melodies were composed thatwere inspiredby the Cham culture, sad and wistful melodies made famous by names such as Nam-Binh, Nam-Thuong, Nam-Ai and Nam-Khach.
Sometimes traditional music is still performed for tourists, even if these performances are usually not very authentic. The difficulties faced by traditional music in Vietnam correspond to the difficulties encountered in all Southeast Asian musical traditions: Young people are increasingly losing interest in learning a traditional instrument and are more likely to flirt with pop music.
In an attempt to preserve the Vietnamese cultural heritage, the government has arranged for the songs to be written down in Western notation and performed by newly formed ensembles. However, the texts have been modernized - they now deal with the sweet life of workers and peasants. This government initiative has led to the creation of a new form of music, modern folk music , which is often played on radio and television and which can no longer really be compared with traditional forms, except that traditional instruments are used here.
New efforts to preserve the Vietnamese musical heritage for posterity are being made with foreign participation. The most important thing here is the commitment of the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in Hanoi, which is financed (and controlled) by the state, but also receives a lot of help from abroad. The institute mainly conducts field research, because 54 ethnic minorities live in Vietnam, each with their own musical traditions and instruments. Many of these peoples and their traditions are still considered unexplored to this day.
Since Đổi mới began, a Vietnamese pop music scene has been established, inspired by artists from Hong Kong , Thailand and Taiwan . The typical pop band consists of a singer, bass guitar and keyboard, they usually play slutty love songs that come from productive songwriters like Trịnh Công Sơn , Pham Trong Cau , Diep Minh Tuyen or Thanh Tung . The scene is dominated by male singers from the south; However, once a star has risen, it soon fades in this fast-paced environment.
Karaoke is experiencing a great boom all over Southeast Asia, including Vietnam: The main streets of larger cities usually have several well-attended establishments.
dress
Women are usually covered from shoulders to feet. Especially when dealing with authorities or during private visits, clean and tidy clothes make a difference. When entering private homes, it is etiquette to take off your shoes. The same is true of some temples (chua); observe the behavior of the locals in this regard.
The national dress of women in Vietnam is called Áo dài and consists of a knee-length or ankle-length silk dress slit up on both sides to over the hips, under which long, mostly wide-cut white silk trousers are worn. This garment was designed by a Vietnamese designer in the 1930s and is popular across the country, especially among women, but it can also be worn by men. The Áo dài in white is the school uniform in many high schools. In hotels, too, the female staff is often dressed in Áo dàis. Generally pastel colors are preferred, at most with an inconspicuous pattern. Everyday Vietnamese street clothing consists of long trousers and a blouse made of the same fabric and is similar to subtle European pajamas.
The flat, cone-shaped hat is a symbol of Vietnam worldwide and is in fact worn by almost the entire rural population, while it is less commonly seen in the big cities. The hats are made from palm leaves and are light and waterproof. In recent times, men have often been wearing caps or pith helmets, as the cone hat is seen more as a female item of clothing.
In the city of Huế there is a special form of cone hat, the so-called poem hat , with pictures and poems painted on the underside.
In the country, clothing is simple because it is often peasant work clothing, which is very often dark and always long.
In the big cities - as in many other densely populated Asian cities - a face mask is worn or a cloth tied over the mouth to protect against dust and exhaust gases. If a woman values her appearance, it can be a silk scarf framed by a pretty crochet border. The well-groomed woman often wears light, bright gloves with a short-sleeved blouse that reach over the elbows to protect herself from dust and sun. Similar to Europe in the Middle Ages, light skin is considered elegant and a sign of beauty, so that sunscreen is popular with Vietnamese girls.
Topless or even nude bathing on the beach is unacceptable. Vietnamese women in bikini are the exception, rather modest swimsuits - similar to those in Europe around 1900 - or pants and T-shirts for younger people are worn for bathing.
In urban business life, great value is placed on well-groomed clothing: long trousers with creases, long, light-colored shirts and, possibly, ties are for male employees, e.g. B. Unwritten obligation in banks and hotels; the business woman has the choice between traditional clothing or a western outfit in a subtle costume or blazer.
Sports
Vietnam rarely makes an appearance at major sporting events . This is because, although sport is a mass phenomenon in Vietnam, competitive sport is very little developed due to a lack of infrastructure and financial resources.
The most popular sport is soccer . In addition, Asian sports such as Thai Cuc Quyen , Kung Fu , Vovinam , Taekwondo , Judo and Karate are very popular. In recent years, European sports such as badminton, tennis or golf have become increasingly fashionable, especially in the wealthier sections of the population.
literature
- Andreas Margara : The American War. Remembrance culture in Vietnam. Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-940132-48-2
Web links
- Olov RT Janse: The Origins of the Traditional Vietnamese Music. (PDF; 4.2 MB) Asian Perspectives 6, 1962, pp. 145–162
Individual evidence
- ↑ New Year's pictures from Đông Hồ on cathrinka.blog.de ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ huefestival.com , engl.
- ↑ portal.unesco.org ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), engl.
- ↑ Quan Họ Bắc Ninh folk songs / Quan Họ-Volkslieder from Bắc Ninh ( Eng. ) UNESCO. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
