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For instance, the Tay and Thai are very good at wet rice

cultivation and successful in the development of their socio-

economic models for cultivation in the valleys and at the feet

of mountains. They have created the famous rice granary in

the very northern part of Viet Nam. They have formed their

own culture – known as the wet rice culture – with their

traditional festivals related to the harvest, new rice welcome

events, the rice god and a system of belief in natural spirits.

The Mon-Khmer group live in the high mountainous area

and cultivate the swidden land. Their culture is related to

the highland and forest regions, with colourful patterns on

their costumes and lively dances with the sonority of song

and music. Particularly, the Khmer people in the south live

in the large delta and practice Theravada Buddhism. Among

the Austronesian peoples, the Cham in the central part of

Viet Nam are used to living along the coastal areas and their

culture is imbued with the sea. They still have their own

ancient writing system and contribute to the cultural diver-

sity of Viet Nam with the famous My Son holy site, Poh

Nagar Tower and their own special festivals dedicated to

their gods and ancient kings with songs, dances and rituals.

The Hmong-Dao group have been able to cultivate the

wet rice on the mountainsides and are very good at forging

iron tools, husbandry and herb medicine. Thus, the habita-

tion of the ethnic groups creates their living environment

and cultural traits depending on their locations: the delta

zone, the coastal zone, the midland zone, the valley and

mountainous zone, the high mountainous zone or the plain

zone. The cultural zones reflect the shared cultural identi-

ties and at the same time the cultural diversity that once

again creates multicultural Viet Nam.

The cultures of ethnic groups in Viet Nam are always in

exchange and share similarities. They bear common traits

of the culture in Southeast Asia, but they are influenced

by each other and depending on the natural environment,

habitation and historical conditions. Some cultural traits

can be found among many ethnic groups in certain areas

and become the regional cultural trait. Thus, in Viet Nam,

cultural regions have been created, each with its own

customs, traditional festivals, songs and rituals such as the

Lang region, Thanh region or Dong region.

Cultural diversity can also be seen in various parts of Viet

Nam among an ethnic group. This is due to cultural adap-

tation to the living environment and conditions, as well as

cultural exchange among neighbouring ethnic groups. For

instance, for the Kinh people, its culture in the northern,

central and southern parts has distinguishing traits. A number

of the Kinh immigrants who moved from the north to the

south and settled there for thousands of years have been in

cultural exchange with the indigenous peoples there such as

the Cham or the Khmer and adapted to their living conditions.

These living conditions and symbiosis make the Kinh culture

in the south different from the one in the north, especially in

dialects, customs, traditional costumes and folk performances.

Image: Nguyen Huynh

Making a petition to spirits for good luck, good health and prosperity

gree

iffer