Lotus power

A cup of lotus tea by West Lake is still a poetic experience for Vietnamese people despite the fact that the flower is now less commonly grown on the lake’s waters.

At 4.30am the scent of blossomed lotuses wafts across the bank of West Lake in Hanoi. As the sun rises slowly into the sky, lotus flowers open up all across the water. In the distance I can see lotus pickers in small rowing boats circumnavigating the area, deflowering the water. The plucked flowers are sold to traders back on dry land.

“Hau dong” to be nominated as world intangible heritage

The Institute for Culture and Art of Vietnam is collecting materials to ask for concerned agencies to nominate “hau dong” as a UNESCO world intangible cultural heritage.

The institute has gathered sufficient materials, including documents, photos and video clips about “hau dong”. However, some more materials will be collected from the Hau dong festival this July at the Giang Temple in the northern province of Ha Nam.

Hau dong is a ritual of spirit mediumship in connection with Dao Mau, a Vietnamese Mother Goddess religion. Vietnamese people utilise Hau dong as a way to create a connection between practitioners and deities, with whom they attempt to communicate. Scholars have shown Hau dong to be a spectacular showcase of much of Vietnamese culture in general.

Contemporary art in folk festival: impressive, strange

The Lanh Giang temple festival in Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province from July 23-26 was the first folk festival in Vietnam to see the contribution of contemporary art.

To prepare for this festival, 30 contemporary painters went to Duy Tien on July 22. Each day ten painters drew patterns on 20 village boys to serve the hau dong performances.

“We didn’t have to use traditional patterns. We were free to express ourselves,” said young artist Le Minh Nam.