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Vietnam Background
Using the patriarchal family as the basic social institution,
the Confucianists framed their societal norm in terms of the
duties and obligations of a family to a father, a child to a
parent, a wife to a husband, and a younger brother to an older
brother; they held that the welfare and continuity of the family
group were more important than the interests of any individual
member. Indeed, the individual was less an independent being than
a member of a family group that included not only living members
but also a long line of ancestors and of those yet to be born. A
family member's life was caught up in the activities of a
multitude of relatives. Members of the same household lived
together, worked together, and gathered together for marriages,
funerals, Tet (lunar New Year) celebrations, and rituals marking
the anniversary of an ancestor's death. Family members looked
first to other family members for help and counsel in times of
personal crisis and guarded the interests of the family in making
personal or household decisions.
Special reverence was accorded a family's ancestors. This
practice, known as the family cult or cult of the ancestors,
derived from the belief that after death the spirits of the
departed continued to influence the world of the living. The soul
was believed to become restless and likely to exert an
unfavorable influence on the living, unless it was venerated in
the expected manner.
Veneration of ancestors was also regarded as a means through
which an individual could assure his or her own immortality.
Children were valued because they could provide for the spirits
of their parents after death. Family members who remained
together and venerated their forebears with strict adherence to
prescribed ritual found comfort in the belief that the souls of
their ancestors were receiving proper spiritual nourishment and
that they were insuring their own soul's nourishment after death.
The cult required an ancestral home or patrimony, a piece of
land legally designated as a place devoted to the support of
venerated ancestors. Ownership of land that could be dedicated to
the support of the cult was, however, only a dream for most
landless farmers. The cult also required a senior male of direct
descent to oversee preparations for obligatory celebrations and
offerings.
On the anniversary of an ancestor's death, rites were
performed before the family altar to the god of the house, and
sacrificial offerings were made to both the god and the ancestor.
The lavishness of the offering depended on the income of the
family and on the rank of the deceased within the family. A
representative of each family in the lineage was expected to be
present, even if this meant traveling great distances. Whenever
there was an occasion of family joy or sorrow, such as a wedding,
an anniversary, success in an examination, a promotion, or a
funeral, the ancestors were informed through sacrificial
offerings.
In the traditional kinship system, the paternal line of
descent was emphasized. Individuals were identified primarily by
their connections through the father's male bloodline, and kin
groups larger than the family--clans and lineages--were formed by
kinspeople who traced their relationship to each other in this
manner. It was through these patrilineal descent groups that both
men and women inherited property and that men assumed their
primary obligation for maintaining the ancestor observances.
The patrilineal group maintained an extremely strong kin
relationship. Members' ties to one another were reinforced by
their shared heritage, derived from residence in the same village
over many generations. Family land and tombs, located in or near
the village, acted as a focus for feelings of kin loyalty,
solidarity, and continuity.
The extended family rather than the nuclear one was the
dominant family structure, often including three or even four
generations, and typically consisting of grandparents, father and
mother, children, and grandchildren, all living under the same
roof. Sometimes parents had more than one married son living with
them, but this often led to such tension that it was generally
held preferable for a second son to live separately. All members
of the household lived under the authority of the oldest male,
and all contributed to the income of the family.
Despite the cultural emphasis on obedience in women, women
were not regarded as the weaker sex but as resilient and strongwilled . In the village, women assumed a great deal of
responsibility for cultivation of paddy fields, often working
harder than men, and sometimes engaged in retail trade of all
kinds. A few women owned agricultural estates, factories, and
other businesses, and both urban and rural women typically
managed the family income. A woman's influence in family affairs
could be increased by giving birth to a first male child. In
general, though, a woman was expected to be dutiful and
respectful toward her husband and his parents, to care for him
and his children, and to perform household duties. There were no
women in public life.
Besides the so-called wife of the first rank, a household
sometimes included a second and third wife and their children.
The consent of the first wife was required before this
arrangement could be made, but, more often than not, additional
wives either were established by the husband in separate
households or were permitted to continue living as they had
before marriage, in their own homes or with parents. Polygyny was
widespread in both northern and central Vietnam, as was the
taking of concubines.
Marriage was regarded primarily as a social contract and was
arranged by the parents through intermediaries. The parents'
choice was influenced more by considerations affecting the
welfare of the lineage than by the preferences of the
participants.
Interest in having children was strongly reinforced by
Confucian culture, which made it imperative to produce a male
heir to continue the family line. A couple with numerous
offspring was envied. If there were sons, it was assured that the
lineage would be perpetuated and the cult of the ancestors
maintained; if there was no male heir, a couple was regarded as
unfortunate, and a barren wife could be divorced or supplanted by
another wife.
Fostering filial piety was of overriding importance in childrearing . Children were expected to be polite to their parents and
older persons, to be solicitous of their welfare, to show them
respect through proper manner and forms of address, and to carry
out prescribed tradition with respect to funeral practices and
the observance of mourning. After the deaths of their parents, it
was incumbent upon surviving children (and their children in
turn), to honor their parents' memory through maintenance of the
ancestors' cult.
All important family occasions such as births, betrothals,
marriages, funerals, and anniversaries of the deaths of ancestors
were observed by appropriate ceremonies in which members of the
kin group participated. The ceremonies had both religious and
social meaning, and many were very elaborate, in keeping with the
wealth and social status of the family. Whenever such a
celebration took place, the family was always careful to make an
offering to the god of the hearth. Prayers and sacrifices were
also made when misfortune fell upon the household.
Data as of December 1987
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