Kinh (Viet) People: Residence, Language, Ancestor Worship and Major Festivals

Who are the Kinh (Viet) people?

The Kinh, also called Viet, are the largest ethnic group among Vietnam's 54 ethnic communities. According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019, the Kinh numbered 82,085,826 people, or 86.83% of the national population. In the Government's official list, the Kinh rank first under the name Kinh (Viet), with the alternative name Viet, and their residence area is recorded as "throughout the country".

According to documents from the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the ancestors of the Viet settled firmly in the North and North Central regions from very early times. In Vietnam's historical process, the Viet are recorded as the centre that attracted and united brother ethnic groups in building and defending the Fatherland.

Where do the Kinh live?

The Kinh live in every province and city across the country, most densely in the plains and urban areas. This is a fundamental difference from most ethnic minorities, who live mainly in mountainous, border and remote regions.

The traditional form of Kinh residence is the village. Most Viet people live in individual villages, and a few villages combine into a commune. A village usually contains several hamlets, with a large hamlet equivalent to a thon. According to ethnographic documents, a thon in the North is roughly similar to an ap in the South. Before the August Revolution, each village had its own fairly strict self-governing administrative organisation, with the Phe Giap managing population registers and ceremonies for the village tutelary deity, while craft villages had guilds of people in the same trade.

A notable feature of traditional social relations is the division between internal residents and external residents (ngu cu), clearly stipulated in the village's Huong khoan uoc. Village conventions regulated almost every aspect of village activity, requiring everyone to acknowledge and voluntarily observe them.

Regarding housing, the Viet usually live in single-storey houses. The compound is often arranged in a continuous sequence of house, yard, garden and pond. The main house is usually built with three or five bays; the central bay is the most solemn place holding the ancestor altar, the side bays are for daily living, and the room in the lean-to is reserved for women and for storing food and property. The yard serves both for drying and for daily activities, and creates a cool, airy space suited to the humid tropical climate.

Which language group does Vietnamese belong to?

The Viet have their own spoken and written language. Vietnamese belongs to the Viet Muong language group, within the Austroasiatic family. This information is consistently recorded in documents about the Kinh people.

As for writing, the Viet long used Chinese characters and Nom script, and today use the national Romanised script (Quoc ngu). In the capital Thang Long, the Temple of Literature and the Imperial Academy were established as early as the Ly dynasty to train high-level scholars, and are regarded as Vietnam's first university.

Why is wet rice farming so closely tied to the Kinh?

Wet rice farming took shape and developed among the Viet very early. Farming experience was distilled by forebears into the saying "Nhat nuoc, nhi phan, tam can, tu giong" (water first, manure second, diligence third, seed fourth). The dyke system is seen as evidence of mastering nature in order to live and farm.

Besides rice cultivation, the Viet also raise pigs, livestock and poultry, and stock fish. The water buffalo became the "head of the household's capital" for farmers. Handicrafts also developed strongly with many craft villages, to the point that quite a few craft villages separated from agriculture. Village markets, periodic markets and district markets were bustling economic hubs.

How is ancestor worship practised by the Kinh?

Ancestor worship is the most important belief of the Viet. The altar is placed in the most solemn position in the house and offerings are made on death anniversaries, Tet and other seasonal occasions during the year.

According to documents from the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, there are many ways to arrange the altar. The altar may be placed on a high bed, a curved bed or a table. On the altar are the kham (throne, yi or photograph), the mam trien (round tray), the mam dai (wine cups and betel cups placed on a tam son) along with the ngu su (incense burner, two candles, two lamps) or tam su (incense burner, two candles), and the incense bowl. The y mon may be of wood or cloth.

Besides ancestor worship, the cult of the Earth God, Kitchen God and Land God is common in many places. Many families worship the village tutelary deity, pagodas worship the Buddha, and some places worship Confucius or have shrines to patron deities. A portion of the population in rural and urban areas follows Catholicism, Protestantism and other religions such as Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism.

Each clan usually has its own ancestral temple. The clan divides into branches, each branch includes several sub-branches, and each sub-branch includes siblings sharing the same parents and grandparents. Paternal kinship ties are maintained firmly across many generations, and relatives on both the paternal and maternal sides help one another.

What are the main festivals of the Kinh during the year?

Tet Nguyen Dan is the biggest festival of the year. After the lunar new year come the spring festivals. There are also many other traditional festivals throughout the year, each with its own meaning and different rituals.

The lunar calendar has long been part of the life, customs and beliefs of the Viet. People use the lunar calendar to calculate ages, death anniversaries, farming seasons and auspicious or inauspicious days for major tasks such as building a house, marriage and reburial. The solar calendar is the official calendar today and is increasingly widely used.

Marriage, funerals and house building according to custom

The traditional marriage rites of the Viet pass through several basic steps: dam (asking a matchmaker to visit the girl's family to sound them out first), hoi (bringing offerings to formally discuss with the girl's family and relatives), cuoi (holding a ceremony to report to the ancestors, introducing the couple to relatives and neighbours, and bringing the bride to the groom's house), and lai mat (the bride and groom visiting the bride's parents). Before that, the couple must register their marriage.

Viet funerals are held solemnly, usually through the steps of lying in state, placing in the coffin, funeral procession, burial, rice offerings, the "tu cuu" weekly offerings, the "bach mat" ceremony, mourning, the first death anniversary and reburial. At each Thanh minh and each death anniversary or Tet, families repair the graves and hold offerings. Reburial is recorded as a very sacred custom of the Viet.

When building a house, the Viet have the saying "Lay vo hien hoa, lam nha huong nam" (take a gentle wife, build a south-facing house), because a south-facing house is warm in winter and cool in summer. Besides choosing the direction, the householder also considers ages and sets a good date and month for the ground-breaking; when finished, a good day is chosen to welcome the ancestors to the new house and celebrate.

Eating, clothing and daily life

"Com te, nuoc che" (plain rice and tea) are the basic daily food and drink of the Viet. Glutinous dishes appear only on festivals. A meal usually includes vegetable soup or crab soup, and fish. The Viet are very fond of various fermented sauces (shrimp paste, fish, shrimp, crab) and pickles (mustard greens, scallions, eggplant, pickled leeks). Soybean paste and spices such as chilli, garlic and ginger are also common. Alcohol is used on festivals and at gatherings. Betel chewing and pipe smoking were formerly not only needs and habits but also part of rituals and customs.

In traditional dress, men usually wear short-legged trousers and brown (North) or black (South) shirts, go barefoot, and on festivals wear white trousers, black long tunics, a folded turban and wooden clogs. Women wear black skirts, bodices and brown shirts, with a black crow-beak scarf (North). On festival days women wear the ao dai. In winter both men and women often add padded double-layer jackets.

Regarding means of transport, ethnographic documents divide them into two types. On land there are carrying poles (quang, cap, don soc, don can), carrying on the shoulder, carrying by hand, palanquins, head-carrying, back-carrying (bags, shoulder bags), piggyback carrying, pack animals, and vehicles such as bicycles, rickshaws, pushcarts, horse carts, buffalo carts and ox carts. On water there are boats, rafts, canoes and ships of many designs, sizes and materials.

The Kinh in the picture of 54 ethnic groups

According to Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCD dated 2 March 1979, Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups. The Kinh head the list under the name Kinh (Viet), with the alternative name Viet. The remaining 53 groups are called minorities, making up about 14.6% of the national population according to Nhan Dan newspaper.

A clear distinction is needed: names such as Mong Hoa, Mong Trang and Mong Den are only branches of the Mong ethnic group, not three separate ethnic groups. Similarly, groups such as Cao Lan and San Chi are two groups within the San Chay ethnic group. This classification helps avoid confusion when consulting the official list.

Ethnic minority communities usually live in communities, interwoven with one another and with the Kinh. Some groups such as the Khmer, Cham and Hoa live concentrated in the plains and urban areas of the Central and Southern regions. The remaining ethnic minorities live mainly in mountainous areas with complex terrain, difficult transport, and heavy exposure to climate change and natural disasters.

Folk arts and games

Viet folk literature has many rich genres: fairy tales, folk songs, folk ballads and proverbs, reflecting every aspect of life and contributing greatly to preserving national identity. Written literature achieved success in the Ly and Tran periods and especially from the 15th century onward with authors such as Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Nguyen Du and Ho Xuan Huong. The fine arts, music and theatre developed and became professionalised.

Viet folk games are very diverse by age, gender and season. Some are recreational, such as bird releasing, kite flying and Chinese chess. Some are strongly athletic and communal, such as tug of war, swinging, wrestling and boat racing. Many bear historical and cultural marks, such as cu wrestling, rice-cooking contests and clay firecracker contests. Spring festivals are where the greatest number of folk games gather.

Points to note when researching the Kinh people

Sources on the Kinh may differ in population figures depending on the survey date. For example, documents from the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs cite the 1 April 2019 survey with 82,085,826 people, while some pages on the same topic cite the 2009 Population and Housing Census with 73,594,341 people. Both record the rate of 86.83%, but the time points differ, so citations should state the survey year clearly.

Some sources also differ in the dating of historical events related to the Viet. Readers should cross-check several official sources and clearly cite the source when using figures.

The customs presented above are common features that are generally recorded. In reality, each region, clan and family may have its own variations in altar arrangement, offerings and timing. Differences between regions are differences in cultural practice, not criteria for judging which place is more standard than another.