Deep-rooted meaning in Vietnam’s cultural markets

For many Vietnamese, the village market plays a central role in daily life.

It is a place to meet to swap goods, ideas, gossip and it forms the social and economic hub of every village.

Baby ducks and chicks for sale at a village market.

With some 70% of the population living in the countryside, Vietnamese life is centered on the village, with village markets a familiar picture in the minds of all Vietnamese.
Village markets are usually small and formed by a group of local people as a place to exchange their products. They choose a place where many people will pass and gradually, these exchange places become bigger and bigger to make a real market.
Markets often gather 3-5 times a week and are divided into main and sub-gatherings. For the main gatherings, the atmosphere is always more exciting and the market lasts longer. Each village will sell one kind of special good such as bamboo baskets, iron hoes, knives, etc. By looking at what’s on sale at a village’s market, we can easily guess the local trade. If we see a lot of conical hats on sale, then those living in the area are likely hat makers. The sub-gatherings are less crowded and tend to sell only essential foods.
Chuong Market in Thanh Oai District, Hanoi is a typical village market. Villagers here gather 6 times a month, on the 4th, 10th, 14th, 20th, 24th and 30th, and sell only one product: conical hats and the materials to make them.

Home produces.

Like Chuong Hat Village in Hanoi, Dong Bang Mat Market in Thai Binh Province, Ba Ren Pig market in the central Quang Nam or Cai Rang Floating Market in the southern Can Tho Province, are also some famous ones among thousands of village markets in Vietnam.
Village markets in Vietnam, which are said to have existed for thousands of years, are not only a mere goods-exchanging place but also a special cultural feature that highlights the traits and lifestyle of people living in the countryside. They are farmers and artisans who usually have to struggle to make ends meet. However, unlike the situation at markets in the big city, there is little need to bargain for the products sold because at the village markets, buyers and sellers are all relatives, neighbors or know one another very well.
“We all know one another very well here in our village’s market,” said my friend who is living in Voc Village in northern Nam Dinh Province, “Things are sold and purchased very quickly so we can come home early to get to the rice fields.”

Local artisans trading mats in Dinh Yen Mat Market in the southern Dong Thap Province.

The foods being sold at village markets are fresh but not carefully chosen or beautifully arranged like those in the city markets. A basket of crab or shellfish would have been caught during the previous night or the day before. Vegetables are also very fresh. These products are all collected from the sellers’ crop after putting aside enough for their family’s needs.
As most Vietnamese people have grown up in a village, village markets have become a comforting picture of home. Many people have left their quiet villages for the exciting cities, but the memories of the old days remain forever. As in the case of Truong Ngoc Binh, who is now living and working in San Jose, America. Binh was born and grew up in Bac Ninh, a northern province with a long and rich culture.
“In my memory, our village’s Buu Market represents the most carefree and peaceful time in life,” Binh revealed. “I remember getting up early and going with my younger sister and brother to a small bridge to wait for my mother’s return from the market. We would sit there, trying to guess if my mother was in the group of women approaching us. When the familiar figure of mother appeared from far away, we all rushed out to greet her and help her carry something if we could.”
When Tet holiday nears, village markets suddenly become much busier. After a year working hard, it’s time for people to relax, and Vietnamese people find the market a good place to gather and meet one another. The markets are bigger than normal and besides a bigger range of foods being offered for sale, people often hold a small fair featuring traditional games such as ferris wheels, lottery, dragon dancing, etc. These markets usually last from December 29 to January 3rd of the lunar year.
Village’s markets have played the role of a cultural and entertainment centre for the farmers and are a vital part of every village.

By Le Nguyen