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CHAPTER 3

THE PEOPLE

General Impressions

The first things that newcomers usually notice in Vietnam are the smiling faces of countless children, and the lovely fragile-looking women in their flowing dresses reminiscent of butterflies. The people are a gentle type who are shy, yet can be outgoing with foreigners, especially Americans.

Children love to follow the American men chanting a few words in English, such as, "Hello, GI, you give me candy?" and "You number one." If you don't give the professional child beggars a coin, they will shout, "You number ten." All the while, the children may touch you with their hands and run away, only to creep back again, still smiling. They are intrigued by the hair on American soldiers' arms and often tug at it and giggle.

Families are large in this part of the world, and it is not uncommon to see tiny children lugging around their little brother or sister on their hip. Sometimes the little one may weigh just a few pounds less than his porter; children naturally take care of each other.

Food has been fairly abundant in Vietnam, and you do not see the sadness of hunger on children's faces except in extreme cases. They seem almost fearless and fun-loving. An example of this was clearly shown during the 1963 coup d'etat in Saigon when youngsters went right behind tanks and soldiers firing guns, picking up empty shell casings.

Dress

The women of Vietnam have, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful national costumes in the world. It is called the "ao-dai." The over-dress is form-fitting to the waist, with long tight sleeves. At the waist, two panels extend front and back to cover the long satin trousers underneath. Correct fit dictates that the pants reach the sole of the foot, and are always slightly longer than the dress panels. Occasionally lace is sewn around the bottom of each leg. Tradition has kept the color of the pants of the ao-dai to black or white.

The traditional ao-dai has a high mandarian collar and is favored by most of the Vietnamese men for their wives and other family members, as well as their girl friends. Young moderns, however, often choose the newer "Madame Nhu" or boat neckline which is far more comfortable in the tropical heat. After the coup d'etat of 1963 when the Diem regime was deposed, it was rumored that this style ao-dai would be banned, but so far nothing has happened.

The dress portion of the ao-dai is often made of nylon and comes in a variety of bright colors and designs. The extremely dressy ao-dai is usually made from brocade or elaborately embroidered material.

When a woman sits down, she takes the back panel, pulls it up and around into her lap. When riding a bicycle, they often tie the back panel down to the back fender to keep it from getting tangled in the wheels. Often, girls can be seen riding along the streets of Saigon on motor bikes with the back of their ao-dai flying loose, causing foreigners to comment that they look like butterflies, and beautiful ones at that.

Many Americans have become so fond of the dress that they have some specially made to send home to their families. They make excellent hostess gowns.

Many of the Vietnamese wear plain black satin trousers with a short shirt for their everyday work.

In addition to these, one sees a variety of Chinese and Western-type dresses worn in Vietnam. The Vietnamese male however, generally objects to women wearing Western clothing.

The men have a costume that has been almost completely replaced by Western dress in Vietnam today. It is similar to the ao-dai, except the outer garment is shorter and not tightly fitted. They are usually worn by older men or in traditional ceremonies.

Children generally wear Western-type dress until they are teenagers. Little girls may occasionally be seen in the ao-dai on special occasions.

Womens' Hairstyles

Generally, Vietnamese women wear their hair quite long. It is usually very healthy looking, jet-black, and rather fine in texture. Those who can afford it will spend many hours in beauty shops having their hair done in elaborate styles, often upswept. Others will wear it hanging loosely down their back. Older women from the south have traditionally worn their hair pulled back to the nape of their neck and rolled into a bun. Those of the north wear theirs in a roll pulled across the top of the head.

Vietnamese Diet

The Vietnamese is normally much smaller in stature than an average American, with many women weighing under 100 pounds and men weighing between 115 and 135 pounds.

In one day, a Vietnamese will consume only about two-thirds the calories that an American would, but the caloric intake per capita of 2,490 per day ranks among the highest in Asia.

Rice is the staple food. Other foods preferred are fish, pork, various soups laden with noodles, tongue, heart, stomach and a variety of intestines, coagulated blood from animals, spices, hot peppers, a pungent fish sauce called "nuoc-mam," soy-bean sauces, vegetables, fresh fruits, and green tea.

One of the most popular foods is the soup called "Pho" which is sold everywhere on the streets. Pho is the Vietnamese snack, and is eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anytime in between. The Americans have nick-named the mobile soup kitchens "Howard Johnson's."

Fruits and vegetables from Dalat are wonderful and usually are of prime quality.

Sweets are made from rice glutine, fruits, seed, and spices. Coconut cakes are very popular. Children love to be given American candy. If an American starts giving out candy to his little Vietnamese friends on the street, he should be prepared to continue the practice and not mind having hundreds of kids following him around. Chinese food is also popular.

VIETNAMESE SOCIETY

Vietnamese society can be generally classified so that the foreigner can more readily understand the people with whom he might come in contact.

The most important group in Vietnam, in my opinion, is the plain ordinary people, often heard called "peasants." I wish we had a nicer term to denote these fine, long-suffering people. They are very curious about life outside of their own areas and are generally friendly. They are known for their patience and have suffered greatly in the numerous conflicts in the country. They are often the victims of circumstance and of disease. Because of their numbers, they do most of the back-breaking work. These poor people are the backbone of Vietnam and are the main ones about whom this book is written. They may well be the ones who will determine the outcome of the present conflict in Vietnam.

One group which has a limited understanding of Americans and other foreigners and their way of life, and little opportunity to find out, is the working class from the urban and rural areas. People falling into this grouping might be the shopkeeper, low-level civil servant, businessmen, average white collar workers, skilled workers, etc. A lack of understanding of customs and culture both on the part of the Vietnamese and the Americans has occasionally caused friction between the two groups. Better understanding is particularly desired with these people.

Another group might be represented by employees of Vietnamese governmental agencies and private companies. Many of these employees have been greatly influenced by French culture, and most of them speak fluent French, having been educated in French schools in Vietnam or France. Their views of Americans are oftentimes influenced by this French culture and by U.S. movies shown in Vietnam. These people are often leaders in their communities and politically powerful. They are on occasion especially critical of Americans and their culture.

There is also a group of Vietnamese who are quite progressive and change to whatever is in vogue at the moment, and a considerable number of them hold citizenships other than Vietnamese. They are usually quite studious and will make every effort to learn whatever is required to be up to date. Westerners have traditionally mixed easily with this group, as they are anxious to learn Western customs and culture.

Many Vietnamese are working with the Americans either directly in American installations or in Vietnamese governmental positions. They have often been to school outside Vietnam, perhaps in the United States. They understand the Western way of life much better than most Vietnamese and provide an important entree for Americans into Vietnamese culture. However, Americans should not be led to believe that these are traditional Vietnamese. Often, they have become so westernized that they are a class apart from their fellow countrymen. There are those, of course, who have maintained their Vietnamese way of life.

People following Confucian ethics and traditional culture are still greatly in evidence in Vietnam and make up another grouping. They should be handled with all due respect. They sometimes believe that foreigners place too much emphasis on materialism. These people are often the unspoken leaders of small communities and are well respected by their neighbors and friends.

IMPORTANT ETHNIC GROUPS

There are four main categories of minority groups in South Vietnam. They are the Montagnards, Chinese, Cambodians and Chams. In North Vietnam, the most important are the Montagnards or mountain people, made up of the Thai, Muong, Mans, Lolos, and Meo tribes. The Montagnards are said to number over two million in the north. In the south, the figures show approximately one million Montagnards, one million Chinese, 400,000 Cambodians, and 20,000 Chams. These ethnic minorities represent approximately 15 per cent of the population of the two Vietnams.

In the south, the two most important groups are the Chinese and the Montagnards. The Cambodians whose land was conquered years ago by the Vietnamese have virtually been absorbed into the Vietnamese community. They have inter-married, shared the same religions, customs, and culture. The Chams are such a small group that they hold little significance in the political structure of South Vietnam. Also, they are so closely related to the Montagnards that they are often considered one of their sub-groups.

The Chinese

Even though the majority of the Chinese in Vietnam were born there, they consider themselves "Chinese" and not Vietnamese. They have been the successful businessmen traditionally. Prejudice between Chinese and Vietnamese has existed for years.

In 1956, the government of South Vietnam issued orders making Chinese born in Vietnam, into Vietnamese citizens. Chinese not accepting Vietnamese citizenship were also barred from a group of occupations that had been primarily held by Chinese in the country. The Chinese retaliated by drawing large sums of money from the banks in Vietnam, and boycotting the purchase of Vietnamese rice for sale in their stores. Their action had a temporary effect of lowering the value of the piastre in the money markets of Hong Kong and Singapore.

The government persisted, however, and eventually a large number of Chinese in the country assumed Vietnamese citizenship. Those not doing so paid yearly fees for maintaining their foreign passports. As for being denied the privilege of doing business in certain fields unless they were citizens, they merely turned over the signing of papers to a relative who was a Vietnamese citizen, thus skirting the law.

The Chinese schools were also placed under government control and teachers were forbidden to wear Chinese dress. The Vietnamese flag and national anthem were given honors daily and the Vietnamese language was made a requirement in the curriculum.

Today, the majority of the Chinese in South Vietnam have segregated themselves into one area known as Cholon, an adjoining city to Saigon. In the past, very few Chinese, even though citizens, were drafted into the Army. Latest information from Vietnam now indicates that some of them are being drafted at this time.

The Chinese are still the shrewd businessmen in Vietnam, as they are in many of the countries around the world.

Their customs and culture vary little from that of the Vietnamese. In fact, many of the Vietnamese customs have come directly from the Chinese who dominated the country for so many years.

The Montagnards

Other names for the Montagnards (which is French for mountaineers) includes "highlanders"; "tribespeople"; and "moi." The term "moi" is disliked by the mountain people because roughly translated the word means "savages." Officially, the South Vietnamese government now calls the Montagnards "Dong-Bao-Thouong" which means "Compatriots of the Highlands."

The land inhabited by the Montagnards is also called by different names; the Highlands, the Annamite Chain, or the Plateau de Montagnards.

The history of these people is confused and disintegrated. It is believed that they descended from a mixture of Indonesians, Australian aborigines, Negroid Panpans of Melanesia, and other Pacific island races.

The mountain people of Vietnam are very different from the ethnic Vietnamese. Not only is their appearance at variance, their customs and culture vary considerably. Their language is entirely different. A lengthy study could be written on the Montagnards alone.

In the appendices of this book, a comprehensive listing of the tribes of North and South Vietnam is included with estimated population figures, location, and pertinent facts, available. General impressions of the Montagnards are included here to give the reader an idea of what their life is like.

Language

Each tribe may speak a different language and individuals must resort to sign language to communicate. I he tribes can generally be divided into two groups according to the type language they speak—Mon-Khmer or Malayo-Polynesian. The Mon-Khmer languages are used by many small groups living in different parts of Southeast Asia. Malayo-Polynesian languages are used in some parts of Indonesia and different islands in the Pacific. The tribes that use the Malayo-Polynesian languages in Vietnam include the Jarai, Hroi, Raday, Raglai, Chru, and Cham. It is believed that they are the most recent arrivals to Vietnam among the mountain people. They have probably been in the area no more than 3,000 years.

Another linguistic division that may apply to the northern mountain people includes dialects of Tibeto-Chinese origin.

General Impressions

The Montagnards have been treated poorly in the past by their Vietnamese contemporaries. They have had little opportunity for schooling or occupational training. As a group, they are poor farmers with primitive, outdated methods.

Their whole lives, except for the Christian converts, are ruled by spirits and fear. A simple thing such as a crow alighting on a house being built, is considered to be a bad omen, and all work on that house is ended forever.

Missionaries, American Special Forces and members of the US Aid Program have taken the most interest in the mountain people. Americans are generally well-liked by the Montagnards and it might be added that the reverse is also true. Most Americans who have worked and lived in the Montagnard areas have found the people to be interesting, loyal, good fighters, and just plain "good people."

The Jarai Tribe of South Vietnam

Since there are so many tribes and customs, one fairly representative tribe is chosen here to give the reader a better understanding of the Montagnards.

The Jarai have a matrilineal kinship system. The groom goes to the wife's home, takes her name and must never joke with his mother-in-law! Daughters inherit the wordly goods, which always belong to the wife. It should be noted that different tribes have different kinship systems, a few of which are like those of the United States.

The Jarai consider moving their home when they have exhausted the resources of the land where they are living. They fall into the category of being semi-nomadic. They will move their homes more often should a catastrophe take place in the village, such as an epidemic, visits by tigers, or if lightning strikes the village, etc.

Animals such as water buffaloes, horses, and goats are raised for their meat, and are often sacrificed during ceremonies. Chickens and dogs are always present, and many people raise pigs.

Magico-religious factors are used in selecting land for farming, and burning is the method of clearing land for cultivation.

The basic diet of the Jarai consists of rice, maize, vegetables, beef, buffalo, pork, chicken, goat, snake, turtles, rats, and sometimes dog. Fish is eaten when available. Meat from cattle is usually eaten during celebrations.

Animals are speared and killed in special ceremonies, and the animal's carcass, hide, and all, is thrown on the fire. The people soon begin to cut the meat and it is eaten practically raw. The intestines are regarded as a delicacy, as well as chopped raw meat mixed with fresh animal blood.

The Jarai eat rice and boiled vegetables twice daily and they eat with their fingers.

Many people are addicted to alcohol and even little children drink rice wine. Sometimes, the whole population can be found in drunken stupors at times of celebrations. In some villages, people have been without rice for food because it has been used to make alcohol.

Men, women, and often children smoke tobacco rolled in banana leaves.

Many women are bare-breasted but some become shy in the presence of foreigners and are wearing more clothing. The men wear loin cloths.

Homes are built on stilts, four to five feet off the ground. They are called long-houses and are long and narrow. Floors and walls are made of bamboo and roofs are thatched. The people sleep on straw mats on the floor.

The Jarai believe accidents and diseases are caused by spirits and that sorcerers can cause all kinds of bad happenings, including death. They think that if they violate taboos, the whole village can be brought to suffering. Some of the punishments might be a lack of rain, epidemics, etc. Sacrifices must be made to placate the spirits and bring things back to normal. The village sorcerer is often called in to determine which spirit has been offended.

It is interesting to note that a sorcerer from a Vietnamese tribe has been converted to the Christian faith by the Christian and Missionary Alliance personnel.

Their religion is also surrounded by superstition. Elements of nature are considered to be manifestations of the various spirits or gods. They have gods and goddesses of sky, water, mountains, trees, rocks, etc.

There are no special churches, but sacrifices and ceremonies can be practiced at any given time or place. All important occasions are postponed until an appropriate sacrifice can be made to the spirits and gods.

THE VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE

Authorities do not seem to completely agree on the origin of the Vietnamese language. German linguists have said that they believe the Vietnamese language belongs to the Pegouan, Thai, or Mon-Khmer group. Some believe it is of Thai origin while another expert, Reverend Father Souvignet, traced it to the Indo-Malay group. Still another dissenter, A. G. Haudricourt, wrote that he believed it could more properly be placed in the Austro-Asiatic family of languages. Nguyen-Dinh-Hoa of Saigon's Faculty of Letters has said that the Vietnamese lexicon has many nouns in common with the Cambodian or Khmer language. This is especially true of nouns dealing with parts of the body, members of the kinship system, names of farm tools, species of flora and fauna, etc. He also added that Vietnamese used many of the same final consonants as Thai and used various levels of pitch and tone.

New words have also been added into the Vietnamese language during the times of Chinese domination and other outside influences in the country, such as French and American. Most of the words derived from these languages have been "Vietnamized" and given their own pronunciations.

The Vietnamese used Chinese characters or Chu Nho (scholars script) as their written language vehicle beginning in the ninth century. The Chinese characters came into use in all official transactions, correspondence, and literature. No one can reliably say what written language was used prior to this time in Vietnam.

The written Chinese language, Chu Nho, was different from the spoken Vietnamese. Citizens of various countries of the Asian world could write to each other and be understood. They did not pronounce the characters the same way, however, and could not expect to understand a conversation, should they have met.

Vietnamese scholars and literary types demanded history and literature in a language of their own, and started to borrow Chinese characters, improvising their own combinations to represent ideas and concepts, and to phonetize some of their native speech. This became known as" Chu Nom" which meant vulgar or demotic script. It looks like Chinese, but no foreigners could read it, as they could with Chu Nho. Chu Nom was found only in literary works, unofficial documents and the like.

During the seventeenth century, Catholic missionaries began to arrive in Vietnam from Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. They needed some linguistic tool to get their ideas across to the people. Under the guidance of the Catholic Priest, Father Alexander-de-Rhodes, a system of romanized writing, known as "Quoc Ngu" (national language) was developed. This enabled them to use the spoken Vietnamese in a written manner through the Roman alphabet. Father Alexander-de-Rhodes completed a Vietnamese-Portuguese-Latin dictionary in 1649. He was a Jesuit scholar-missionary from France who studied in Vietnam for twelve years under another Jesuit, Francisco de Pina, before compiling the new written language.

In 1920, Quoc-Ngu was recognized as the official language. Since 1945, Quoc-Ngu has been used in all lower level schools in Vietnam. There has been considerable controversy about using the national language at the university level, replacing French. On several occasions, especially at times of poor Vietnamese-French relations, students have demonstrated in behalf of using Vietnamese entirely in the university curriculum.

Technicalities of the Language

The Vietnamese language is far too complicated to be throughly treated in a book of this type. For information purposes only, however, a few of the characteristics of the language follow.

There are 12 vowels and 27 consonants in the language. It is a tonal language, and a given syllable may be pronounced in any of six tones. A classic example is the word "ma." Depending on the voice inflection given the word, it can mean ghost, cheek, but grave, horse, or rice-seedling. There may also be other meanings, depending on the melody of the given sentence.

The language is noted for its lack of inflectional endings or the changing of form of the word to indicate number, gender, etc. Translated to English, a Vietnamese sentence and might read:

"Today John give I six pencil."

Modifiers always follow the noun, adjective, verb, or adverb that they modify. Many words are left out. One might compare a Vietnamese sentence with a thrifty telegram; all words that can be left out are omitted. It may have an understood subject or no subject at all.

The numerical system is decimal.

In the Appendices of this book may be found selected elements of the basic Vietnamese language; alphabet; glossary of selected vocabulary; and useful phrases.