Manners and customs:
After generations, people in Binh Thuan, in general, still maintain, observe manners and customs handed down from ancestors. During the development, due to close to the heart of southern people, so people in Binh Thuan have also some changes in lifestyle. Although, the war lasts for long time, some manners and customs featuring people are affected more or less but traditional features are still intact up to date.
The relation in family, Binh Thuan people still maintain equal and respectful relation between grandparents, parents, and children. It is clearly shown in the appellation, relationship on maternal, paternal side, large love toward descendants, in which most precious is the customs as during old age, parents always live together with their descendants, and descendants are responsible to serve parents until the end of their lives. Not only the love relationship as living but Binh Thuan people also attach much importance to attending to grandparents, ancestors. Any family attends to grandparents, ancestors to commemorate people who gave birth to descendants. The altar is often set up in the central compartment of the house with portrait and neatly arranged censer, candlestick. This is a traditional and precious practice of only Binh Thuan people but also all Vietnamese families.
Faith, worship, and festival
Most of Binh Thuan people worship ancestors, grandparents according to nation’s traditional custom. In which, Kinh people still maintain some popular ceremonies. At the end of lunar year, it is a custom to worship “take the kitchen God to heaven” on December 23rd of lunar year. Especially, during lunar New Year, everyone get ready to say goodbye to old year, welcome to new year, especially the ceremony to welcome ancestors on 30th day and welcome the New Year’s eve considered most sacred. On the altar during new year days, there is always dried bamboo shoot stewed with meat and plate of grilled rice. Furthermore, Kinh people also care about grave visiting festival/memorial days in lunar March and mid-autumn festival, in which mid-autumn festival is held with care and large scale and becomes a festival not only for kids. As for public interest worship, in addition to long for peace festival, Kinh people in Binh Thuan pay much attention to the dead anniversary of gentle and virtuous ancestors in village temple. Compared with Kinh people, worship festivals of champa people are a system of faith with festivals during all year round and feature the connection with water rice culture. Like Rija Nugar festival (getting rid of epidemic) to get rid of unlucky things in old year, long for peace in coming year; Plao Pa xah festival (farm produce regulation) and Poh Pang yang festival (inauguration of dam cover) in January of Champa calendar; Yor Yang festival (island worship) or Kap Hlau Krong festival (long for nice rain, wind) to be held at riverhead or large dam. However, largest and most important one is Bang Kate and Bang Chabur festivals of Brahmin Champa people to commemorate queens, kings and goddess Po Inu Nagar with many parts of festival featuring purely traditional colors. Meanwhile, Muslim champa people have Suk Yang and Ramuwan festivals. On of popular people and with many more original, traditional festivals is Chinese people with custom to worship God and saints like Guan Gong (sir) and God’s mother saint and welcome Sir Saint mandarin festivals are colorful and interesting.
Folk art
Most of Binh Thuan population come from northern part, so in addition to manners and custom, their folk culture, especially Binh Thuan folk art is also originate from central and influenced by local inhabitants, champa people and other minorities in mountainous region. Besides forms of folk literature like proverb, idiom, folk song, riddle, folk tale, funny stories, etc. featuring the mark of southern part of central, the kinh people in Binh Thuan possess a very original folk performance art like lullaby with music set from original or variant folk songs of sin-eight-word distich meter; Ba Trao chantey is a form of culture activities featuring faith originated from the custom of whale worship yearly held on death anniversary of whale and other festivals like long for fish, early year boat inauguration; Bai Choi chantey is a genre of folk performance based on poem rhythm, etc used in folk festivals.
Moreover, Binh Thuan people have also many cultural activities featuring national originality, in which playing card in hut during 3 new year days. Or traditional boat race festival as folk game of large scale of inhabitants in sea zone. Initially, boat race took place during career commencement festival, later held in river, sea that makes an exciting cultural activity during major festivals in year. It is also used for amusement, entertainment purpose during traditional new year and important events, Binh Thuan people have also games like lottery, fetus riddle during new year days, collective singing, etc.
Binh Thuan’s treasure of folk art also consists of architecture, sculpture. They are temple, pagoda works featuring the architecture inherited from ancestors who headed for the south for settlement mixed with processing, embellishment of traditional style. Binh Thuan’ s temple, pagoda system is built at the time when the architecture of village temple reached highest level in 17th century and early 18th century. All 43 pagodas and hundreds of village temple, tombs become famous places and many of them were recognized by the state as national art, architecture relic. In addition to pagoda, temple, the folk architecture is also shown in inhabitants’ housing. Most typical is framework house of well-to-do families, over nearly hundred year, still stand stable. Most of such houses are three compartment house with two hips of roof, high terminal, yin-yang tilt roof, hollow brick masonry wall, house frame in good, durable wood like iron wood, etc.
Historic – cultural relic
Basic institutions of village culture of Viet people in Binh Thuan are shown in 3 main functions: administration, faith and culture. Most prominent is the village temple where village God and gentle & virtuous ancestors who deserved credit for changing waste land into cultivated areas, settling down, erection of temple. Village temple is also a place that is maintained quite fully with folk decorative and architectural art. Village temple in Binh Thuan comes in various types, but in general two main types are ones of double house and four pillars. They are well shown at some village temples like Xuan An, Xuan Hoi, Duc Thang, Duc Nghia, Phu Hoi, Tu Luong, Binh An. Besides, there are some building works to worship Southern sea God like Van Thuy Tu, Van An Thanh, Sir Southern Sea tomb, etc.
As for champa people’s historic – cultural relics, they are most influenced by Indian art, in general, a main temple for worshiping a set of Linga-Yoni (symbol of Siva God), surrounded by small towers or ancillary works. Champa tower is built with square shaped baked brick, upper part is almost reduced and spiky straight in the space. At present, Binh Thuan maintains some champa tower like Po Tam towers, PoShaiNu towers, Ham Thang champa tower ruins and some recently found champa towers. Moreover, champa people also possess some temples featuring similar architecture to Viet people’ pagoda by using brick, wood, lime. Typical ones are Po Klong Moh Nai temple, Po Nit temple, Bang Tranh princess temple.