Plan Your Visit       Hours & Directions       About Peterborough       Teachers       Lesson Plans       Booking Tours       Contact Things to See       Current Exhibit       Take A Look       Explore the Museum       Hands On       Our Instruments       Gift Shop       Library       Our Artists       Peace Flags       Peace Mandalas       Slide Show Things to Do       Calendar       Upcoming Events       Workshops       E-News Signup About the Museum       Description       Dreamer & Founder       Mission       Membership       History       Board & Staff       Partnerships       Grantors Home		Take a Look: Vietnam Qing Ming On Qing Ming, the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month, families tend the graves of their ancestors, as Americans do on Memorial Day. Once the grave is swept and weeded, families light candles and burn paper money. The smoke carries the money to their loved ones. You can buy paper bicycles, motorcycles, houses, horses and companions like the man here on Paper Street in Hanoi, all made to be burned to satisfy the needs of our loved ones in the afterlife. Families bring special food to the cemetery. Once it has been offered to the ancestors, the living enjoy it. Some celebrate the rest of the day with games and flying kites. An old custom says that if a kite is flying high and the string is cut, the kite flies away taking with it all bad luck. Paper men offerings Pink bunny The pink bunny bangs on the drum when you push him along. Surely this toy was inspired by the Energizer Bunny. Even though it was made in the early 1990s, before the US restored diplomatic and trade relations with Vietnam, American advertising images had “penetrated the market”! Pink bunny Water puppets Water puppets are carved from a light Ficus and brightly painted not only for beauty, but also to protect the wood. They act out country scenes: men fishing with pole or bamboo baskets or planting rice; a boy on a buffalo playing a flute; a farmer herding his ducks; mythological scenes with dragons spouting fire, lion dogs chasing a ball and phoenixes dancing; ceremonial occasions such as the scholar’s return home to his village from the city; and historical dramas like the story of the turtle and the sword. Water puppet The Three Immortals The three most important Household Gods of China, also known as “The Three Immortals,” are Fuk, Luk and Sau. Though they are seldom worshipped, their very presence is thought to bring very good luck indeed, and as a result they are found in practically every Chinese home. Fuk represents family happiness, good relationships and love. He is often depicted holding a child. Luk represents power, wealth and affluence. He is depicted holding a Ru Yi (gold ingot), meaning that 10,000 blessings will come to you with ease. Sau represents health and longevity. He is depicted holding a walking stick which represents longevity and a peach symbolizing immortality. The Three Immortals Pov Pob balls The Hmong New Year usually falls in November or December, after harvest. The Hmong live in the highlands of China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. New Year brings together clans from distant villages to meet, celebrate — and court. Young men and women line up opposite each other and toss fabric balls to each other in a game called pov pob. If a player drops or misses the ball, he or she must forfeit an ornament to the player opposite. You can win back the forfeited item by singing love songs to the facing player! pov pob balls Vietnamese toys Vietnamese children or their parents often make their own toys or invent games that need no toys. Children compete to knock over a soda can set down some distance away with their flip flops. They play with wooden tops; hacky sacks made from plastic twine, a piece of rubber, a metal disc and a rubber band — these are for sale in our gift shop, and they work! Vietnamese children play hacky sack as a competitive game across a net, like badminton, though the net may be nothing more than a piece of string stretched across the sidewalk. Vietnamese toys Artifacts from northwestern Vietnam These artifacts from northwestern Vietnam represent minority peoples such as the Hmong in turbans and indigo dyed hemp and the Black Tai in head cloths and colorful blouses with ornamental buttons. The “hill tribes” live in the mountains of Southeast Asia (China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Women carry heavy loads — water, firewood, children — on their backs or on bamboo shoulder poles. They weave beautiful cotton and hemp fabric on large floor looms. They also smoke pipes on occasion! large floor looms dolls Take a look at more folk art: Africa Americas Europe Japan Latin America Oceania Southeast Asia Subcontinent Vietnam When children are raised with respect and curiosity towards other cultures, the world will know more peace and less war. Plan Your Visit | Things to See | Things to Do | About the Museum | Admin | Home | Contact 26 Main Street ~ Peterborough, New Hampshire ~ 03458 Southern New Hampshire's Year Round Arts Community 603.924.4555 © 2010 Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center. All rights reserved. Top