VietExplorer

Many of such walls are in Da Kao Ward, District 1, which are filled with beautiful paintings and flower pots. The products were jointly created by the People’s Committee, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, and the Youth Union of Da Kao Ward as well as local residents to prevent graffiti, ads stuck on walls, and littering. With the same purpose, walls of houses on Dien Bien Phu Street in Da Kao Ward have also been blanketed with pictures about protecting wildlife and fighting the hunt for endangered species. Thanh Duyen, a resident in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, has an artist paint a picture on the front wall of his house on Tran Van Dang Street. Photo : Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre Dang Quoc Bao, head of the southern office of the Vietnam Association of Civil Engineering Environment, whose house’ front is painted beautifully and includes wall planters, said, “The program to plant trees in recycled planters is meaningful and helps eradicate ads plastered on walls...

The Khang have a custom that when sick people receive medical treatment but can’t get well, their families invite a shaman or a healer to give them spiritual encouragement. Whoever recovers after the worship will ask to become an adopted child of the shaman. The more people that get well, the more children the shaman adopts. At the beginning of the year, biological children and adopted children from different places gather at the shaman’s house to organize a Kin pang ceremony to thank their adoptive parents. The shaman decides an appropriate day for the get-together. Lo Van Bun is a senior villager in Chieng On commune with profound knowledge of the Khang’s customs.  “Biological and adopted children contribute rice, pork, and chicken to organize the ceremony and thank the shaman for healing them. Those who were seriously ill should bring a bigger offering, but in general people feel free to contribu...