Book

Facing the future, reviving the past: a study of social change in a Northern Vietnamese village

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies • Singapore • Published In 1999 • Pages:

By: Kleinen, John.

Abstract

This monograph is based on the author's fieldwork in 1992 and regular visits since then to a small Red River delta village in the former North Vietnam which he calls Lang To (a pseudonymn). The document deals with the history of the village since its founding in the mid-seventeenth century, based on existing French and Vietnamese archival materials, and discusses the essential character of the village community. Special interest in the study '…is focused on powerful lineages and groups whose members benefited from the recent revival of religious activities as a result of the renovation policy. Ritual and religious life give ideological legitimization to various social groups. At a juncture when Vietnamese society is changing at a very fast pace, a longitudinal study of this kind is deemed necessary for the reader to receive a first-hand account of the interplay between the current reform under a nominally Marxist regime and local village society. It is further argued that the re-emergent localism expressed by the village's attempts to regain autonomy is accommodated by efforts of the state to mitigate undesirable side effects' (p. vi).

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

Asia

Sub Region

Southeast Asia

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2006

Field Date

1988-1998

Coverage Date

1955-1998

Coverage Place

Village of Lang To (a pseudonymn), BAC BO, Red River Delta, Vietnam

Notes

John Kleinen

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-229) and index

LCCN

99912774

LCSH

Vietnamese/Villages--Vietnam, Northern--Case studies/Local government--Vietnam, Northern--Case studies/Làng Tô (Vietnam)--History/Làg Tô (Vietnam)--Social conditions--Case studies/Làng Tô (Vietnam)--Rural conditions--Case studies