Mekong Delta floating market – cultural features of Vietnamese people in the South of Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnamese people, in the process of conquering the new land – Mekong Delta, joined other ethnic minorities of Vietnam blood in not only turning the land once uncultivated into fertile plains, into granaries of the whole country, but also created a cultural complex on the basis of inheriting traditional cultural values. The process of territorial expansion, sovereignty establishment, sovereignty enforcement and sovereignty protection is a process of adaptation and creativity of the Vietnamese in the new environment. It was the process of co-existence and conquest of the new land that formed the Southern culture with disparities in comparison with other cultural areas in Vietnam, which the researchers call "rural civilization", "river civilization". When it came to talking to the South, river areas were always mentioned. The communities there knew how to effectively exploit the elements of water not only to make their own cultural features, but also to contribute to socio-economic development. "Floating" markets were closely associated with the activities of "commerce on river" – an economic activity deeply engraved with the stamp of a cultural region which moulded the own specific culture of the South. Our paper presents the floating market in the Mekong River delta – cultural characteristics of the Vietnamese in the South of Vietnam.