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Saigon - a land of overlapping layers of culture.
Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it's traditionally known, has always been a land of encounters. Over centuries of formation and development, it has become a melting pot of diverse communities, including the Kinh, Chinese, Khmer, Cham, and even the Javanese (an old term referring to people of Javanese origin from Indonesia, later used more broadly to encompass communities of darker skin from South Asia and Southeast Asia).
What makes Saigon special isn't the fact that these communities live together, but the way they live together. Without closed cultural boundaries, the Kinh, Chinese, Khmer, and others blend into daily life, learning from each other's customs, beliefs, cuisine, and rituals. This inclusiveness has created a multi-layered cultural space where each identity retains its core essence while constantly evolving within the broader urban landscape.
In Saigon, cultures are not separate but intertwined, creating a diverse network with its own distinct characteristics.
Drawing inspiration from "living cultural resources"—customs and rituals that still exist in Saigon today—Tàng Culture Lab, a group of young people specializing in cultural projects, chose the Tet altar as a focal point to tell the story of the cultural exchange in Southern Vietnam through the event of Mã Đáo Nam Xuân (a traditional Vietnamese festival).
Taking place at Son Tra Temple (Son Tra Dinh Tin Nghia Hoi), located at 113A Nguyen Phi Khanh Street, Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Ma Dao Nam Xuan recreates three Tet altars representing the three communities that have had the most profound influence on Southern Vietnamese culture: the Kinh, the Chinese, and the Khmer.
The Son Tra communal house is a place where visitors can learn about the Tet (Lunar New Year) culture of the three ethnic groups: Kinh, Hoa, and Khmer, in Saigon.
The Kinh people's altar and the concept of abundance during Tet (Lunar New Year).
On the altars of the Kinh people, alongside familiar items such as incense burners, candlesticks or oil lamps, flower vases, and sets of cups for water or wine, there is also a plate of five kinds of local fruits. In particular, three cups of rice, three cups of salt, and three cups of dried tea leaves are placed respectfully as a form of "blessing" for the new year. After the offering, these offerings are asked for blessings and poured back into the rice, salt, or tea containers to pray for abundance and prosperity throughout the year.
The Tet altar of the Kinh people is modeled after the Son Tra communal house.
Next to it is a table of votive offerings from Southern Vietnam, associated with the Bóng Rỗi dance – a characteristic folk performance of Southern Vietnam, linked to the worship of Mother Goddesses such as Linh Sơn Thánh Mẫu, Bà Chúa Xứ, and Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu. Bóng Rỗi dances are usually performed during the Kỳ Yên festivals at village communal houses in Southern Vietnam, taking place in the first or third lunar month, with the purpose of praying for peace, favorable weather, and national prosperity.
The stacks of votive paper offerings, also known as gold trays, silver trays, or five-colored trays, are arranged to resemble Cham towers, demonstrating the connection between the origins and Cham Pa culture of the shadow puppet dance art.
A table of votive offerings from Southern Vietnam, along with the traditional ao dai dress of the Kinh people.
The ancestral worship spaces of the Kinh people during Tet (Lunar New Year) are usually resplendent in yellow and red, adorned with apricot blossoms and couplets, creating a joyful and bright atmosphere. The most popular Tet flower remains the yellow apricot blossom – a symbol of glory and prosperity – alongside marigolds and lilies.
From gold leaf to effigies: the symbolic world on Chinese altars.
To the right of the temple is the Chinese altar, arranged in the style of worship common among the Chinese community in Cholon. This altar is striking due to its richness and elaborate arrangement, reflecting the concept of prosperity and abundance right from the beginning of the new year.
A replica of the Tet altar of the Chinese community in Cholon.
The Chinese New Year altar is typically divided into four main groups of offerings: dried goods, cakes and pastries, fresh fruits, and paper offerings. Of these, the dried goods group is the most numerous, including wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, various types of beans, apples, and seaweed. According to Chinese belief, displaying many dried goods symbolizes a bountiful harvest in the past year and is a wish for continued prosperity and abundance in the new year. Furthermore, since the altar is usually kept for several days, dried goods are easy to store and can be used for cooking afterward.
The cakes on the Chinese altar, including steamed rice cakes (bánh thuẫn), sponge cakes, and steamed buns, all share the common characteristic of using leavening agents. This "blossoming" symbolizes growth, fertility, and prosperity in the new year. The fruits are still mainly local varieties, reflecting the Chinese community's adaptation to the Southern Vietnamese environment.
Fruit group
Dry goods group
pastry group
Another distinctive feature lies in the paper offerings. Instead of displaying scattered paper offerings, the Chinese community in Cholon has a unique technique of folding paper into towers of offerings that are both aesthetically pleasing and express reverence. Among these, the "kim huê" (golden flower) is the most prominent item. Made from paper, the kim huê has a triangular flower base, topped with peacock feathers, and with round spheres at the bottom. It is often used to decorate symmetrical objects such as ancestral tablets, doorways, or candlesticks.
According to ancient beliefs, peacock feathers are precious items, reserved only for those of high rank. Another explanation, common among the Chinese community in Cholon, is that peacocks are "immune to poison," capable of transforming toxins into vibrant colors on their tails. Therefore, the presence of peacock feathers on the altar symbolizes the transformation of bad luck and misfortune into good fortune.
The golden flower is made from peacock feathers and votive paper money.
Chinese clothing during the Ming Dynasty
Below the incense burner is a strip of red paper with a human face on it, called a "substitute." The Chinese not only worship their ancestors or deities but also those who have passed away, and these substitutes are considered a form of "identity card" to identify these spirits. At the foot of the altar are also placed tools used for the ritual of "beating the villain"—a characteristic religious practice of the Chinese community in Cholon.
Items used to worship the "deceased" and to perform the custom of "punishing the wicked."
Khmer altars and the philosophy of life from the Bai Say tower.
Unlike the Kinh and Chinese, the Khmer community does not celebrate Lunar New Year but has its own traditional New Year called Chol Chnam Thmay, which takes place over three days around mid-April. Because all religious activities of the Khmer people are closely associated with the temple, their New Year altars also have very different characteristics.
In each Khmer family, the altar is not focused on ancestor worship but primarily on Buddha and protective deities. The altar typically features five candles, five incense sticks, five bowls of flattened rice cakes, a pair of coconuts, two plates of shrimp crackers, and two plates of fruit. Notably, the two banana towers called Bai Say (or Sla-tho bai-say) are a characteristic offering, carrying profound symbolic meaning.
A replica of a Khmer New Year altar.
The entire Bai Say tower is seen as a microcosm of humanity and the universe. The banana trunk symbolizes the body, the outer banana leaves represent the skin, and the bunches of five banana leaves symbolize the hands that support. The pointed top represents the head, and the popcorn inside symbolizes the bones. This offering is made at home first, then brought to the temple, demonstrating the close connection between family life and the Buddhist space in Khmer culture.
Bai Say Tower is made from bananas.
Khmer traditional clothing
When young people reopen the doors to village communal house culture
Khau Cao Nhut Phuc, cultural advisor at Tang Culture Lab, said that the organizers are all young people from Generation Z, so they chose a relatable, two-way approach to conveying information, encouraging viewers to ask questions, exchange ideas, and converse, instead of just receiving information in a one-way manner.
Through the "Ma Dao Nam Xuan" event, Tang Culture Lab aims to provide visitors with a more comprehensive view of the Southern Vietnamese Tet (Lunar New Year) – a vibrant tapestry reflecting the diverse communities living together. At the same time, the group wants to break down the hesitation and fear felt when standing before an altar. According to Phuc, an altar is not just a place to worship gods, Buddhas, or the deceased; it is essentially a form of decoration with spiritual significance, where people express their hopes and connect with cultural values.
Khau Cao Nhut Phuc - cultural advisor of Tang Culture Lab
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nha, the fourth-generation caretaker of Son Tra Temple, has been dedicated to the temple for over ten years. Previously, his main duties were maintaining the sacred space, tending to the incense, and organizing the annual Ky Yen ceremony according to temple tradition. However, in recent years, as more and more young people have visited Son Tra Temple to learn about traditional culture, his role has gradually expanded to include supporting youth groups in organizing cultural activities suitable for the temple's setting.
Mr. Nha, a fourth-generation caretaker of Son Tra Temple, is also a companion to young people in the Ma Dao Nam Xuan event.
The "Ma Dao Nam Xuan" event is one of the events that Mr. Nha has been involved in. Previously, Son Tra Temple was the venue for the "Khoi Dang Tac Khi" event – a space for displaying and restoring ancient lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2025 – and Mr. Nha continued to facilitate its use as the location for a Tet-themed event focusing on research, exhibition, and cultural dialogue, such as "Ma Dao Nam Xuan." He said that upon seeing the seriousness and eagerness of young people in learning about culture, he hopes the temple will not only be a place for traditional rituals but also a space for the younger generation to access, learn, and continue cultural values in contemporary life.
The event is a platform where young people use a fresh, accessible approach to convey messages about the Tet (Lunar New Year) culture of various ethnic groups through the imagery of altars.
Conceived over a period of about a month and prepared and arranged within Son Tra communal house for five days, Ma Dao Nam Xuan, taking place from February 1st to 8th, 2026, offers a traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) atmosphere that is both solemn and open. There, each altar is not just a physical structure, but a story of memories, beliefs, and the beauty of cultural diversity in Saigon.
