PRESENTATION PROCESS

• The name
• Brief history
• Geography- Mekong river
• Economy and agriculture
• Rice : crops, harvest, trading and current status
• Fruits
• Fish
• People
THE NAME
• Mekong delta is the biggest delta of Vietnam. It’s a flat area
located at the end of Mekong river that starts from Tibet Plateau
in China.
• The real Vietnamese name is DONG BANG SONG CUU LONG- 9
DRAGON RIVER DELTA because it has 9 small rivers flowing into
the ocean. According to Asian beliefs, dragon is King of Animals
representing for Political power. So the Vietnamese borrow the
image of dragon to name the delta with the wish that the area
would fly high in the sky of economy like a dragon. If we look at
the map from the sky, the 9 rivers look like 9 small dragons
drinking water from the ocean making the delta fertile and
fruitful.
 THE HISTORY
The Mekong delta used to belong to ancient country of Funan (Fou Nan) from 1st
to 6th century. The territory of Funan included the whole south Vietnam (Dongnai
to Mekong delta) today, a part of Cambodia, a part of Myanmar and a part of
Thailand.
The central region of Vietnam today was Champa
country – a mixture of Indian, Cambodian and Chinese.
Champa invaded and divided Funan into 2 countries
named Upper Chenla (Cambodge now Cambodia) and
Lower Chenla (Cambodge now Mekong Delta).
The two countries of Upper Chenla and Lower Chenla
were fighting each other for decades. Lower Chenla
asked Vietnam for help. Year by year, the whole Lower
Chenla was added to Vietnam’s territory.

By 1975 when the Vietnam war was over, Cambodia was cruelly suppressed by Khmer Rouge.
This was one of the most cruel regimes in war history. Khmer Rouge or Red Cambodia was a
new Force supported by China with the aim of reconstructing Cambodia and making it back to
Angkor mighty Regime.
THE HISTORY (cont…)
Cambodian people had to live in sorrows and nightmares and nobody helped
them except Vietnam. Vietnam sent young men doing a so called
INTERNATIONAL MISSION. They have destroyed Khmer Rouge completely in 1979.

Now Mekong delta is home of approximately 17 million people of 4 groups : the

Vietnamese, The Cambodian now Khmer, The Chinese and the Champa. So
Mekong delta has a great mix of diverse cultures that is unique in Vietnam.
 GEOGRAPHY
Mekong delta has the total area of more than 40.000 sq
km and the population of over 17 million.
It’s divided into 13 provinces among which Cantho is the
biggest and named Capital of The Mekong Delta.

Mekong river is the 12th longest river in the world with

total length of about 4.800km. It begins from Tibet Plateau
in China 5000m (= 16.000ft) above sea level.

It flows thru 6 countries China, Myanmar (former Burma), Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. When
it comes to Cambodia it flows into TonLe sap lake – the biggest fresh water lake in Southeast
Asia and recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve. This is the living place of
thousands of Vietnamese refugees through war history and they live on fishery. When it
reaches Vietnam border from Cambodia, it’s split into 2 big branches named The Tien (Front)
River and Hau (Back) River. When you look at the Mekong map from North to South, Tien river
appears first and Hau later. That’s why they are named Front and Back rivers.
The 2 rivers then are divided again into 9 tributaries/ arms flowing into the East Ocean. (7 from
Front River and 2 from Back River). That’s why the delta is named 9 DRAGON RIVER DELTA. The
9 arms are Tiểu, Đại, Ba lai, Hàm Luông, Cổ Chiên, Cung Hầu, Định An, Ba Thắc and Trần Đề.
1 foot = 30cm
1m = 3,3feet
= 5000m = 16.000feet
1mile = 1,2km
ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE
 ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE
Today, Mekong Delta is the biggest rice Beside that, we also raise fish right in the
bowl of the country, making Vietnam 2nd river. There are more than 1000 species of
biggest rice exporter in the world after fresh water creatures in the river like
Thailand. The delta produces more than 50 anabas, snakehead fish, cat fish, basa fish =
percent of rice in quantity, 65% of fruits and pangasius fish, red snapper, eels, snakes,
70 % of fish. snails, shrimps, and elephant ear fish.
Every year, we have flood season from July We also have giant fresh water fish like in
to August Lunar Calendar (around the following photos. Some of them can
September to October Solar Calendar). In reach the weight of 400kg and the length of
flood season, the water rises up around 3-4 3 meters.
meters making almost the whole area
flooded. It’s not a bad thing. Flood brings
SILT – silk and Mud making the area more
fertile which is good for plantation. That’s
why we have all kinds of tropical fruits like
mango, mangosteen, jack fruit, durian,
oranges, pomelo = grapefruit, banana,
coconut, longan, rambutan , and so much
else.
Pangasius fish caught in Cambodia
260kg, 2m.
 Mekong delta is the biggest rice bowl of Vietnam. It
makes up more than 50% of rice production compared to
the whole country, making Vietnam 2nd biggest rice
exporter in the world after Thailand.

We make 3 crops a year. Each crop lasts 85 – 90 days. The first crop is from Dec to Feb,
second from Mar to May and 3rd crop is from June to Aug.
During each crop, the farmers have to “visit rice” a few times to check if they are growing
in a right way. They have to pump the water in and out depending on the rice age.
When rice is about to be harvested, traders or middle men would come to the farmers
and make a deal. The traders will come with big boats and buy all of the harvested rice
from different farmers. It’s them that decide the price.
When rice is loaded on the traders’ boat, it will be taken to RICe husking mill for
skinning. In the rice husking mill, the Husk will be separated from the Flesh. Flesh will
be polished to look as shinning and smooth as possible.
Rice husk will be sold to big factories for using as fuel. Yes, rice husk is great fuel
because it’s light, cheap and flammable. You can see lots of rice husk in Brick factories.

The farmers in the same village have to work together. They have to grow and harvest
at the same time. Because the traders only come once. They don’t come to buy only a
little bit of rice.

These days, growing rice in the Mekong delta is not good any more because there have
been lots of dams-dykes built across the Mekong River especially in China, Laos and
Cambodia. This leads to the lack of water in The Mekong delta.
Farmers don’t have enough water for plantation and rice.
 Grave yards in rice
fields.

It’s very common in Vietnam that dead people are buried in the rice fields. It’s every
where of Vietnam except the cities.
According to old Vietnamese traditions, when a family member passes away, the soul is
alive with us. So the family members always bury their late members right around their
home so that they could communicate with each other. For the village people, it’s more
serious and it’s a traditional belief.
However, because of the fast population growth these days, families need more spaces
for their children. That’s one of the reasons why the dead family members are buried in
the rice fields. Another very important reason for this is that The late members want to
keep the rice filed forever for the family. Because as long as the graves are there in the
fields, nobody wants to buy that piece of land.
Nowadays, There are 3 ways to deal with dead bodies : Burial, Cremation and
Donation to Medical research.
For village people, It’s Extremely Important to Keep the body Complete, so they
prefer Burial.
Buddhist people believe that the soul is more important, the body is just Nothing. So
they choose cremation.
A few people would decide to donate their body or only body organs for Medical
research or for saving others.
 Boats in
Mekong Delta

Mekong delta has an immense river system with more than 28.000 km in total length.
Some are natural and some are man made. That’s why we need lots of boats.
First we talk about the Sampan--- Xuong Ba La---can be literally translated as Three
wooden panel boat. This is the very first boat appeared in the Mekong delta as a way
of moving on little canals –from one side to the other. It is made of 3 panels of wood
that’s why it’s name Xuong Ba La (Boat – Three – Panels). Sampan is very common
and useful especially in little canals where big boats can’t get thru. It was also a way to
transport people, foods and ammunition in the war time.
Then we talk about Trading boats. Because the Mekong delta produces a lot of goods
like Rice, Fish, Fruits, Sand, Mud and so much else, then a lot of boats are created in
different shapes to transport those kinds of products. And of course they are named
by what they carry like Rice boat, Fish boat, Fruit boat, Sand boat and Ferry boat.
Boat culture is diverse and unique in the Mekong delta.
 Why are there 2 eyes in
front of every boat?

It’s a common belief. The eyes can lead us to right way so we don’t get lost. Also, the
eyes can threaten/scare the monsters away.
Boat eyes in the Mekong delta are wider than those in the central region and north.
According to older people’s beliefs, the reason for this difference is because of the
geographical locations. People in the central region and north Vietnam don’t work
much on the river. They do that more in the ocean. Under the storms in the ocean,
they can’t open their eyes bigger. So they paint the boat eyes also small so that It’s
matched with the local habits and cultures.
Fish boats usually don’t have eyes as they may scare the fish away.
 THE FLOATING MARKETs
OF MEKONG DELTA
History : Nature has given Mekong Delta a big advantage : flat and easy-to-live area.
The area is mostly flat and rich in natural resources. It has an immense and interlacing
system of rivers and canals, more than 28.000km in total length. Every year, flood
comes and brings tons of silt which is really good for plantation of all kinds of vegetables
and fruits and rice.

Hundreds of years ago, when there were so many fruits and goods that people couldn’t
consume in one or few days, they needed to exchange for other goods but the road
system had not been improved yet so river system was the best way to do it, then boats
were made for this purpose.
Every daily activity relied on boats (of all sizes) : crossing the river, going to the village’s
only market, taking passengers like a river bus, taking children to schools, and selling
goods along canals.
First, they paddled the boats by hands and spoke out loud what they were selling.
Buyers on both river sides just waved and made a deal. Years later, they put on engine
on the boats and used microphone to make their advertisement louder.
 THE FLOATING MARKETs
OF MEKONG DELTA
Later, big towns and cities were formed. There was a great demand of goods. Then sellers built
bigger boats with bigger engines so that they could travel a longer way to big towns and stay in
town and sleep on boat for a few days. In town, there were also traders, so the sellers on big
boats became wholesale markets. They just stayed on a part of a river near the town centre,
traders just came by boat and bought their goods in large number.
Because of this, they had to choose kinds of goods that could last longer. That’s why the only
things sold in the floating markets now are fruits and vegetables that can last longer (few days or
weeks).
CHARACTERISTICS OF MEKONG DELTA FLOATING MARKETS:
• Most Vietnamese don’t like to work under the heat, so the markets start quite early in the
morning, like 4-5 am…
• Buyers need to resell what they buy to locals along the river side’s markets or to their regular
customers in early morning. Most residents go to market once a day in early morning and
cook for the whole day because they need to go to work.
• People live on their boats like a floating house and they rarely return home. They do
everything on the river : cooking, bathing, washing, peeing and even pooping into the river.
• Everybody is kind to each other. There’s no jealousy or dirty competition among the local
floating shops.
 NAMES OF POPULAR FLOATING MARKETS
IN MEKONG DELTA:
• Cai Rang floating marking in Can tho city
• Cai Be Floating market in Cai Be district – Tien Giang
• Long Xuyen Floating market in LX city, An Giang
• Chau Doc floating market in Chau Doc city, An Giang
• Phong Dien floating market in Phong Dien district, Can Tho
• Phung Hiep floating market in Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang.
 Is there any floating market in north and center
vietnam?
Nope, not at all. Lets have a quick look at the VN map. Geographical differences
make different regions. The north and center regions of Vietnam are covered
mostly by mountains. Rivers start from mountains and they have very strong
currents- dòng nước. Nobody wants to risk their life on the water by grouping a
floating market. And only a few people live on river sides since it’s very
dangerous because of erosions-xói mòn earth quake from the mountains. Also,
because of so many mountains, they don’t grow much vegetables and fruits.
They rely mostly on next-door country-China because agricultural stuffs in China
are much cheaper.
 What are the typical personalities
of the mekong people?
Again, nature has given Mekong delta lots of benefits.
• The rivers give them fish, sand and water.
• The land gives them rice, fruits, and vegetables.
• there rarely are typhoons, storms or tsunami in the Mekong delta.
• It’s easier to make a living in this area.
Ø All of these make the Mekong people very open-minded, hospitable –
hospitality --- and generous. They don’t have to worry too much about
foods. They never get hungry.
Ø People in the central regions of VN have to work very hard because their
life depends mostly on nature. They cannot grow much on mountains.
They have to fish in the oceans with lots of storms, hurricanes and
tsunamis. Life is very difficult. That’s why they are a bit mean and more
thrifty but really hard working and have strong will. If they earn 10dong
they will spend only 1 dong.
Now compare
 MEKONG PEOPLE
When I travel to the central region of Vietnam, I have to order Saigon Coffee not just
coffee. If you don’t say Saigon, they will bring a very small cup of coffee to you. The
pancake of south is also bigger than that of the central region.
That somehow shows the differences in personalities of south and central region
people.

The people in central have a very hard life. They are surrounded by mountains and the
ocean. Their life relies very much on the weather. It’s super cold in winter and super
hot in summer. They can’t grow good rice or vegetables. They have only a few good
months to do fishery in the ocean. Sometimes they have to face with dangerous
storms, hurricanes, and earthquake.
They can hardly = almost NO-- make money for a few months of the year.
So for them, to make money is so difficult then they have to be
a bit mean. They never like to waste any food. That’s why they
make foods into little portion so that they can eat them all.
They tend to spend 1 out of 10.
The Saigonese and Mekong people are different. It’s easy to
make money in the south and they are never afraid of being
hungry. That’s why they are very Hospitable and Generous. They
always make foods into big portions to show and wish that they
are never lack of foods. If you are invited to a Mekong villager’s
home, you have to eat as much as you can and it’s nice to leave
a bit leftover to show that you are full enough.
They tend to spend 5 out of 10 sometimes 10 out of 10.