An Thuan Intro

Outdoors on a sunny day, the foreground is a muddy field with water standing on the surface. The picture is dominated by two golden brown oxen with short black horns slogging through the mud, pulling a wooden plow toward the right. A young man stands on the plow immediately behind the oxen, holding a cane and the animals’ taut reins. He wears a camouflage patterned baseball cap, a short-sleeved shirt in a bold black and white geometric print and brown pants. The background is filled with a green ricefield and tall sugar palm trees, with a green mountain slope further away in the distance.

An Thuận village, Châu Lăng commune, Tri Tôn district, in the western part of An Giang province, has long been home to Khmer people. The village lies between two chains belonging to the Seven Mountains of An Giang, so it is also called Two Mountains village (phum Phnôm-Pi).

There are 2,700 inhabitants, of whom 88% are Khmer and the rest are Viet and Hoa. Most villagers make their living from agriculture, with a few trading or making crafts. The distinctive traditional pottery of the Khmer people has existed for a long time, but at present few households maintain the craft.

The Khmer in Two Mountains Village practice Theravada Buddhism. The pagoda is the cultural and social centre of the community, the symbol of the village. Theravada Buddhist philosophy and Khmer cultural characteristics are clearly expressed through architecture, colours, and decorative motifs in the pagodas and stupas.

Besides preserving and promoting the values of traditional culture, villagers also acquire modern cultural values, raise their living standards, and develop the economy in order to make Two Mountains more prosperous.

Research Team Members:

• Lê Minh Tuấn Lâm (An Giang University)
• Nguyễn Tuấn Linh (Vietnam Museum of Ethnology)
• Bùi Thị Phương Mai (An Giang Museum)
• Lê Hoà Hiệp (Bạc Liêu Museum)
• Thạch Hội (Trà Vinh Museum)
• Tôn Thiện Tâm (An Giang Museum)