The Symbol of “Herdsman” in Vietnamese Folklore

Abstract

Herdsman has long been a symbol attached to Vietnam’s countryside and villages. It is such a popular thing that the mentioning simply recalls the scenery of a young boy riding buffalo and playing flute. However, it is not only the image of Vietnam villages’ peace, but also has more special values. This paper will systemize the values of this symbol in the minds of the ordinary people, from which, explaining some perspectives about the life and world of farmers from the ancient time to their current efforts in preserving them. Although there have been many researches about the herdsman, none of them approaches this topic from a cultural perspective under any specific cultural theory. With this article, we take advantage of a popular structure in folklore research, including four components: awareness-based culture, behavior-based culture, organizational culture and re-creating culture.

Key words: symbol, folklore, festival, herdsman