Good Morning, Vietnam; the Dead are Alive with Gadgets!

Votive. The dictionary might offer you a definition that goes along the lines of “offered, dedicated, given in accordance to a vow.” While the definition might still mean the same thing, the context of which has already changed for some Vietnamese.

In their culture, it is tradition to offer things up for their deceased relatives by burning these objects to “transfer” them to the world of the dead where the spirits of their ancestors can use them. Remember Fear Effect? Yeah. They used the same tradition in that game. Now, shops that sell votive objects in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam have taken a turn for a more hi-tech direction.

ATM cards and gift certificates are now being sold in votive shops, so that their deceased family members will be able to have a steady supply of credit and funds to use for shopping in “underworld supermarkets.” And nowadays, the bereaved no longer offer ordinary TVs, but LCD screens. Some would even buy iPods for the deceased youngsters, laptops for the businessmen, and smartphones for the techies.

Culture is such a colorful thing for a country to have. But sometimes, culture itself is not safe from the encroaching modernism of progress. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note how countries evolve their cultures based on history.

Votive. The dictionary might offer you a definition that goes along the lines of “offered, dedicated, given in accordance to a vow.” While the definition might still mean the same thing, the context of which has already changed for some Vietnamese.

In their culture, it is tradition to offer things up for their deceased relatives by burning these objects to “transfer” them to the world of the dead where the spirits of their ancestors can use them. Remember Fear Effect? Yeah. They used the same tradition in that game. Now, shops that sell votive objects in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam have taken a turn for a more hi-tech direction.

ATM cards and gift certificates are now being sold in votive shops, so that their deceased family members will be able to have a steady supply of credit and funds to use for shopping in “underworld supermarkets.” And nowadays, the bereaved no longer offer ordinary TVs, but LCD screens. Some would even buy iPods for the deceased youngsters, laptops for the businessmen, and smartphones for the techies.

Culture is such a colorful thing for a country to have. But sometimes, culture itself is not safe from the encroaching modernism of progress. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note how countries evolve their cultures based on history.