Rural

About 74% (i.e. some 62 million) of Vietnamese currently live in rural areas, and although many are being influenced by the process of westernization, traditional rural customs and traditions still play a vital role in shaping the culture of Vietnam. Vietnamese really give consideration to protect and develop these traditions. Travelling to Vietnam means going on a trip to explore a different interesting culture.

Organization

In terms of societal levels of organization, the two most important units are làng (village) and nước (country). Vietnamese people usually say that "làng goes hand in hand with nước". Intermediate organizational units like the huyện (district) and tỉnh (province) are not as important.

Kinship

In rural Vietnam, kinship plays an important role. If it can be said that Western cultures value individualism, then it can also be said that Eastern cultures value the roles of family and clan. Comparing with Eastern cultures, Chinese culture values family over clan while Vietnamese culture values clan over family. Each clan has a patriarch, clan altar, and death commemorations attended by the whole clan.

Most inhabitants are related by blood. That fact is still seen in village names such as Đặng Xá (place for the Đặng clan), Châu Xá, Lê Xá, so on so forth. In the Western highlands the tradition of many families in a clan residing in a longhouse is still popular. In the majority of rural Vietnam today one can still see three or four generations living under one roof.

Because kinship has an important role in society, there is a complex hierarchy of relationships. In Vietnamese society, there are nine distinct generations. Virtually all commemorations and celebrations within a clan follow the principles of these nine generations. Younger persons might have a higher position in the family hierarchy than an older person and still must be respected as an elder.

This complex system of relationships is conveyed particularly through the Vietnamese language, which has an extensive array of honorifics to signify the status of the speaker in regards to the person they are speaking to.