Written and Illustrated by  Jeanne M. Lee

Discussion Guide by   Pat Bowes

Setting:  South of Saigon, South Vietnam
                (Today known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Main Characters:
Nan -- protagonist
Keung - cousin
Grandmother
Father
Ba-Nam -- keeper of ancestors’ graves
 

Ancillary  Activities:
Do grave rubbings
Celebrate their own ancestors
Taste papayas and mangoes
Read more about Thanh-Minh Day
Burn incense
Learn about the lunar calendar
Research various animals of Vietnam
 

Purpose:
Learn more about Vietnamese culture and people.
 

1) How did Nan feel when she first saw Ba Nam?  Why did she feel this way?

2) When Nan was afraid, she clutched her father’s hand.  However, other than his
     hand, her father is never clearly seen in the story.  Why do you think the author
     chose not to show the father?

3) Grandmother tells Nan that she is sending offerings to their ancestors in the spirit
     world.  What are “offerings”?  What or who are “ancestors”?  What is the “spirit
     world”?

4) Why would the family send offerings to their ancestors in the spirit world?

5) When Nan noticed it was getting dark and windy, she wanted to leave but Keung
     wanted to stay.  Why did Keung want to stay?
 
6) Why did Nan scream when Keung was in a mango tree?

7) How does Nan overcome her fear of Ba-Nam?  How do you overcome your fears?

8) Why is Ba Nam’s body twisted and bent?

9) Do you think the holiday of Thanh-Minh Day is a good tradition?  Does your family
     practice a day of honoring your ancestors?  If so, what do you do?  If not, what
     would you do if you could, and when would you do it?

10) What did you learn from reading this story?

The Vietnamese, and Chinese, calendar is usually referred to as lunar but it is really a combination of lunar and solar. The days and months are based on the phases of the moon, with the full moon in the middle of each month. The calendar is also divided into twenty- four climatic periods, based on the apparent movement of the sun through the zodiac. Thanh Minh is the name of one of these periods. In most years it begins in the third month of the Vietnamese lunar calendar.

Thanh Minh literally means clear and bright, indicating that the weather custom of grave visiting during Thanh Minh, and the first days of the period are called Tet Thanh Minh - the Thanh Minh festival. In feudal times the rites of Thanh Minh were listed as one of the main ceremonies of the royal court and were solemnly presided over by the king himself, it was recorded in a book of royal rituals (Kham Dinh Dai Ban Hoi Dien Su Le) that every year, on the beginning day of the Thanh Minh period, the king, came to the royal temple to conduct the ceremony dedicated to his ancestors.

The Ministry of Rites was responsible for all arrangements. In the rural villages, peasant families did not adhere strictly to the calendar, and it became a convention that the first three days of the third month would be the time of the annual festival. In the past, graves were scattered through the paddy fields or on the low hills. During the time of the Thanh Mirlh festival the people weeded and refurbished the graves of their ancestors and relatives. A ceremony was field in the clan temple or in the house of the head of the clan to commemorate the ancestors.

This was also an opportunity for the members of the clan to meet and strengthen their ties. In recent years, most of the graves have been moved to official cemeteries, and many of them are paved with brick or concrete. Little effort is needed for weeding the graves, but the people still visit those of their ancestors to burn incense, not only during Thanh Minh but also during the new year holiday. Grave visiting and the veneration of ancestors is a feature of the spiritual life of the people.