INCENSE FOR THE OTHERS

Dawn from my window
Vietnam, Da Nang, Summer 2018

I like to spend time in Da Nang, a city on the coast of Central Vietnam. When the days are hot I get up at dawn and sit in a café. I start the day writing in my journal and catching up with loved ones in other continents. It’s still early in the day when I walk back home.

In Da Nang, I live near the sea. The air is still cool and fresh from the night. The small streets of my neighbourhood smell wonderful. I breathe in slowly and deeply, with pleasure. The scent of laundry detergent and clean clothes put out to dry. Some people are watering the plants and the pavement outside their house, and the air is sweet with wet dust and damp soil. Smells of breakfast – broth and noodles, roasted meat, herbs and rice. From windows, from food stalls, from tiny family restaurants. And every so often, also, a scent of incense. Still, suspended in the air. It makes my thoughts stop, and I breathe in again. I pay attention. A thought for the Spirits amongst the smells of household chores. The sacred together with the mundane to welcome the new day.

The ritual of lighting incense is shared by many of the religions of Vietnam. In the folk tradition of Vietnam incense is an essential offering on the altars of deities and ancestors. Incense sticks are not mundane objects, they are spiritual objects. Incense represents the desire to establish a contact with the deities. It functions as a bridge, a sacred bridge between the spiritual world of heaven and gods, and the life of human beings on earth. Incense sticks should always be burned in odd numbers because they represent prosperity and development, and they should be offered in a deeply dignified and respectful manner. They should be presented one by one using both hands, and placed upright to signify honesty.

Making incense in Hue
Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019

Incense sticks (Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019)
Incense sticks (Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019)
Incense sticks (Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019)
Incense sticks (Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019)
Incense sticks (Vietnam, Hue, Imperial City of Hue, Spring 2019)

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In many rural areas incense is burnt at the corner of houses, or the base of old trees, to seek the support of deities and spirits. The ritual is carried out as respectfully as in pagodas and temples. Though this is more common in many rural areas, it is also frequently practiced in the city.

There are incense sticks planted in the soil next to a tree on the pavement. Beautiful, elaborate little spirit houses outside homes and businesses. Sometimes, just a simple bowl full of incense sticks. And pretty little altars inside homes and businesses. These photos are taken mostly in Central Vietnam, between Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An.

Honouring Trees

Shrine for a tree in the city centre (Vietnam, Da Nang, Summer 2018)
In a suburban neighbourhood, incense for a tree near a street food stall (Vietnam, Da Nang, )
A tree by the side of the road, just outside the city (Vietnam, Da Nang, Autumn 2018)
Honouring the tree outside the restaurant (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Incense for a tree by the side of the road (Vietnam, countryside near Hoi An, Autumn 2018)

Outside the Dwellings of People

Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
In the city (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
On the external wall of a small family restaurants in the suburbs of Da Nang (Vietnam, Da Nang, Taco Da Nang, Summer 2018)
Marigolds and incense (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
On the door of a shop in the centre of Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, Autumn 2018)
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Sssshhh! The Others are napping (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Outside a small café on a stretch of road outside Da Nang (Vietnam, Da Nang on the way to Hai Van Pass, Autumn 2018)
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018

Inside the Dwellings of People

Inside one of the historic houses of Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2017)
Inside a small family restaurant in the centre of Da Nang (Vietnam, Da Nang, Autumn 2018)
In the courtyard of a restaurant in the historic city of Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, )
On the counter of a café in Da Nang (Vietnam, Da Nang, Golem Coffee, ? 2018)
Inside one of the historic houses of Hoi An (Vietnam,Hoi An, Summer 2017?)
In the kitchen (Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2017)
In a restaurant in Da Nang (Vietnam, Da Nang, )
In a restaurant in Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, Summer 2018)
Inside a shop (Vietnam
On the bus Hoi An – Da Nang (Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2019)

…and other Rituals

Ceremony at dawn for the Spirits of the Land, before building a new house (Vietnam, Da Nang, Summer 2018)
Ceremony at dawn for the Spirits of the Land, before building a new house (Vietnam, Da Nang, Summer 2018)
Honouring ancestors at Full Moon in Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2017)
Ceremony at dawn for the Spirits of the Land, before building a new house (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Ceremony at dawn for the Spirits of the Land, before building a new house (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Honouring ancestors at Full Moon in Hoi An (Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2017)
Anniversary of opening (Vietnam, Da Nang, Golem Coffee, Spring 2019)
Anniversary of opening (Vietnam, Da Nang, Golem Coffee, Spring 2019)
Anniversary of opening (Vietnam, Da Nang, Golem Coffee, Spring 2019)